Study calls for urgent plan to manage invasive weed which threatens livelihoods in Africa
CABI scientists have conducted research which is calling for an urgent integrated management strategy, including biological control, to fight the invasive weed Mimosa diplotricha which is threatening livelihoods in eastern and southern Africa. Dr Arne Witt, lead author of the study published in the journal Bothalia, said that over half…
Searching for a viable biological control of the Comstock mealybug, a pest threatening fruit crops in Switzerland
CABI scientists are on a new mission to find a biological ‘weapon’ in the fight against the Comstock mealybug (Pseudococcus comstocki) which is threatening to cause significant economic damage to Switzerland’s apricot, pear and apple crops. Dr Lukas Seehausen and Dr Tim Haye, who are both based at CABI’s centre…
Biological control against the invasive Comstock mealybug in the Swiss orchards
A new invasive pest of particular concern to Switzerland’s orchard industry is the Comstock mealybug, Pseudococcus comstocki. Originating from Asia, the Comstock mealybug was first detected in 2016 in fruit crops of the Swiss canton of Valais. Following its detection, the mealybug has caused significant local economic damage to apricot,…
Biological control could be the key to saving one of Britain’s rarest birds from extinction
CABI is sharing its expertise on biological pest control to try and help save one of Britain’s rarest birds from extinction on the UK Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha - the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world. Dr Norbert Maczey is leading a team of CABI scientists who…
Saving Tristan’s only native tree and its associated unique buntings
Invasive non-native species are a major threat on oceanic islands due to their vulnerability and endemism, typical of island ecosystems. On Tristan da Cunha, a remote group of islands in the South Atlantic, Brown soft scale, (Coccus hesperidum), an invasive alien scale insect, has infested Tristan’s only native tree, Phylica…
Review helps countries prepare for potential invasion of ‘hitchhiking’ yellow spotted stink bug pest
The Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), through its work within the MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Bio-safety in Beijing, China, has played a key role in a new review which serves to help countries prepare for a possible invasion of the ‘hitchhiking’ fruit and nut pest – the Yellow…