Crop health

IOBC workshop focuses on the latest research in the biological control of invasive weeds

Wayne Coles1 Comment
IOBC workshop 2019 group
Delegates at the International Workshop on Biological Control and Management of Eupatorieae and other Invasive Weeds

By Chan Hong Twu, scientist at CABI Southeast Asia in Selangor, Malaysia

CABI Southeast Asia was proud to host the 9th International Workshop on Biological Control and Management of Eupatorieae and other Invasive Weeds where the very latest research on invasive weeds and their biological control agents were shared amongst delegates from 13 countries including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji, India, Pakistan and other South East Asia countries.

The workshop in Putrajaya, Malaysia, a first for Southeast Asia, offered a valuable opportunity for researchers, professionals and students to gain awareness of the efforts on a regional scale, as well as country-driven biocontrol activities to address not only Eupatorieae weed but all invasive weeds in the regional countries.

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‘Sowing the seeds’ for better cotton crops: a farmer case study

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Seed germination 1
Smallholder cotton farmer Mubarak Ali is reaping the benefits of CABI’s help and advice regarding the sowing of better quality seeds for more productive and profitable cotton crops.

Cotton is Pakistan’s largest industrial sector and is a principle cash crop to millions of smallholder farmers who rely upon it to earn their livelihoods.

However, per acre yield and the profitability of the crop is dependent upon the quality of the sown seed as part of the principles of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and proper crop management. Indeed, it is a sobering thought that the industry is losing between 10 to 15 percent of its value (around $350 million a year) through poor production, transport and storage practices.

Part of the problem stems from the poor selection of healthy seed with a high germination ratio. Usually in Pakistan, seed is available in local markets which are not properly checked by the agriculture department as well as by farmers for quality and germination before sowing. To break this mindset, CABI is trying to train farmers to follow a more scientific way, bringing about a change in their routine agricultural practices and adopting a better way to grow cotton.

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Phytosanitary Risk Management team share expertise at ESCON 2019

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PRMP at ESCON1
Delegates at the International Conference on Environmental Toxicology and Health (ESCON) who met recently in Islamabad, Pakistan.

An entomologist from CABI’s Phytosanitary Risk Management (PRMP) team has participated in the International Conference on Environmental Toxicology and Health (ESCON 2019) held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Muzammil Farooq, representing the PRMP team, participated in the event – organized by the Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University (CUI), Vehari campus – by giving a presentation entitled ‘Environment Conservation and Next Generation Pest Management Model for Cydia pomenella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) – Pakistan (Balochistan province) Perspectives.’

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Reaping the harvest: Sustainable tea production in India picture special

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Promoting sustainable tea in India
Photo (Copyright CABI): India’s tea accounts for around 27 percent of the world’s tea production – but like all crops it is susceptible to attack from pests and diseases.

Recently CABI scientists revealed that India’s tea – which accounts for around 27 percent of the world’s tea production and where in 2016 exports of 232.9 mn kg were worth Rs 4,493 crore, could be protected from devastating crop pests with more environmentally-friendly and sustainable biological controls rather than an over reliance on pesticides.

In this photo special, we present a range of images taken at the Hoolungooree Tea Estate in Assam, India, which charts the process of the harvest including, when and where necessary, the need to apply pest control methods before the tea leaves are ready to go from field to cup for consumers around the world to enjoy.

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Trichogramma evanescens, a biocontrol agent to control apple codling moth in apple orchards – first record from Pakistan

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orchard

Apple codling moth and apple spider mites are one of most serious pests of different fruits, especially its deleterious effects on apple trees, which poses economic threat to apple production in the region. Codling moth was recorded as the most serious insect pest of the apple industry in Balochistan when the project conducted a baseline survey in 2015.

The USAID-funded Phytosanitary Risk Management Programme (PRMP), in collaboration with Agriculture Research Institute (ARI) Quetta, initiated activities to develop and deploy a biological control program for apple codling moth. The aim is to provide safe and healthy apple fruits for human consumption and to develop biological control techniques to control apple codling moth in apple orchards of Balochistan.

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‘Cracking the code’ of woody weed spread with machine-learnt algorithms

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Machine learning algorithms have their origins in early ‘computers’ such as the German WW2 ciphering Enigma machine

A scientific tool which has its principles in early ‘computers’ such as the German WW2 Enigma machine – used to convey secret commercial, diplomatic and military communication – is helping to map the fractional cover of the woody weed Prosopis juliflora across the Afar Region of Ethiopia.

PhD Candidate Hailu Shiferaw from Addis Ababa University, who is being supervised by CABI’s Dr Urs Schaffner, Professor Woldeamlak Bewket (AAU) and Dr Sandra Eckert (Centre for Development and Environment, University of Bern), has compared the performances of five Machine Learning Algorithms (MLAs) to test their ability at mapping the fractional cover/abundance and distribution of Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) – particularly Prosopis which has already devastated an area equivalent to half of neighbouring Djibouti.

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Can a ‘diet’ of digital data really help feed the world?

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data map

Last week (29 January 2019) CABI was awarded a $1.49 million grant from the Gates Foundation to work with them to help increase food security in India and Ethiopia through better access to data on soil health, agronomy and fertilizers.  In this blog Communications Manager Wayne Coles looks at whether or not the use of digital data in agriculture can have a real impact on our need to feed the world….

The facts are clear; if we’re to stand any chance of feeding a global population of around 9.1 billion by 2050 we must make better use of ‘digital data’ to unlock the potential of more than 570 million smallholder farmers around the world.

The complexity of Africa’s growing food problem, which is exacerbated by social and climatic factors, should not be underestimated. Its population, for example, will exceed 42 million a year over the next three decades while a rise in extreme weather events will wreak havoc on farming communities already grappling with threats to crop yields from a range of agricultural pests and diseases.

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