CABI contributes to special issue on weed biological control with arthropods in ‘Current Opinion in Insect Science’

biocontrols
CABI scientists have joined an international team of researchers as part of a Special Issue of the journal Current Opinion in Insect Science which focuses on the present status and potential future directions of weed biological control using arthropods. Dr Urs Schaffner from CABI’s centre in Switzerland and Prof. Heinz…
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Help CABI count the cost of invasive alien species to Africa

Tuta absoluta (tomato leafminer); larval damage to fruits. Kenya
CABI is calling on a range of organisations working in agriculture to help them count the economic cost of a multitude of invasive alien species (IAS) – such as the Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta) – to Africa by taking part in a major new…
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Farmers and fishermen believe livelihoods would be enhanced by removal of semiaquatic weed

Mimosa pigra
Farmers and fishermen living along the Kafue River floodplains in Zambia believe that removal of the invasive semiaquatic weed Mimosa pigra would ‘considerably enhance’ their livelihoods, according to new research undertaken by CABI scientists and published in Austral Ecology. Dr Arne Witt, based at CABI’s centre in Nairobi, Kenya, led…
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Biocontrol is most cost-effective strategy in fight against common pest pear Opuntia stricta

Opuntia stricta
The cochineal Dactylopius opuntiae ‘stricta’ biotype is more effective as a sustainable biocontrol in the fight against the invasive common pest pear Opuntia stricta in Laikipia County, Kenya, compared to physical and/or chemical control – CABI scientists can now reveal. Dr Arne Witt, based at CABI’s centre in Nairobi, led…
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‘Alien’ plants do not adversely impact native tree species in Tanzania’s Amani Botanical Garden

Amani Botanical Garden
CABI scientists have collaborated on new research which reveals that a range of invasive plants studied do not have a negative impact upon the seed germination, seedling survival or seedling communities of native trees in the Amani Botanical Garden (ABG) in Tanzania. Dr René Eschen and Dr Urs Schaffner joined…
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Neem-based biopesticides ‘as good as’ insecticides to fight Fall armyworm

FAW
CABI scientists and their partners from Ghana, including the Plant Protection and Regulatory Services Directorate (PPRSD), Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) and Radiation Entomology and Pest Management Centre - Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI), have revealed that the neem-based biopesticides Ozoneem and especially Grow-Safe are ‘as good as’ the…
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