Featured Past Articles
What is insecticide resistance modelling and who uses it? One of the most common questions asked of insecticide resistance researchers is “How long will it take for insecticide resistance to occur?”
One way to answer this questions is to look at past events and identify trends that may repeat. This can be informative, but limited to general trends. For example in the crop protection market, it is often predicted that a pest insect that feeds on diverse hosts and is treated with multiple insecticides is much more likely to develop resistance than an insect pest found on a single host plant and has limited exposure to insecticides. These kinds of basic predictions or trends are regularly used by researchers and insecticide manufacturers to prioritise their resistance management activities, focusing on where the risks of resistance development are highest or have most economic or social impact. Predicting resistance development with more accuracy and reliability beyond these trends becomes considerably more difficult.
The National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) in collaboration with IDH project, flagged off the first reefer container shipment of avocados by sea. IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, is an organisation (Foundation) that works with businesses, financiers, governments and civil society to realise sustainable trade in global value chains and facilitates private sector access to international markets. The shipment alternative, diverting from airfreight to sea freight seeks a long-term business partnership with international buyers.
Read more: IDH Facilitates Rwanda to Export Avocado by Sea Freight
Across the floriculture industry, retailers are facing a quality challenge, with exciting opportunities in its wake. With the flower market growing rapidly, flower sellers will flourish with stable supply chains and dependable quality levels; however, today’s retailers, from independent family stores to national supermarket chains, too often receive flowers of inconsistent quality: regularly, batches are unacceptable, with a short vase life, damaged stems, and flowers that are not worth selling due to poor quality on arrival. This leads to unhappy customers and loss of reputation and revenues. Alongside broader industry concerns, like reduced air freight capacity, this problem can significantly limit growth. So where’s the opportunity? It’s right here, and it centers on implementing data-driven quality standards throughout the flower supply chain.
Read more: How Data Can Help Flower Retailers Meet The Quality Challenge
The baptism of Rosa Loves Me Paula’s Champagne Delight
"A productive, healthy, fragrant rose with the right length and a vase life of more than two weeks.” The rose in question is Rosa Loves Me Paula’s Champagne Delight’ of Viking Roses, a new rose that has been baptized at the IFTF in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, earlier this month. The rose is named after Paula Koross, General Manager at Molo River Roses in Kenya.
Double-digit inflation and skyrocketing energy prices and rations are threatening Europe’s production of flowers, including chrysanthemums, which are grown in greenhouses with heat and lights.
With double-digit inflation and crippling energy costs and rations throughout Europe due to the conflict in Ukraine, flower producers are switching crops, reducing production or shutting down, putting into question the future availability of crops grown there using heat and lights.
Read more: Europe’s Energy Crisis Threatens Flower Production
Nitrogen is essential to support the development of healthy crops. On average, plant tissues exposed above ground contain around 3-4% nitrogen, which is a significantly higher concentration than levels of other nutrients.
Carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen are present in higher concentrations; however, these elements do not usually influence soil fertility management programs. The reason that nitrogen is so important to crop growth is that it helps form chlorophyll, the substance that supports the process of photosynthesis. Also, it helps form essential amino acids that have many important roles in the growth of plants, such as providing the structural units or acting as enzymes. In addition, nitrogen is also a vital component of ATP which allows cells to conserve energy, as well as a vital component of nucleic acids such as DNA. Therefore, nitrogen content in soil is fundamentally important for ensuring the growth of healthy crops. However, not all crops need the same amount, and providing enough nitrogen is also just as important as ensuring nitrogen concentrations in soil are not superfluous.
One in five growers say they’re thinking of just leaving their greenhouse completely empty this winter, according to a survey conducted by the Dutch sector organisations Glastuinbouw Nederland and Plantum. Skipping a crop or starting later obviously has serious financial consequences. What many growers don’t realise, however, is that ‘just’ switching off their systems can also have consequences. Next time the pumps, pipes and drippers are put to work, there’s a risk that they could malfunction. A few tips can help to prevent an extra financial damper due to unexpected repair costs.
