Is parthenium weed allergy problem worse than that of annual ragweed?
By Asad Shabbir Parthenium weed and annual ragweed are closely related members of the Asteraceae, known for their high allergenicity. The detrimental effects on human health of the more temperate annual ragweed are very well known. However, those of the more tropical parthenium weed are less well known and in fact much more severe, affecting…
Tuning into radio to dispel myths
By Amzath Fassassi – SciDev.Net’s regional coordinator for sub-Saharan Africa French, and the driving force behind Science et Développement. In Africa, many communities are still unaware of the key principles of science, whether they relate to diseases or natural phenomena. Until the beginning of the 1980s, in the slums of my native Benin, I remember that when lightning, hitherto considered…
Giving garlic mustard the biocontrol treatment
In eastern North America a species of weed has become an aggressive invader. Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is one of the most rapidly increasing woodland invasive plant species, spreading across northeastern and midwestern USA and southeastern Canada at a rate of nearly 2,500 square miles per year. The plant was most likely introduced to North…
The time is ripe for climate adaptation in agriculture
By Janny Vos, Director of Strategic Partnerships at CABI I recently attended the launch of the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA) in The Hague where the words of the CEO of the World Bank – Kristalina Georgieva – resonated strongly with my work as part of an organisation that aims to improve people’s lives worldwide…
On International Mountain Day, let’s look at mountain tourism
Today, 11 December, is International Mountain Day. Almost one billion people live in mountain areas, and over half the human population depends on mountains for water, food and clean energy. And mountains are also important for tourism, attracting visitors for their scenery, wildlife, healthy air, winter sports and summer activities such as hiking, climbing and…
Fertilizer Optimization Tool helps return son to teacher training school
By Monica Kansiime, Scientist Seed Systems, based at CABI in Nairobi, Kenya In a previous blog post I outlined how the Fertilizer Optimization Tool (FOT) is paying dividends for farmers – helping them, in some cases, to report a seven-fold increase in their yields. Charles Wafula is a farmer and resident of Buhehe in Uganda who…
The Independent and Health-Informed Tourist?
By Scinceside – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 An innocuous visit to Dubai A young friend of my extended family was recently taken seriously ill and ended up in a London hospital following a short trip to Dubai to visit a partner working abroad for a few months. The symptoms of the infection, taken together…
Empowering more women in the fight against fruit flies in Pakistan
More women in the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region of Pakistan are benefiting from a Phytosanitary Risk Management Programme (PRMP) aimed at using a range of biological controls to fight the fruit fly pest which can impact heavily on rice and horticultural crops. PRMP, which is funded by USAID via United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), was initiated in…
Fertilizer Optimization Tool pays dividends for farmers in Uganda
By Dr Monica Kansiime, Scientist Seed Systems, based at CABI in Nairobi, Kenya A decision support tool that allows an extension agent to take into account a number of the farmers’ circumstances and investment goals to maximize the benefits of fertilizer use on their farms is starting to pay dividends in Molo Sub-County in Uganda – with…