CABI engage rural support programme in its efforts to manage invasive parthenium
Invasive alien species are one of the major threats to biodiversity, also having negative impacts on crop production, human, and animal health. Invasive alien plants are creating huge problem in Pakistan affecting natural and semi-natural ecosystems causing considerable cost to the economy and environment. Comprehensive efforts are required to deal with this issue to prevent…
UAV spraying: combating the spread of fall armyworm across China
Fall armyworm (FAW) has continued to spread across China since early January, with the pest being identified in over 600,000 hectares of farmland across 18 provinces. Now, the government and farmers are looking for solutions to tackling this invasive species. Fall armyworm in an incredibly destructive pest species native to the tropics and sub-tropics of…
A Plague of Cactus
By Susan Moran. Reblogged from bioGraphic. Across Kenya’s wildlife-rich Laikipia Plateau, a thorny enemy is advancing. But a tiny sap-sucking insect may help save the region’s animals and people. Before the sun has peeked above the horizon, Philip Nangoo Larpei, a Maasai elder in his 60s or 70s (he hasn’t kept track), is already outside checking…
Training of Trainers on awareness and management of Parthenium in Pakistan
As one of its key priorities, CABI under the Action on Invasives programme aims to raise awareness about the threat of invasive species with the relevant government departments in Pakistan. In particular to address the issue of the highly invasive Parthenium weed. Through public awareness campaigns and sharing invasive management advice for better control practices,…
National emergency declared as Colombia confirms the presence of TR4 banana disease
The global banana industry is facing a new major threat. On the 8th August, the Colombian Agricultural Institute announced that it has confirmed the presence of a strain of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, known as Tropical Race 4 (TR4) in the northern region of the country. Since then the Colombian government has issued a national…
Potential Slug Invasions and their Impact on UK Biosecurity (Part 2)
By Dr Jenna Ross Guest writer, Dr Jenna Ross, from Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), joins us for the second of her two-part special series (read part 1) on the outputs of her prestigious Nuffield Farming Scholarship. Jenna spent 26 weeks travelling the world studying all aspects of slug invasions and slug control, and in…
Traded forest tree seeds pose a great risk of introducing harmful pest, new research shows
CABI has led an international team of scientists who strongly suggest that the global trade of forest tree seeds is not as safe as previously believed, with insect pests and fungal pathogens posing a great risk to trees and forest ecosystems worldwide. Non-native insect pests and fungal pathogens present one of the major threats to…
Deploying biopesticides to combat fall armyworm in South Sudan
A new project in South Sudan is combatting the fall armyworm, an insect that can cause significant damage to crops, particularly maize. With more than half of South Sudan’s current population—nearly 6.2 million people—in need of life-saving food assistance, safeguarding food security where possible is essential. Launched in January 2019 as a partnership between CABI,…
Collaborative effort in Kenya to manage the impact of scale insect in coastal region
By Fernadis Makale, CABI Scale insects – such as the coffee mealybug and cassava mealybug – are some of the least studied group of invertebrates in East Africa. However, a collaborative effort has been made to address the threat they pose to smallholder farmers: despite their cross-cutting status as pests in all plant groups, crops,…
Kenya faces devastating Prosopis invasion: What can be done
By Purity Rima Mbaabu. Originally published on The Conversation. Woody plant species have been deliberately introduced into many arid and semi-arid regions across the world as they can help combat desertification and provide resources – like fuelwood – to the rural poor. But some of these alien trees and shrubs have become invasive, having devastating effects on other species as…