CABI collaborates with ASEAN Action Plan on Fall Armyworm Control and co-hosts webinar series
The ASEAN Action Plan on Fall Armyworm Control and CABI are working towards effective approaches to biocontrol of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in Southeast Asia with an informative three-part webinar series. The webinars, the first of which took place on 10 September, explore classical, biopesticide, augmentative and conservation-based biocontrol approaches to managing fall armyworm, a pest that feeds on more than 350 plant species and can cause major damage, particularly to maize crops.
Evaluating the mycoherbicide potential of a leaf-spot pathogen against Japanese knotweed
Japanese knotweed is a highly invasive weed that impacts severely on native biodiversity and local infrastructure in its introduced range. Whilst chemicals are currently used to control the weed, this approach is costly and unsustainable. Biological control is an alternative method. The damaging leaf-spot fungus, Mycosphaerella polygoni-cuspidati, which attacks the plant in its native range was found not to be suitable as a classical biocontrol agent. However, the pathogen is considered to hold potential as a mycoherbicide. The aim of this project is to undertake proof-of-concept research into a potential mycoherbicide, in collaboration with the private industry.