Surveillance of potato diseases in Kenya
Potato is one of the most widely grown crops in Kenya. The sector contributes almost USD 30m per year and employs 3.3 million people. However, the yield has been reducing significantly over the last decade, 12.4 t/ha below the global average of 21 t/ha. This has been attributed to a number of problems but the most important being the high incidence of pests and diseases, some of which are seed and soil-borne. CABI is conducting a surveillance exercise to identify and map the distribution of Pectobacterium and Dickeya species which cause blackleg and soft rots and Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus which causes ring rot. The results from the study will advise on the required regulatory framework for the certification of seed potato and provide information for better management and control.
CABI joins effort to sequence genomes of every known species of plant, animal, fungi and protozoa in the British Isles
CABI is helping to ‘unlock’ the mysteries of natural life itself by taking part in the Darwin Tree of Life Project (DToL) which aims to sequence the genetic codes of 60,000 species that live across the British Isles. The work forms part of a worldwide effort – through the global Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) – to sequence the genomes of all 1.5 million known species of plants, animals, fungi and protozoa on Earth.