Plant Health Archives - Page 8 of 15

Virologists discuss alleviating plant virus disease impact on food security in Nigeria at first national conference

The Nigerian Society for Plant Virology (NSPV) held its maiden conference at the IITA Ibadan campus to inaugurate the society and discuss ways plant virology can improve food security in Nigeria such that its impact spreads throughout Africa. The conference, which was held from 28 to 31 October, assembled over 70 scientists and students from…

Why Plant Health?

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH). The objective of IYPH is to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and boost economic development. IITA joins the rest of the world in commemorating IYPH. Over the…

Decade-long trials prove efficacy of Nigeria’s aflatoxin biocontrol product

An IITA-led partnership has honed aflatoxin biocontrol for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for over 15 years. Recently, the team published a landmark journal article reporting a 10-year study on the efficacy of Aflasafe®, a registered biocontrol product for aflatoxin management in Nigeria. This is the longest-running, most extensive study on efficacy of any biocontrol product or management practice…

IITA Scientist elected to prestigious global science body

Leena Tripathi, a Principal Scientist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Deputy Director of IITA’s Eastern Africa hub has been elected as a fellow to the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Tripathi received this recognition because of her distinguished contribution to developing robust genetic transformation platforms for…

IITA launches International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020 at R4D Week

With decades of research contributing to the improvement of plant health globally and across Africa in particular, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is joining the plant science community on 22 November to launch the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) 2020. The IYPH 2020 is a year long observance with the theme, “Protecting…

“Pay attention to nematodes, they have adverse effects on African food security”, scientists warn

Although the world has fully turned its attention to climate change and is continually looking for ways of slowing down its effects on humans, plants, and animals, there is another consequence sneaking up—and no one seems to notice. This consequence is nematodes! Africa’s high population growth rate and rapid urbanization, coupled with climate change, has…

African agriculture needs more nematologists

Researchers from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Kenya in partnership with the Nematology Research Unit of Ghent University, Belgium carried out the first-ever structured survey on nematology in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The study which was published in July 2019, in the journal Nematology, aimed at promoting nematology as a training and research discipline in SSA. Read…

IITA Nematology/Striga laboratory undergoes facelift in Ibadan campus

On 4 October, IITA West Africa Hub Director, Robert Asiedu, inaugurated the newly refurbished Nematology and Striga laboratory at the Ibadan campus of the Institute. Project leaders and a GRC representative were among those present at the ceremony. In his remarks, Asiedu congratulated the staff and commended them for their persistence and hard work in…

Ghanaian farmers can now control Aflatoxin, earn big

A study has identified the best non-toxic strains that can limit aflatoxin contamination in laboratory and field conditions. One of the authors, Dr. Alejandro Ortega-Beltran, a plant pathologist with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) says, “We were able to detect non-toxic strains with the highest ability to limit crop contamination in the laboratory…

IITA strengthens capacity of regulators to monitor scaling out of Aflasafe in Tanzania

To pave way for the mass production and market entry of Aflasafe TZ01—the all-natural, safe, and effective product for aflatoxin control in Tanzania, IITA and the Ministry of Agriculture, organized a three-day training workshop for regulators in the country to increase their knowledge on the technology, how it works, and their role in scaling it…