Agriculture
Plant Health: Commission Strengthens Rules on Citrus Fruit Imports from South Africa
Stricter import requirements for South African citrus fruit were endorsed 27 May by European Union (EU) Member State experts. The EU says these emergency measures are being taken to protect European crops from citrus black spot, a harmful plant disease not na- tive to Europe. According to the new measures, citrus fruits imported from South […]
Second attempt to eradicate OPM by aerial spraying
Aerial spraying of insecticide which took place over West Berkshire, United Kingdom (UK) in May 2013 against oak processionary moth (Thaumetopoea processionae) (OPM) will be repeated in May 2014 said the Forestry Commission (FC) in a surprise snap announcement on 1st May 2014. Given the furore created by last year’s aerial application of the biological […]
Secret life of avocado anthracnose
Avocado originates in the New World with first cultivation thousands of years ago at high elevations in Mexico and Guatemala. Today’s single biggest producters remain in the New World (e.g. United States and Mexico) but avocado are also produced in commercial quantities throughout the tropics and sub tropics including India, South East Asia, West Africa, […]
Company Profile….Certis Europe – crop protection solution provider
Crop protection includes a wide range of techniques from cultural control through to whole management systems. Many factors, not least the crop and the conditions in which it is produced, feature in the choice of methods and products used by farmers and growers to ensure the production of a healthy crop and quality output. The […]
The effect of hydraulic nozzles on the deposition of Steinernema feltiae through a crop canopy
Growers strive to minimise the impact of crop pests in order to increase yield and quality of horticultural products supplied to an exacting market. A wide array of crop pests such as Frankinella occidentalis, Delia radicum and Thrips tabaci can be controlled at the larval stage with soil applications of entomopathogenic nematodes. Two techniques exist […]
Fumigant and repellent activity of six essential oils against the Red Palm Mite in Trinidad
Abstract Fumigant and repellent tests were conducted to evaluate the efficiency of six essential oils (clove, banana, jasmine, peppermint, eucalyptus and cassia) against Raoiella indica. Oils tested had attractant or repellent properties at different concentrations. Cassia and peppermint oils exhibited both repellent and vapour-phase mortality effects at 1% oil concentration and > 88% mortality over […]
Underground fungal networks activate plant alarms against pest attack
Insect pests are a major cause of damage to the world’s commercially important agricultural crops. Food crops are destroyed by over 10,000 species of insects and cause an annual loss of about 13.6% globally (Benedict et al. 2003) and 23.3% in India (Dhaliwal et al. 2010). During a pest attack, plants, being immobile, do not […]
Opening a window into vector-borne plant viruses
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ithaca, N.Y., are collaborating on development of a technology that could lead to new ways of disrupting how insects transmit viruses to crops. Michelle Cilia and Stewart Gray at the ARS Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health in Ithaca, and colleagues James Bruce and Juan Chavez at […]
