{"id":7831,"date":"2020-02-06T17:13:10","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T17:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/?p=7831"},"modified":"2020-09-11T14:20:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T13:20:33","slug":"international-pest-control-january-february-2020-vol-62-nr-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/international-pest-control.com\/wordpress\/international-pest-control-january-february-2020-vol-62-nr-1\/","title":{"rendered":"International Pest Control \u2013 January\/February 2020 \u2013 Vol 62, Nr.1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cover Image:<\/strong> Testing the effectiveness of our products in a cabbage patch at Russell IPM.
Picture<\/strong> by Russell IPM<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Click Cover to read\/download complete issue<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In case you had missed it 2020 is the \u201cInternational Year of Plant Health\u201d an FAO project aimed at raising awareness of how \u201cprotecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development\u201d. Our first article focuses on wheat, one of the key staple crops of the world and research by a team at Rothamsted which suggests its yield could be improved by 90% if it was to reach its full genetic potential. Helping plants protect themselves is one way of meeting the FAO\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n

In 2017 Europeans were greeted by headlines like \u201cWarning of \u2018Ecological Armageddon\u2019 after dramatic plunge in insect numbers\u201d but research at York University tracking moth populations in the UK has found no evidence to support such an alarmist headline.<\/p>\n

And if we haven\u2019t heard enough about robot weeding, robot field walking and drone crop surveillance it now seems that at the other end of the production process some of us in the UK are to be treated to having our \u201cmilk\u201d delivered by a robot milkman \u2013 lower carbon than a trip to the shop in your car, the milk it delivers is plant based which further reduces the carbon impact.<\/p>\n

As usual at this time of year we visit the BCPC conference in Brighton where Graham Matthews and Robin Blake report on the full range of sessions from the two days. Topics covered include Brexit, operator training, science-based agriculture, regulator affairs, IPM, precision agriculture, delivering quality and environmental protection \u2013 something for everyone!<\/p>\n

In company news BASF is investing in a start-up with a strain of high oil content sesame which uses \u201cbioinformatics\u201d to speed up the breeding process. Corbion are continuing with their development of organically certified formulation ingredients and have launched two new products. Elsewhere job changes and acquisitions continue apace and we report on several.<\/p>\n

The focus of our Company Profile this month is Russell IPM who started in North Wales but now have 11 subsidiaries around the world; it has set itself the target of becoming the leading global biological pesticide and biofertilizer producer.<\/p>\n

The special feature this issue focuses on the hospitality industry and we kick off with a graphically illustrated and itch inducing article by one of our new technical consultants Partho Dhang. Another new member of the IPC team Zia Siddiqi follows up with a comprehensive review of hospitality pests. Alex Wade from PelGar looks at the rise and rise of resistance and its causes while Roman Lasseur from IZInovation introduces a novel form of control that may overcome resistance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to believe but UK researchers estimate black-grass could be costing the UK economy \uffe1400 million in reduced yields and in the future high levels of herbicide resistance could increase that to \uffe11 billion. Other Agriculture issues covered in this issue include western corn rootworm, diseases of cocoa, defence response in sweet potatoes and biological control of invasive Japanese knotweed.<\/p>\n

IPC Consultant Dr Terry Mabbett introduces the idea that Dothistroma needle blight, which put paid to Corsican pine as a timber tree in the UK, may be a native that has co-evolved with the Scotts pine and may now be holed up in the last remnants of the old-growth Caledonian Forest in Scotland. In the US a non-native, the spotted lanternfly (it\u2019s a planthopper) has been attacking more than seventy crop plant species including grapes, apples, and cherries. Also in the US drones are being used to release sterile insects in orchards and are much more effective than driving up and down with a four by four.<\/p>\n

Finally, we have our Index for 2019 covering all 344 pages of news and information we published in 2019. We have more interesting issues planned for 2020 and our next focus will be on the impact of climate change on pest species. If you have anything to say on this subject or any other area of pest control please contact us.<\/p>\n

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
\nEmail Chris on editor@international-pest-control.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Contents International Pest Control January\/February 2020
\nVolume 62, Number 1.<\/h3>\n

\"\"INTERNATIONAL NEWS<\/span>
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