Who is watching GM crops?

As India gets ready to unleash a vast number of genetically modified (GM) food crops, politicians have joined activists in opposing engineered …

Pest attacks on rise across India, yet no discussion on spurious pesticides

As allegedly fake pesticides prove ineffective in controlling pests, farmers resort to indiscriminate spraying

Ecologically based rodent management can help control pests in rural India

Full community engagement, reducing access to food and shelter and direct killing is the best way to manage rodent populations

Trichomes the real heroes in natural farming

These small, smooth hair protect plants from insects and stop fungal spores from germinating

Fighting parasites with parasites

Scientists are fighting the uzi fly, a parasite of the silkworm, with a wasp-like insect that can help reduce that menace of the uzi fly, a …

Genetically modified cowpea clears its first hurdle in Ghana, but there’s a long way to go

GM crops represent a potentially important tool for the country’s food security strategy

How tiny pests traverse long distance to attack mustard crops

Researchers from the Kolkata-based Bose Institute have retraced the aerial path these marauders of mustard take

Too little, too late

GRASSHOPPERS AND LOCUSTS: THE PLAGUE OF THE SAHEL Publisher: The Panos Institute, London Price: L 7.95

Locust attack: Global swarming

The increase in frequency of climate change-triggered events, like cyclones, has resulted in extended and multiple breeding seasons of locusts …

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

Fall Armyworm attack: Low maize yield reduces cattle feed

While farmers say their cereal production has dropped to half, officials claim the pest’s effect on the state is minimal

'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

Operation Desert Swarm

Locust swarms are the bane of farmers in more than 66 countries. Small wonder then that the locust is the only insect that has a global committee …

Market without a window

The domestic market of biopesticides is the best showcase of their plight. It is virtually bereft of buyers and sellers. Moreover, the niche …

J S Banth , proprietor

M/s Banth Kheti Sewa Kender and Fertiliser store Dealers in insecticide, Pesticide sprayers, seeds and fertilisers: village Dher, district Ropar,…

Why India is vulnerable to attacks by alien species

The country has faced at least 10 major invasive pest and weed attacks in the past 15 years, with most recent being the fall armyworm that …

Gut instinct

Grasshopper gut contains DNA of plants it eats. Data on the pest’s food habits can help devise control strategies

Fall Armyworm controlled in Odisha

Timely intervention and sustained awareness programmes by state agriculture dept prevented crop loss    

Coconut cracker

The eriophyid mite has a field day, while officials sleep tight. The pest attack was first reported in 2000, when a farmer from the Puri …

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, …

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 …

Fall Armyworm attack: Rwanda fights it back successfully

The country couldn’t predict the pest attack owing to few resources, but it successfully minimised its impact within a year of identifying it

Are GM crops a real solution to pest attacks in Africa?

Adoption of GM crops is widely cited as a solution to combat pest resistance, but if recent developments are considered, the answer is not that simple

Fall Armyworms affect 750,000 acres of maize in Africa, put food security at threat

It may take more than two years before hybrids resistant to the FAW are bred and commercialised in Africa