International Pest Control – July/August 2022 – Vol 64, Nr.4
With no sign of the war in Ukraine coming to an end any time soon and with every chance this could prove to be a long drawn-out war the issue of grain shortages combined with high fuel and fertiliser costs means that any research that suggests we could maintain yields with reduced inputs has to be worth reading about. For that reason our lead news story comes from Rothamsted Research where work on the impact of fertiliser on yield has been a feature of its research since the organisation’s formation.
Invasive species figure highly again in this issue – maybe they need a section of their own – and in this case we report on an assessment for Kenya of the species that pose a threat. The list is long and sobering with many more pests able to survive in new locations because of climate change. Other news includes ways to improve wheat yield, control of fruit fly in Mexico, funding for sustainable agriculture, and an evaluation of three neonicotinoids by the USDA ARS.
Association and Society news includes a report from Pest-Protect 2022 together with updates from BCPC, IBMA and WBF. Company news is, as ever, full of mergers, acquisitions and new appointments as well as new products and even a new product class.
Our special feature on vertebrate pests kicks off with a look by Dr Partho Dang at the control of birds at airports. The damage that can be done by a bird strike is significant and can range from a cracked window or dent in the fuselage to the loss of both engines and the need to make an emergency landing – the most famous of which was the Hudson River “landing”. The section also includes an article on using predators to control introduced species although not all the community would support the reintroduction of the wolf and the lynx to control deer populations. Smart traps, dealing with the odour of dead rodents, rodents making a come-back after lockdown and some ideas from the UK about using local materials rather than bait boxes to improve uptake all contribute to this section.
Plant heath regulation gets a look-in in the Agriculture section as does the follow-up on how blight sharpens the tool it uses to infect the potato plant – who knew fungi could be so aggressive. Other topics include CBSD resistance, soil fungi, bees as super-spreaders of viruses and a report on extensive research by the USDA that shows GM corn does not have an adverse impact on non-target organisms.
Forestry & Plantation kicks off with Dr Terry Mabbett taking a look at the use of foliar feed in citrus. We hear about a new guide to hazelnut feeding weevils and use of IPM to protect the supply of Nutella. A way of protecting the coffee crop from rust is considered as well as a way to use a bacteria to protect against a fungus in sugarcane. Finally we see how climate change has allowed a pest to move north in Europe and now threaten the UK.
Our next issue will have a special section on the topic of biocontrol and IPM, so if you have a piece of research to report that would be of interest to our readers do let me know. Equally we welcome articles that will fit with any of our “standard” sections.
Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
Email Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com
Contents International Pest Control July/August 2022
Volume 64, Number 4.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
- Fertiliser use could be reduced with nature-based farming
- The threat to Kenya posed by invasive species
- Researchers uncover new clues for improving wheat
- Winter honeybees show resistance to imidacloprid
- Transition to sustainable arable farming given €10m
- EPA biological evaluations of three neonicotinoids
- SIT saves Mexico from Mediterranean fruit fly
ASSOCIATION & SOCIETY NEWS
- Pest-Protect 2022
- EU wide definition of biological control
- Leading entomologist joins the WBF
COMPANY NEWS
- Bosch, BASF Smart Farming and Brazil’s Stara team up
- Biotalys obtains new fungicide resistance class
- New soil and leaf tissue laboratory
- Luximo® herbicide approved
- Evonik opens its first ATC for agricultural markets
- Aphid predator wins GreenTech Innovation Award
- UPL broadens biocontrol portfolio
- New MD for Andermatt Polska
- New account manager at ADAMA UK
SPECIAL FEATURE: Vertebrate Pests/Rodents & Birds
- Birds – controlling a big threat to aviation
- Bringing back native predators
- Pests bounce back in UK after lockdowns
- Time’s up for mice – use of complementary traps
- Coping with dead rodent odours
- Think outside of the bait box
AGRICULTURE
- Regulation in plant health, what does the future hold?
- Enhancing the capacity of crops to interact with soil fungi
- How blight sharpens its weapons
- Induced mutations selected for CBSD resistance
- GM corn does not damage non-target organisms
HORTICULTURE & AMENITY
- New fruit fly attractant and trap available
FORESTRY & PLANTATION
- Foliar feeding citrus from young trees to mature fruit
- New guide details IPM for weevil pests in hazelnut
- Fungus that eats fungus could help coffee farmers
- Fungus induces abnormal growth of cocoa trees
- Bacteria kills fungus that reduces yield in sugarcane
- Pine beauty moth moves northward 50 years early
- Strict controls on pine and cedar tree imports into Britain
BOOKS
- Key Questions in Urban Pest Management – A Study and Revision Guide
CALENDAR
- Upcoming pest control events
Published in International Pest Control – July/August 2022 issue.
Category: Issue Editorial & Contents