Scientists use wasps to protect local citrus crops from disease

They look like grains of black sand inside a prescription vial. But each speck is a wasp that is lethal to the offspring of the Asian citrus psyllid, an aphid-size bug that spreads the bacteria that cause Huanglongbing, or ...

The natural way to keep fruit fresh and stop the rot

Nearly a third of all the food produced in the world is lost or wasted, according to the UN's World Resources Institute. If we convert this mass into calories, it constitutes nearly a quarter of all food produced, which could ...

EU bans three pesticides harmful to bees

The European Commission said Friday that it will ban for two years beginning in December pesticides blamed for killing the bees that pollinate food and fruit crops.

Why insect 'tourists' are good for some plants

(Phys.org)—Just as human tourists can be good for the economy, "insect tourists" can be good for a plant. When the hairs of a "sticky plant" trap small insects or "insect tourists," the plant can benefit in ways most people ...

Presence of invasive insect in Senegal confirmed

(Phys.org)—A Virginia Tech-managed research program, the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program, has confirmed the presence of Tuta absoluta in Senegal, the first confirmation of the insect's ...

Identifying poverty levels requires accurate measurements

When food prices spiked in 2008, the number of households that moved into poverty was overestimated by about 60 percent, according to a recent University of Illinois study. In middle-income countries such as Mexico that have ...

Keeping soft fruit 'fur-free' for longer

A new way of improving the shelf life of soft fruit like strawberries and raspberries is being pioneered by researchers at the University of Nottingham.Millions of tons of soft fruit go to waste each year through mold developing ...

Black or blue? Mulch color affects okra growth, yield

Plastic mulches have been used in vegetable production in the United States since the 1950s. Black plastic (polyethylene) mulch, which alters the plant's growing environment by generating warmer soil temperatures and holding ...

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