Research show tomato-potato psyllid can survive harshest Winter conditions

New research conducted in the major potato growing regions of the United States, has found that the Tomato-potato psyllid (TPP) – a highly destructive pest affecting potato crops – can survive even the harshest of winter conditions.  

“Despite it being an extremely cold winter in some of the key potato regions of the United States earlier this year, researchers there identified living psyllids in these areas, proving just how resilient this highly destructive pest can be,” said AUSVEG Spokesperson, Luke Raggatt. 

“These findings from the US reaffirm how critical the research and development (R&D) work that is being conducted on the TPP within the Australian potato industry continues to be for growers and processors alike,” said Mr Raggatt.  

Amongst Australian research on the TPP is a project currently being conducted by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA), which is monitoring the distribution and prevalence of native psyllid populations in key potato growing areas across Eastern Australia using sticky traps. The use of the traps aims to provide the industry with an effective early warning system for incursions of the TPP, which is not currently found in Australia. 

“It is critical that the Australian potato industry remains vigilant to ensure that it can swiftly and effectively identify a potential outbreak of the Tomato-potato psyllid,” said Mr Raggatt.  

“While Australia is currently free from the psyllid, there is a real possibility of the pest entering our shores through a number of different means, including the transit of plant materials arriving from affected countries such as the US or New Zealand,” said Mr Raggatt.  

R&D activities in Australia conducted in this area have included an investigation into the role of psyllids as vectors of disease; raising the awareness of Zebra Chip disease within the industry; developing rapid diagnostic tools for the detection of pathogens associated with Zebra Chip; and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that would help to control the psyllid.   

“In the last few years, the Australian potato industry has invested heavily in a range of R&D projects in an attempt to ensure that potato growers and processors are in a position to deal with this devastating pest and its associated disease, should it arrive here in the future,” said Mr Raggatt.  

“Research findings from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, have all re-enforced how much there is still to learn about the behaviour of the TPP and the spread of the destructive disease that it harbours,” said Mr Raggatt.   

The US research was conducted by the Idaho, Washington State and Oregon Potato Commissions.

For more information:
Luke Raggatt
AUSVEG
Tel: +61 (03) 9822 0388
Mob: +61 0403 827 822
luke.raggatt@ausveg.com.au

Publication date: 4/26/2013

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Plant Pest Interactions: How Soybean Aphids Trick Soybean Plant Defences

October 23, 2012 by Charlotte Elston

Following on from a previous blog on the interactions between soybean plants and soybean pests,  new research on soybean (Glycine max) responses to the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) published in Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions has revealed some of the complex and fascinating interactions between pests and their plant hosts.  This recent research led by Dr Gustavo Macintosh and Matthew Studham from Iowa State University has shown that soybean aphids can suppress the natural plant defense response of soybean plants to the aphids through the activation of what is known as an antagonistic decoy response. For example, the aphid will induce a plant defense that is not particularly effective against the pest (the ‘decoy’ defense) while suppressing the effective defense in order for it to continue feeding on the plant.  It has further been found that aphids can actively suppress the effective defence responses of the plant while at the same time ‘hijacking’ the plant metabolism to improve the nutritional value of the plant for their own benefit. Soybean aphids do this by inducing asparagine synthase transcripts which improve the nutritional content of the phloem sap from which they feed.

Plants have evolved complex biochemical defense mechanisms that begin with the detection of elicitors, which are compounds that indicate a pest or pathogen attack. In the case of aphid attack, it is thought that elicitors could include aphid salivary proteins, which trigger an appropriate response in the plant to defend against the pest. The plant response is specific according to the type of pathogen or pest, for example when a plant is attacked by an insect pest which causes tissue damage it will produce toxins such as alkaloids. When attacked by a virus or bacteria plants may destroy cells to deprive the pathogen of nutrients required for growth. In addition, some of the plant volatiles emitted when the plant is under attack by insects pests such as aphids can be detected by the natural enemies of aphids, thereby ‘attracting’ the predators to a source of prey. These biochemical defense mechanisms in plants are controlled by plant hormones, which in soybeans include jasmonic acid (JA), ethylene (ET) and salicylic acid (SA). In addition to defence hormones, the abiotic stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) has been shown to have various effects on pathogen resistance, and appears to be part of the plant’s response to aphid infestation. Interestingly, pests such as soybean aphids have evolved mechanisms to take advantage of the hormone signalling that controls plant defences, with some pests and pathogens producing hormones or hormone analogs, presumably to manipulate plant signalling to produce an ineffective decoy response that suppresses that effective defense response of the plant.

The soybean aphid is a phloem feeding insect pest that causes significant soybean yield loss worldwide. The aphid is native to Asia and has since spread throughout North America since it was first discovered there in 2000. This research has shown that salicyclic acid (SA) regulates the effective defence against the soybean aphid, while induction of the abiotic stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) pathway may be a ‘decoy’ response that the aphids induce to counter the plant defences, since ABA suppresses SA response in soybeans. Furthermore, the aphids can ‘hijack’ the plant into producing a phloem sap with a higher nitrogen content, thereby making the sap more nutritious to the aphids. The changes induced by the soybean aphids have further implications for the plant since they appear to then make it easier for other pests, such as the soybean cyst nematode, to subsequently attack the plant. It is hoped further research in this area can help to identify soybean varieties that are more resistant to aphid and other insect pest attack and to predict how soybeans defences may react to new pests in the future.

An Adult Soybean Aphid © Ho Jung Yoo, Purdue University (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Farmers Battle Armyworms in China

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/726757.shtml

Farmers battle army worms

Global Times | 2012-8-13 23:50:03 By Yin Yeping

Oriental army worms have been causing damage to crop land in rural areas around Beijing after the recent heavy rainstorms. Farmers are attempting to combat the pests. Photo: chinamaize.com.cn.

Over 400 square kilometers of agricultural land in the capital has been decimated by a plague of oriental army worms, Beijing Plant Protection Unit said Monday.

It is likely that the high numbers of the pest, which targets crop land en masse, and then moves on to the next field like an army battalion, have been exacerbated by the recent heavy rainfall the capital has seen, said an agricultural expert.

But some local authorities Monday downplayed the extent of the damage, claiming the destruction wrought by the worms, which despite the name are actually moth caterpillars, has been exaggerated.

Meanwhile, the neighboring  provinces of Hebei and Liaoning and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have all witnessed the same invasion of army worms, the Beijing News reported.

Sun Pinglan, who lives in Xilihe village in Daxing district, has seen the full extent of the damage the army worm can do to crops.  Although the caterpillars were spotted in previous years, this is by far the worst infestation she has seen, said Sun. “Around half of my 9,333 square meters of corn crop has been damaged by the army worms,” she said.

“I might be looking at a loss of 6,000 yuan [$943.2], which is more than half of our total annual revenue,” she said, “this is not enough to even cover the seed costs.”

Wang Zhenying, director of the Agricultural Insect Research Office of the Plant Protection Department of the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that oriental army worms are distributed throughout Asia. Historically, the caterpillars have long been recognized as a lant pest in China, he said. “They are migrants that settle in southwestern China during winter and fly to northern China for summer as a moth,” he said.

“The huge numbers [of them] this year is partially to do with the recent stormy weather, which nourished the grasses on which the moths lay their eggs,” he said.

A media officer, surnamed Yu, from Daxing district government told the Global Times that everything is now under control.

“This army worm damage is just like that from the unexpected rainstorm,” he said.

“But the Beijing government has worked on this and now the situation is no longer severe,” said Yu.

A female employee from Beijing Plant Protection Unit confirmed that the government has taken action to try to halt the crop damage, which has so far affected 67 villages and townships in the capital region.  “We discovered the oriental army worms were spreading early last week, and we quickly reported it to the Ministry of Agriculture,” she said.

“Meanwhile, we have dispatched the necessary items like pesticide to some areas to kill them,” she said.

Yet she also alleged that since the worms have reached maturity,  it is now impossible to stop them.

“It means they are more pesticide resistant and will cause more damage to corn crops,” she noted.

“We were just informed by the officials via loudspeaker several days ago that we need to pay more attention to these army worms and use pesticide to tackle them,” she said.

Apart from Daxing, Tongzhou and Pinggu districts are also affected by oriental army worms, said Wang. “Why do you still care about this when everyone is paying attention to the flood and rains?” he asked the reporter.

Wang said it is necessary to take effective precautions at least two weeks before the caterpillars become mature and so more destructive. “It normally takes about nine days for the baby caterpillar to become mature,” he said.

“Given the intensive planting of corn in the rural areas of Beijing, the work on controlling the pests is going to be difficult now,” Wang noted.

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IAPPS – China Society of Plant Protection (CSPP) Rice Pest Symposium

      

New Management Strategies for Insects and Diseases of Rice

 

Beijing, China, Oct. 25-26, 2012

 

(The Second Announcement)

 

Rice, a staple food for over half of the worlds’ population is a key to food security, social stability and the economy.  Today, in many Asian and African countries, rice production is threatened by the shortage of arable land and water. In addition, insects and diseases are two major threats that cause severe yield losses in epidemic years. In the past two decades the frequent and improper application of chemicals, for insect and disease control, has caused the development of insect and pathogen resistance, affected farmers’ health, damaged the environment and reduced biodiversity. It is thus imperative that we review some of the critical issues concerning the development of more effective, sustainable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable strategies for insect and disease management.  In conjunction with the 2012 annual meeting of the China Society of Plant Protection (CSPP), CSPP and the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) is co-sponsoring the first international joint symposium to discuss the following topics:

• Why are planthoppers such a serious problem in Asia now?
• What ecological engineering approaches can play a role in rice insect management?
• Is the host plant resistance (HPR) approach suitable for the management of rice insect pests?
• Rapid insecticide resistance development – Where do we go from here?
• Plantwise – New framework for integrating pest management.
• What are the best integrated approaches to rice diseases when HPR is not effective?
• What is the impact of abiotic stresses on rice disease development and epidemics?
• How do we achieve durable resistance by using both major and minor resistance genes?
• What is the effect of multilines and crop rotation for rice blast disease control?
• What are the effective control methods for emerging RSV and RBSDV diseases?
• What are the current status and potentials of bio-control approaches for rice diseases?
• What is the role of epidemiology in plant disease forecasting and control?
• What are some truly novel/out-of-the-box strategies for future durable resistance?
• Can we achieve a strategic approach to future plant protection in rice that involves major stakeholders and achieves productive and resilient outcomes?

 

Plenary lectures at the Annual Meeting of CSPP:

Dr. Geoff Norton, University of Queensland, Australia

Dr. Larry Madden, Ohio State University, USA

Dr. Noriharu Ken Umetsu, Otsuka Chemical/Tokyo University of Agriculture&Technology, Japan

Dr. Jianping Chen, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Dr. Le Kang, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

Dr. Youyong Zhu, Yunnan Agricultural University, China

 

Invited Speakers at the First International CSPP/IAPPS Symposium

Dr. Geoff Gurr, Charles Sturt University, Australia

Dr. Finbar Horgan, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines

Dr. Ki Deok Kim, Korea University, South Korea

Dr. Nollie Vera Cruz, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines

Dr. K.L. Heong, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines

Dr. TohruTeraoka, Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology, Japan

Dr. Masaya Matsumura, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan

Dr. Zewen Liu, Nanjing Agricultural University, China

Dr. Feng Zhang, CABI East Asia, Beijing, China

Dr. Yijun Zhou, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China

Dr. Guo-Liang Wang, Ohio State University, USA and CAAS, China.

 

Sponsored by: China Society of Plant Protection and International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences.

 

Organized by: State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests (SKLBPI), Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), China.

Co-organized by: China International Conference Center for Science and Technology (CICCST)

Scientific Program Conveners:

Dr. Guo-Liang Wang, Professor, Ohio State University, USA and CAAS, China.

Dr. K.L. Heong, Coordinator of Region VIII: Southeast Asia of IAPPS and Senior Scientist, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines.

Date and Location: October 25-26, 2012, Jiuhua Resort & Convention Center (http://www.jiuhua.com.cn), Xiaotangshan, Changping District,  Beijing, China.

Postcode: 102211 Telephone: +86 10 6178 2288

Schedule timetable

All Day

Oct. 24, 2012Morning

Oct. 25, 2012Afternoon

Oct. 25, 2012All Day

Oct. 26, 2012RegistrationOpening Ceremony of annual meeting of CSPPPlenary lectures at the annual meeting of CSPPFirst International CSPP /IAPPS Symposium*

*The First International CSPP/IAPPS Symposium on Current Challenges and Future Directions in Insect and Disease Management in Rice Production is one of the 6 Symposia at the CSPP Annual Meeting on Oct. 26.

Language: English

Call For Abstract

The theme of the symposium is to discuss the Current Challenges and Future Directions on New Management Strategies for Rice Insects and Diseases. Authors are invited to submit an abstract representing original work that fall into one of the 14 topics above-mentioned. A limited number of abstracts will be selected for short oral presentations by the organizing committee.

Instruction for Abstract Submission

l   Deadline for abstract submission is on August 31，2012.

l  The abstract should be written in English in Microsoft Word format

l  Submit by email as an attachment, together with a Submission Form, to wenliping99@yahoo.com.cn

l  Confirmation of receipt of abstracts will be sent within three working days

l  An abstract should contain title, author name(s), affiliation(s), body text and keywords, and the email address of the corresponding author.

l  The maximum words for an abstract is 500 words

Registration

 

Registration fee（for International participants）

 

	By 31 July, 2012	By 30 Sept., 2012	After 30 Sept., 2012
Participant	350 USD	400 USD	450 USD
Student/Postdoc	300 USD	350 USD	400 USD
Accompanying Person	320 USD	370 USD	420 USD

Notes:  Student registration must be accompanied by a copy of student ID card or a proof of student status from the educational institution to the Organizing Secretariat, via fax or email.

Registration fee includes:

● Welcome Reception

● Entry to all Meeting Sessions

● Meeting bag and materials

● Breakfasts, lunches and Dinners during Oct. 24-26, 2012

● Abstract edit and publication

● A copy of the Symposium Proceedings

Registration fee does not include pre- and post-congress tours.

 

Hotel Accommodation

 

Pleased pay one day room rate with registration fee for the Hotel Reservation. The remaining room rate could be payed at the hotel front desk by yourself when you arrive at our hotel. You can pay by cash or credit card:

 

Jiuhua Grand Hotel #16	Discount price (USD) /night
Single-Bed Room	75
Double-Bed Room

 

 

Tour Information

 

One-Day Local Tours

(Price includes lunch.)

LT1: The Great Wall & the Ming Tombs

(8:30-17:00, October 24 and 27, 2012, Tour price: RMB￥400.00)

LT2: The Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and Tian’anmen Square

(8:30-17:00, October 25, 2012, Tour price: RMB￥370.00)

LT3: The Summer Palace, the Lama Temple, Bird’s Nest (National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Swimming Center) (for accompanying persons only)

(8:30-17:00, October 26, 2012, Tour price: RMB￥370.00)

 

Post Conference Tours

 

(Accommodation in 4-star hotels and travel by airplanes)

PT1: Beijing – Xi,an – Beijing (3 days, Oct.28 to 30, 2012)

Tour price: Single Occupancy: RMB￥4700.00; Twin Occupancy: RMB￥4200.00

PT2: Beijing – Xi,an – Shanghai  (4 days, Oct.28 to 31, 2012)

Tour price: Single Occupancy: RMB￥5650.00; Twin Occupancy: RMB￥4850.00

Payment and Cancellation

 

Payment

Registration fee and hotel deposit should be paid in USD and by the following methods:

1. Bank Transfer

Account Name: CICCST

Account No.: 778350014159

Bank: Head Office of Bank of China. 1 Fuxingmennei Ave., Beijing 100818, China

*Please make reference to CSPP / IAPPS and name of participant. Bank charges are to be borne by the applicants.

 

2. Credit Cards

Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and JCB are accepted.

* As an authorization, Card number, expiry date, name and signature of the card holder must be sent to CICCST by fax +86 10 62174126 or email yzhen0220@gmail.com. There will be a 3% bank service charge for credit card payment.

3. Payment On-site

Cash and credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and JCB) are acceptable at the congress site.

 

Contact

Mr. Yan Zhen / CICCST

Add: Room 708, No.86 Xueyuan Nanlu, Beijing 100086, China

Tel: +86 10 13661276118 or 62174056

Fax: +86 10 62174126

Email: yzhen0220@gmail.com

4. Notes

After September 1, 2012, payment by bank transfer will not be accepted.

Please keep the remittance invoice or receipt of your bank transfer.

Personal check is not acceptable.

Confirmation

Your registration and hotel reservation will be confirmed within 10 days of receipt of your registration information and payment.

Cancellation and Refund

Cancellation must be made by writing to the CICCST via e-mail before Sept. 30, 2012 to receive a refund. The money will be refunded to you after the Symposium in the same manner that you paid. Below are the refund policies based on the cancellation time.

• Before Aug. 31th, 2012：100% of the registration fee will be refunded.
• Before Sept. 30th, 2012: 50% of the registration fee will be refunded.
• After Sept. 30th, 2012, there will be NO REFUND.

A hotel room cancellation fee equivalent to the full room charge of one night will be imposed for cancellation notices received less than 30 days or for any ‘no shows’ on the day of arrival.

 

Note:

The information below should be reflected in your refund letter if you paid by bank transfer: registration name / registration number / refund reason / amount / receiver’s name / bank account number / bank name / bank address / swift code / ref no. / signature.

 

Electricity

The electric current in China is 220V, 50hz. Most hotels have built-in converters in bathrooms for shavers and hair dryers.

 

Contacts

 

For scientific program:

Dr. Guo-Liang Wang

Tel: 13548594129，

 Email:wang.620@osu.edu

 

For Registration, Hotel accommodation and Tours

Mr. Yan Zhen / CICCST

Add: Room 708, No.86 Xueyuan Nanlu, Beijing 100086, China

Tel: +86 10 13661276118 or 62174056

Fax: +86 10 62174126

Email: yzhen0220@gmail.com

 

For the invitation letter and any additional assistance:

Mrs. Liping Wen,

Vice-Secretary-General, China Society of Plant Protection,

Add: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,

# 2 West yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100193 China

Tel /Fax: 86-10-62811917,

Email: wenliping99@yahoo.com.cn

http://www.ipmchina.net/cspp_2012/en/

The more detail of the Symposium will be shown on the website: http://www.ipmchina.net/cspp_2012/en/

Transfer from the Airport to Hotel

Line 1 : By taxi from Beijing Capital International Airport to Jiuhua Resort & Convention Center. The total cost is around 100 RMB. The time is around 40 minutes

Line 2 : By Airport shuttles Line 8 from Beijing Capital International Airport get off at Tiantongyuan(天通苑) →by Bus 984 (or by taxi) arrived at Jiuhua Resort & Convention Center（九华山庄）

Line 3: By Airport shuttles Line 3 from Beijing Capital International Airport get off at Dongzhimen(东直门) (about 40min) →0y Subway Line 13 get off at Lishuiqiao(立水桥) (about 20min)→by Bus 984(or by taxi) arrived at Jiuhua Resort & Convention Center（九华山庄）

What you should tell a taxi driver: Please drive me to Jiuhua Resort & Convention Center. Thank you! Or print this on a paper and give it to a taxi driver:

请送我到九华山庄（16区）谢谢！

 

 

The First International CSPP / IAPPS Symposium on New Management Strategies for Insects and Diseases of Rice

Beijing, China, Oct. 25-26, 2012

Registration Form

Please submit this form by email or fax before Sept. 30, 2012 to:

Mr. Yan Zhen / CICCST

Add: Room 708, No.86 Xueyuan Nanlu, Beijing 100086, China

Tel: +86 10 13661276118 or 62174056

Fax: +86 10 62174126

Email: yzhen0220@gmail.com

 

Delegates Information

□Prof.  □Dr.  □Mr.   □Ms. Given Name(s)                Surname                   

Date of Birth                                Gender        Nationality                 

Passport No.                                 Expiry Date                              

Organization                                                                         

Phone                    Fax                  Email                                 

Mailing Address                                                                      

Accompanying person: Given Name(s)                       Surname                     

Date of Birth                     Gender         Nationality                           

Passport No.                      Expiry Date                                         

□I do not need visa application form.

□I need the visa application form and visa will be issued in       (City)             (Country)

Registration Fee

	By 31th July, 2012	By 30th Sept., 2012	After 30th Sept., 2012
Participant	350USD	400USD	450USD
Student/Postdoc	300USD	350USD	400USD
Accompanying Person	320USD	370USD	420USD

Hotel Accommodation                          

	Bed Room Style	Price(room/night) (USD)
□	Single Bed Room	75
□	Double Bed Room	75

Check-in Date________________________________________  Check-out Date___________________________________

 

 

First International CSPP / IAPPS Symposium on   

New Management Strategies for Insects and Diseases of Rice

Oct. 25-26, 2012, Beijing, China,

Abstract Submission Form

Deadline for abstract submission is on August 31，2012.

Please fill in this form and send together with your abstract to

Mrs. Liping Wen at wenliping99@yahoo.com.cn

Title of the abstract:____________________________________________ ____________ __________________________________________________________________________

Corresponding Author’s Title (Mr., Ms., Dr., Prof.): ______________________________

Family Name:___________________________First Name:_________________________

Institution:_________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Mailing Address:____________________________________________________________

Postal Code:________________________________________________________________

City:__________________________________ Country:____________________________

Tel:____________________________________ Fax:_______________________________

E-mail:____________________________________________________________________

Please tick your preferred choice of presentation:

□ Oral                       □ Not oral

After review, the Scientific Committee will have the final decision on whether a paper will be assigned for oral presentation.

 

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An integrated pest management program for coffee berry borer in Colombia

Public release date: 14-Mar-2012

Contact: Richard Levine
rlevine@entsoc.org
301-731-4535
Entomological Society of America

A free, open-access article describes efforts to implement an integrated pest

management program for coffee berry borer in the Huila region of Colombia

		IMAGE: This image shows; (A) La Virginia farm (Algeciras- Colombia), (B) Harvesting mature coffee (Cenicafé photo), (C) Monitoring for coffee berry borer, (D) Examining coffee berry borer development in green coffee,…Click here for more information.

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is considered one of the most serious pests in coffee plantations worldwide. Infestations of this small beetle are difficult to combat; most of the insect’s lifecycle is completed inside coffee berries, making insecticide penetration and contact difficult. Female beetles bore holes into developing berries attached to the tree through the blossom scar and create ‘galleries’ where they remain and deposit their eggs. The developing larvae feed on the bean or endosperm of the seed, reducing yields as well as the quality of coffee and its price.

In “Implementing an Integrated Pest Management Program for Coffee Berry Borer in a Specialty Coffee Plantation in Colombia,” a free, open-access article appearing in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management, the authors discuss efforts to implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program for coffee berry borer in the Huila region of Colombia.

Overall, the IPM program was considered successful because problems associated with insect damage on the coffee crop decreased, despite reductions in endosulfan/chlorpyrifos use, which declined from 250 liters in 2002 to 75 liters in 2003, and 0 liters in 2004.

Harvest workers improved their efficiency at removing potential coffee berry borer breeding sites (leaving only 6.5 mature berries per tree in 2004, down from 22.2 in 2002), and the quality of parchment coffee beans increased, whereas the proportion of the harvest sold as high quality ‘specialty’ coffee increased from 50% to 86% over the same period.

This case study provides evidence that coffee berry borer potentially can be controlled using an integrated approach with minimal input of broad-spectrum insecticides. However, establishing and maintaining an effective IPM program for coffee berry borer is not a straightforward task. Some general recommendations arising from this case study include the need to convince the owners and managers of the coffee farm of the benefits of an IPM program, given the investment needed.

###

The full article is availabe for free at http://bit.ly/A4myGH.

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ENVIRONMENT: Climate-Driven Pest Devours Canada’s Forests

ipsnews.net/…/environment-climate-driven-pest-devours-cana…

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

By IPS Correspondents

Am Johal* – IPS/IFEJ

Mountain pine beetles killed these lodgepole pine trees in Prince George, BC. Credit: RadRafe

In some areas of the BC interior, almost 80 percent of the lodgepole pines will have been devastated by the beetles within 10 years, resulting in widespread economic consequences, according to resource experts.

“The pine beetle infestation is the first major climate change crisis in Canada,” Doug McArthur, a professor of public policy at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, told IPS.

“The pine beetle has survived the warmer winters due to global warming. The result is the rapid cut of forests to salvage the wood, which could, within seven or eight years, result in some communities being without a forestry industry which has sustained many regions for decades. The potential economic impact of this climate change issue is massive,” he said.

A temperature of -40 degrees Celsius for a few days is needed in the winters to kill off the beetle adequately.

Ben Parfitt, a resource policy analyst with the BC chapter of the non-profit Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told IPS, “To contextualise the magnitude of the devastation, it is probably the biggest landscape-level change since the ice age.”

“There are forestry disease issues across the continent right now,” he said. “The pine beetle has hit lodgepole pine, but it could spread across the continent to boreal forests as well. This could very well be only the beginning of the implications of climate change for forests in North America and other parts of the world.”

The beetles kill the trees by boring through the bark into the phloem layer on which they feed and in which eggs are laid. Canada’s boreal forests account for nearly one-third of the world’s total forest area.

Parfitt added, “This could hit 25 percent of the trees in BC, and in interior areas like Quesnel, 80 percent of the trees could be unsalvageable within five to 10 years.”

Proponents of logging in the beetle-infested areas say it reduces the risk of forest fires by removing dead wood, and allowing surviving stands to recover and regrow faster. But Parfitt and others believe it has contributed to the current situation by leaving older trees susceptible to the insect.

“There have also been disease manifestations in Alaskan spruce and other insect outbreaks in other areas of North America where climate change has been a contributing factor,” said Parfitt.

Eric Doherty, a board member of the Vancouver-based Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, told IPS, “Without a doubt, the consumption levels of first world urban centres and transportation policies which contribute to the ecological footprint are a contributing factor in climate change and symptoms of it, such as the pine beetle crisis.”

“We have to deal with the root cause of the problem, which is to reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions. Climate change is underway and we have to adapt to the changes. On the ground, in the forest, it is difficult to deal with this in the short term,” he said. “It has to be a comprehensive and long-term approach by governments.”

Rob Duncan, a spokesperson with the Sierra Club of Canada, agreed that the core issue is climate change.

“When the government found out about the infestation, they developed a management strategy which was about salvaging as much wood as possible by logging it as much as possible for commercial purposes,” he said. “The warmer weather in the winters allowed the beetle to proliferate to a size over 9 million hectares.”

“It was a gold rush mentality which resulted in cutting down what were essentially community futures without thinking about long-term timber supply and basic issues of sustainability and long-term viability,” he told IPS. “It was a short-sighted approach.”

Duncan added, “We need a mind shift to adequately deal with the problem. It is a symptom of climate change which can only be dealt with by radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There has been a six percent CO2 increase [in Canada] as a result of the policies to cut the trees down faster. Trees are carbon neutral, but when you cut them down the release is instantaneous.”

Aboriginal communities have also been impacted. The annual cut in BC’s interior has increased by a third, to about 12.73 million logs, according to BC journalist Terry Glavin. This increase, plus the growing beetle infestation, has changed wildlife migration patterns, which has affected traditional hunting.

Over the next five to 10 years, an estimated 250,000 people, both indigenous and non-indigenous, could be directly and indirectly affected if the situation does not change.

Canada’s Globe and Mail paper reported that the federal government is redirecting 74.8 million dollars from its mountain pine beetle fund to help communities in the BC interior diversify their economies and support major transportation infrastructure. The federal government has promised to spend 936 million dollars over a decade to mitigate the impacts of the beetle epidemic, but interior communities have said that the funding has come too late to deal with the problem, which first emerged in the mid-1990s.

In late March, the federal government announced that it would make 23 million dollars available immediately to British Columbia to fight the spread of the pine beetle along the BC-Alberta border.

The combination of global warming and the increased supply of older trees due to improved forest fire prevention methods has increased the potential territory which the beetle could impact.

On Apr. 12, the government of Alberta declared a state of emergency over the mountain pine beetle when the infestation increased from 19,000 trees last year to 3 million this year. The invasion has stretched south to the Kananaskis Country region and the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

Many First Nations peoples in British Columbia traditionally used the wood from lodgepole pine for a variety of purposes, including poles for lodges, homes or buildings. In the spring, they stripped off long ribbons or “noodles” of the inner bark and it was eaten fresh, sometimes with sugar, or stored.

Parts of it were used as a base for many different medicines. It was boiled, mixed with animal fat, and used as a poultice for rheumatic pain and all kinds of aches and soreness in muscles and joints.

Lodgepole pine is now harvested for lumber, plywood, and paneling. It is used to make doors, windows and furniture, as well as railway ties, mine props and fence posts.

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Rwanda’s ‘Specialty Coffee’ Under Attack by Stink Bugs

A picture taken on October 26, 2011 shows a coffee plant at the farm of Rwanda’s Luis Ntiricakeza in Sakara Village, Eastern Rwanda.

Rwanda’s ‘Specialty Coffee’ Under Attack by Stink Bugs, Cathy Majtenyi, VOA News, January 27
Specialty coffee comprises almost one-third of Rwanda’s agricultural exports. But a sizable portion of the crop is being compromised by a defect called “potato taste.” There is growing evidence that potato taste may be in part caused by the antestia, or “stink bug.”
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/economy-and-business/Rwandas-Specialty-Coffee-Under-Attack-by-Stink-Bugs-138199789.html

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CABI Blogs

Want to hear what CABI’s experts have to say about important issues in the fields of agriculture and environment? Want to join the debate? Our CABI blogs keep you informed about trends and topics in these important fields.

We have three active blogs at present: the Plantwise blog, the CABI invasives blog, and the Handpicked blog each of which is managed by a team of CABI experts from around the world, giving an international perspective on issues of global importance, such as food security and biodiversity protection. There is also The Biofuels Information Exchange which provides a space to discuss this important, topical subject.

The Plantwise blogPlant health is vital for food security. Join the discussions and help farmers around the globe lose less and feed more.Go to the Plantwise blog >>
The CABI invasives blogThe CABI invasives blog is an opportunity for scientists to highlight their research and debate topical issues in the field of invasive species.Go to the CABI invasives blog >>
Hand picked… and carefully sortedHand picked… and carefully sorted is the the place where the content specialists who put together CAB Abstracts and Global Health, (and many other research tools from CABI) highlight some of the vast amount of research information that goes into the products that we make.Go to the Handpicked blog

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Kudzu bugs threaten soybean crops

Kudzu — the “plant that ate the South” — has finally met a pest that’s just as voracious. Trouble is, the so-called “kudzu bug” is also fond of another East Asian transplant that we happen to like, and that is big money for American farmers: soybeans. (AP)

http://news.yahoo.com/;_ylt=An1ZmSzfkywUupq2kpK7NO.s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTBucTM3cTFmBHNlYwNVSCBCcmFuZCBJZGVudGlmaWVy;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0Njh         tBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

Kudzu bug (shown to the right in a photo by Phillip Roberts, University of Georgia) has recently been confirmed on kudzu from several North Carolina counties where it was not previously found. In addition, it has been reported on a legume from the North Carolina Arboretum, although this has not been confirmed. Soybean is the main agronomic host for this insect, but it will feed on many other legumes.  This insect (aka bean plataspid, Megacopta cribraria Fabricus) was found on flowering volunteer soybean plants on June 10 in Union County by a Wingate University researcher, Erika Scocco, collecting kudzu bug for a molecular study. This is the first confirmed sighting of this insect on soybean in our state.

 In North Carolina, the pattern of spread is mirroring that of South Carolina in 2010. This insect feeds on the stems and leaves, and may come into our soybean fields earlier, rather than later, during the season.

 So far, kudzu bug has been relatively easy to kill with insecticides (except with neonicotinoids), but will often reinvade. A preliminary economic threshold, based on Georgia data, is one bug per sweep with large nymphs present, or three bugs per plant with large nymphs present.

 

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2011 IUFRO Forest Protection Joint Meeting, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Dear Colleagues and friends,

A gentle reminder that the deadline for submissions of abstracts for the IUFRO Forest Entomology – Forest Pathology Joint Meeting to be held in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, on 8th – 11th November, 2011, is quickly approaching and is due to 8^th July.  Deadline for the early registration is also next 8^th July.

Please visit our webpage http://www.iufrouruguay2011.org/  for registration, abstract submission and all information about this important Meeting taking place in South America for the first time.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, would you need more information (guillermoiufro2011@gmail.com) and looking forward to see you all in November in Colonia del Sacramento,

Guillermo Pérez
 Executive coordinator

http://www.iufrouruguay2011.org

guillermoiufro2011@gmail.com

gperez@inia.org.uy

(00598) 95084223

 

 

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