A life in science born of investigations into natural enemy for noxious ragweed
A former PhD student co-supervised by CABI’s Dr Urs Schaffner is forging a career as a qualified scientist working at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) after investigating a natural enemy for common ragweed.
The whimsical world of weeds: what’s in a name?
Invasive plants are everywhere – not just in our domestic gardens but on a grander scale on the grasslands of Kenya and Ethiopia as well as the Great Plains in the United States and Canada, including the world-famous Rocky Mountains.
Spotlight turned on crop pest biocontrol in Latin America
The spotlight has been turned on the use of biocontrol for crop pest management, as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes in Latin America, during a key note address to the II Congress of Applied Biological Control in Ecuador given by CABI’s Dr Yelitza Colmenarez.
CABI ‘chips in’ with expertise on potato pests
Potatoes are one of the most versatile and widely consumed vegetables on the planet – being third in line for the ‘top vegetable crown’ after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. In fact, ‘chips aside’, more than a billion people worldwide eat potato, and global total crop production exceeds 300 million metric tons.…
CABI supports first Dutch field trials with exotic insect to combat Japanese knotweed
For the first time in the Netherlands, an exotic insect species is released into the wild to combat a harmful plant species. The Japanese knotweed psyllid should offer relief against the rampant Asian knotweed. Suzanne Lommen of the Institute of Biology Leiden is coordinating the field trials as part of a consortium which includes CABI,…
Extreme climate change could ‘more than double’ areas suitable for devastating fruit and nut pest
Scientists fear that extreme climate change could ‘more than double’ areas suitable for the devastating fruit and nut pest – the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) – which is already posing a significant risk to crops in Europe, North America and East Asia where it originates.
Study brief explores outcomes and lessons learnt from fall armyworm management plan in Ghana
A team of CABI and Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) scientists have shared their expertise on invasive species and development communications and extension to publish a new CABI Study Brief looking at the outcomes and lessons learnt from the implementation of a fall armyworm management plan in Ghana.
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.