Plant Health Archives - Page 9 of 15

Scientists discover best practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize

Scientists recommend best practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize

R4D Special IITA researchers, working with scientists from other agricultural institutions, have come up with a pre-harvest practice for minimizing aflatoxin contamination of maize. The practice was developed and outlined in a study in Kenya, which was carried out to document the rate at which aflatoxin contaminates physiologically mature maize in the field. Aflatoxins are…

Scientists call for new Striga-resistant and drought-tolerant genes in bi-parental maize populations

R4D Special Scientists say that genomic selection is effective for yield improvement in bi-parental maize populations infested by Striga and drought. This conclusion was made in a study titled “Yield gains and associated changes in an early yellow bi-parental maize population following genomic selection for Striga resistance and drought tolerance.” The study was carried out…

R4D Special: Scientists discover factors influencing FAW damage in African maize fields in Eastern Zimbabwe

Since the presence of the fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) was reported in Central and Western Africa in early 2016, and later in most of sub-Saharan Africa, it has become a serious threat to food security in the region. Although the immediate reaction of governments was to invest in chemical pesticides and their…

IITA and partners launch new project to improve cassava seed distribution and disease control in Rwanda

IITA and Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), together with Dutch partners, SPARK and Wageningen University, launched the Cassava Agribusiness Seeds System (CASS) project on 18 July in Kigali. The CASS project’s main objective is to help farmers have better access to clean cassava seed. Farmers’ access to clean cassava seed is identified…

IITA joins call for a global surveillance system to detect and halt the spread of crop disease

A team of researchers has argued in Science that as nations collaborate to detect and stop human pandemics, a global surveillance system for crop diseases is needed to safeguard agricultural trade and food security. How crop diseases affect people Since 2004, millions of farmers growing cassava in the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa have…

Biocontrol solutions to “Fusarium wilt of banana” emerge

The banana crop and industry has experienced extreme losses due to an epidemic of Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc). This was described in the recently published article “Biological control agents against Fusarium wilt of banana.” FWB, also known as Panama disease, has plagued countries in Africa, Asia, and Australia. The disease…

AU-IAPSC Director visits IITA-Abuja ahead of International Plant Health Conference

As part of preparations for the forthcoming International Plant Health Conference to be held in Nigeria 21-25 October 2019, the Director of the Africa Union-Inter Africa Phytosanitary Council (AU-IAPSC), Dr Jean Gérard Mezui M’ella, paid a courtesy visit to IITA Abuja Station on 16 May. His visit aimed to ascertain the level of IITA’s preparedness…

Scientists unravel genome and diversity of whitefly vector behind viral diseases devastating cassava in Africa

As part of efforts to control the spread of the two viral diseases attacking cassava in Africa, cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD)—scientists have announced a breakthrough whole genome sequencing of Bemisia tabaci, the African whitefly that is spreading the diseases. Read more

CBSD-DRC project trains extension agents in communication and sensitization about cassava brown streak disease

The IITA project to combat Cassava brown streak disease in DR Congo (CBSD-DRC) organized a training workshop for the National Extension Service [in French: Service National de Vulgarisation (SNV)] on Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), 28-29 May. The training focused on communication and sensitization about CBSD and the collaboration between SNV and IITA. SNV is…

New study offers first-ever insight on resistance mechanism of a wild banana relative

R4D Special The Banana Xanthomonas wilt (BXW) disease, caused by a bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum (Xcm), is one of the most devastating diseases endangering the livelihood of millions of farmers in East Africa, the largest banana-producing and -consuming region in Africa. It affects all banana cultivars grown in East Africa and only a wild type…