Cotton-eating monsters lay low the farmers
Cotton farmers in northwest India were taken by surprise when, despite a pesticide blitzkrieg, the American bollworm devastated half their crops. …
Sweet death
Red rot, a fatal fungus eating into the sugarcane crop in western Uttar Pradesh, has left India drastically short on sugar. BIJOY BASANT PATRO …
Using viruses for biological pest control
The use of viruses as control agents against crop attacking insects is increasingly becoming popular.
The fly that got away
The American serpentine leaf miner that infiltrated into India about two years ago is destroying agricultural crops
Making of a nightmare
Pakistan faces trying times ahead, as insecticide resistant cotton pests threaten to devastate the country's fledgling economy
To kill a mocking pest
With pesticides no longer a viable means of controlling pests in most cases, the search for alternatives like bio-pesticides has proved that …
Scientists identify proteins linked with wheat infection
Karnal Bunt, the infection, reduces yield and quality of grains as they start giving off foul fishy odour and taste
Why are pests developing resistance to Bt cotton in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh?
Low compliance to planting refuge crops along with Bt crops and selection of refuge crops are some of the problem areas identified by a recent study
Swarm warning
Officials claim the locust problem is under control, but unless millions of hoppers -- young locusts -- stalking the deserts are exterminated …
Fall Armyworm attack: 'It is the biggest pest attack ever'
The worm prefers maize, but its diet comprises up to 300 plant species, including vegetables and ornamental plants
European-origin pathogen poses big threat to potato crop in India
Scientists at West Bengal State University have found 19 unique and highly aggressive variants of Phytophthora infestans, a microorganism that …
'We can contain the pest'
India's temperature and atmospheric conditions are ideal for the spread of Fall Armyworm
Armyworms are wreaking havoc in southern Africa. Why it's a big deal
A combination of armyworms native to Africa and those normally found in the Americas are ravaging crops in sub-Saharan Africa
Facing- rough weather
Scientists are making gloomy predictions that rising temperatures shall jeopardise not just human health but our crops as well
How is climate change affecting crop pests and diseases?
The dynamics of crop diseases and pest influx are changing rapidly due to changing climate. Managing them has, therefore, become a huge challenge
Whitefly lesson
A few villages in Haryana successfully grow cotton amid widespread destruction of the crop by whitefly in the region
Hollowed out
Coniferous forests of Alaska are being devoured by beetles. Ecologists blame the changing climatic conditions
Biochar application can help Ghana’s smallholder farmers fight back climate change: Study
New research shows biochar application is more effective in promoting cowpea growth and yield in Ghana
Karnataka coffee farmers selling estates, killing themselves: Report
Market prices, erratic weather and increasing input costs are making coffee cultivation unviable, it notes
Torrential rainfall, cyclone may favour locust surge: FAO
Experts said prevention, mainly through early warning and early reaction, is the key to reducing the extent of locust infestation
Quelea: Environmentalists protest Kenyan government’s move to poison millions of ‘feathered locusts’
Experts champion mechanical control of the birds & other alternative methods like monitoring their breeding & migratory patterns, …
The next invasion of insect pests will be discovered via social media
The proliferation of smart phones means many people have an encyclopedia of knowledge, a high-resolution digital camera and GPS in their pockets
Fall Armyworm attack: Uganda’s concerted efforts at curbing infestation
The spread of FAW is alarmingly high in Uganda but the African country is also looking at every possible solution to fight the infestation
Fall Armyworm attack: The damage done
The deadly but little understood crop pest, poses a threat to food security and livelihoods of millions as it ravages crops in Africa and …
Fungal flood: Increasing disease, aided by climate change, risk to global food security
Practising monoculture in modern agriculture provides ideal grounds for fungi