Two-way SMS platform offers farmers timely management advice for fall armyworm in Kenya

Fall armyworm found on maize during field visit to KALRO research site in Embu county, Kenya
This article was originally published on the PRISE website During the 2019 short rains season in Kenya, PRISE partnered with Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD) to provide maize farmers with timely pest management information on Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). By building on PAD’s existing messaging service, which is run in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, the two-way…
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Fall Armyworm Research Champion opportunity

CABI are offering an exciting opportunity for enthusiastic fall armyworm (FAW) researchers to take on the role of Research Champion for the FAW research collaboration portal.
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Tackling the scale insect problem in Kenya

Scale insects on leaf
Scale insects are a group of very small insects that often don’t look like an average plant pest, but they are a growing problem in countries like Kenya. The pests attack important crops and plants that are integral to the country’s economy such as coffee, citrus and mango and in some cases have been known…
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Fostering collaborations for utilizing and promoting biocontrol agents to fight fall armyworm in Bangladesh

By Nirmal K. Dutta, Debasish Sarker, Manju Thakur, and Malvika Chaudhary Driven by changing climatic conditions and by increases in globalization and trade, the highly destructive pest, fall armyworm (FAW) has made its way towards Asia after invading Africa. After being reported in India in 2018, it was subsequently reported by other countries in Asia…
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Endophyte may protect tomatoes from Tuta absoluta pest attack

Healthy tomato crop
Successful colonization of tomato seedlings with Beauveria bassiana fungus could reduce crop losses  Trials in Brazil suggest seedling inoculation with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana could be a viable commercial option for marketing pre-colonized tomato plants ‘resistant’ to the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta.
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New paper calls for scientific diplomacy in plant health

Co-authored by leading plant health community representatives a newly-published paper calls for an international research collaboration in the fight against plant pests and diseases. The paper, published in Nature Plants, brought together 28 institutions, including CABI,  and analyses new perspectives and challenges on global phytosanitary research coordination; particularly as human trade and movement continues to…
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FAW Infestation: CABI, MoFA, others explore safe & sustainable management control

As part of efforts to sustainably manage the Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Ghana, the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture’s (MoFA) Plant Protection Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD) in collaboration with the University of Ghana Soil and Irrigation Research Centre (SIREC) at Kpong have begun exploring biological control options for safe and sustainable management of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in the country.
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Tomato farmers in Kenya believe area-wide pest management can easily be instituted and effectively control Tuta absoluta

Tuta absoluta in Kenya
Tomato is one of the most important vegetables grown in Kenya and plays a critical role in income generation and creation of employment for both rural and urban populations, in addition to meeting food nutritional requirements. Tuta absoluta – also known as tomato leafminer – is a native of South America (Peru) and is one…
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Sentinel trees: an early warning system for new invasive threats

With increased levels of human development, transportation and changing climates, we are seeing greater instances of invasive species introduction and spread across all continents. Such invasive species can cause significant ecological and economical impacts in targeted areas, for example the elm bark beetle (Hylurgopinus rufipes) which spread across Europe from North American log transports and…
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Tomato farmers in Kenya willing to use integrated pest management and bioproducts to manage Tuta absoluta

Tomato is an important crop in meeting domestic nutritional food requirements as well as in income generation and creation of employment for both rural and urban populations in Kenya. However, tomato production is facing serious challenges from the invasive pest, Tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta.) Since 2014, T.absoluta has become the most serious threat to the sustainable production…
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