Biocontrol: Early season leaf damage could inform us whether a noxious invader produces seeds
CABI scientists suggest a forecasting model could assess the ability of a humble beetle to control Ambrosia artemisiifolia, which causes major crop losses and is a nuisance to human health, as part of a wider management plan that also includes mowing, ploughing or mulching of the fields just before male flower formation.
Training of trainers on de-linting of cotton seed to ensure quality of crop
By Rauf Ahmed Khan Laghari, Project Manager, CABI Cotton is a principal cash crop of Pakistan but unfortunately is attacked by number of pests and diseases. When pests take over the crop, production cost of cotton rises and profit is squeezed thus, there is always a competition between farmer and the pest’s interest.
New policy brief highlights the unintended consequences of projects that promote invasive alien woody plants
A new policy brief has been published providing recommendations to support decision making about funding for projects that aim to introduce new, or promote established alien woody plant species.
Red and grey squirrel genomes could hold the key to the survival of reds in Britain and Ireland
New hope for the preservation of red squirrels in Britain and Ireland is on the horizon, after the completion of the red and grey squirrel reference genomes by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators. The genomes may hold clues to why grey squirrels are immune to squirrel pox, a disease that is…
New TR4 Portal on the Invasive Species Compendium
At the end of 2019, a new species portal was added to CABI’s Invasive Species Compendium (ISC) to bring together information and data related to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense tropical race 4, more commonly known as TR4. This portal, which is Open Access and available to all, brings together data on the current distribution, the…
Weed biological control: Challenges and opportunities
Michael Day and Arne Witt have just published ‘Weed biological control: Challenges and opportunities’ in the first edition of a new journal, Journal of Asian-Pacific Weed Science Society. Their paper traces the history of weed biological control and points to the many successes.
Eucalyptus – the ‘thirsty’ trees threatening to ‘drink’ South Africa dry
Eucalyptus species are widely grown and utilized throughout much of the world, Dr Arne Witt reports. They are a valuable source of timber, fuelwood, paper, nectar, etc. and as such often grown in woodlots and plantations. However, many of these introduced species have escaped cultivation and become invasive.
New study: current resource use in areas of increasing prosopis cover is unsustainable
By Dr Urs Schaffner, Head Ecosystems Management In a newly-published paper in the journal Ecosystems Services: ‘The impact of invasive species on social-ecological systems: Relating supply and use of selected provisioning ecosystem services’, CABI scientists joined an international team of researchers who, in respect of the invasive weed prosopis, conducted the first study that integrates…
CABI shares expertise on highly noxious and invasive parthenium weed at international conference on climate smart agriculture
By Dr Kazam Ali, Biocontrol Research Officer – CABI Central and West Asia (CWA) International conferences are priceless opportunities, not only for researchers and scientists but also for experts, policy makers, stakeholders and students, to ‘sharpen your saw’ by learning new skills in a different environment.
Meet the man behind the headlines: The ‘Stink Bug Man’ Dr Tim Haye
Tim Haye spends a lot of his time behind the lens of a microscope or camera studying and capturing a range of invasive pests – largely unseen to the human eye. Recently Tim has been the focus of attention himself with the Swiss media keen on learning more about one of his ‘bugbears’ – the…