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International Pest Control – May/June 2025 – Vol 67, Nr.3
2025-06-23 09:57 UTC

Cover image: Alcohol makes male fruit flies of the species Drosophila melanogaster more sexy by stimulating the production of sex pheromones. As a result, male flies are more successful at mating after consuming certain amounts of alcohol.
Picture by Anna Schrol

Starting to sound like a scratched record – a metaphor that only works for some – late again, but better late…

Once again climate change has threaded its way through this issue. Even if you are in denial about it being caused by human activities you can’t ignore the real-world impacts. IFAD are investing US$9.2m in a project in Libya to help smallholders make water supplies last longer: high temperatures, reduced rainfall and salt-water intrusion are all impacting on the country’s ability to grow crops.

Sterile Insect Techniques (SIT) have long played a role in the control of insect pests, at an IAEA organised conference in Agadir delegates from 16 African countries got together to discuss the use of SIT in the protection of fruit and vegetable crops including citrus. It’s not often you can spot a benefit from “Brexit” but the UK Parliament has used its freedom from the EU to implement the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act for plants in England which puts England in line with most countries outside the EU.

Our Pest of the Issue is the Field Mouse: these delightful little creatures with a love for cereals only become a pest when they enter our stores in search of easy food. The Association news jumps from Lagos to Dubai, Lund and Orlando. The UK NPTA has a new Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Lawrenson.

The usual suspects appear in company news with updates from Catchmaster, Koppert, Russell IPM, Bayer, Syngenta, Biobest, Pelsis, Certis Belchim and others. New appointments, mergers and new offices all feature.

Our special feature is on the control of vectors of disease, and we look at arboviruses in Latin America, a new pesticide for malaria control in Africa, the global threat of Lyme disease, re-imagining vector control, challenges to vector control and how male mosquitoes find females.

In agriculture we consider a practical use for fly poo, and look at unveiling the genetic secrets of rice, innovation in the fight against FWA and the first new plant tissue to be discovered in 100 years.

Horticulture is the area where AI and technology can be expected to make the quickest progress. Computer vision systems are being developed to monitor greenhouse crops, the French authorities are concerned about tomato fruit blotch virus, and WSSA are exercised by the impact of spray volume on herbicide application – surely something we worked out 30 years ago? Drones are now being deployed indoors against mites – what happens in the greenhouse may soon be commonplace in the field.

Kiwi production can be helped by bumblebees, while it’s important to control both deer population and invasive shrubs if a healthy forest is to be regenerated. The UK’s National Trust is busy trying to regenerate habit near Liverpool by improving nature-rich habitats such as wetlands and species-rich grasslands, which in turn will encourage biodiversity. The chinaberry tree is being promoted as a fire-resistant replacement in areas that are more susceptible to forest fires (which feels like the whole world). We look at ways of improving the control of the large pine weevil in the UK – this is a pest which can severely damage young saplings if not properly controlled from an early stage.

In our section on climate change we consider its impact on the world’s crops, look at how it might bring new diseases to greenhouses and how African cocoa production is now under pressure from changes in temperature and rainfall.

Animal Health rarely appears as we get few notifications of interesting research but in this issue we cover work that shows how livestock can foster harmful pests, and the US has approved gene edited pigs, developed at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, which are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS).

Next issue we focus on Pest Control in the Food and Hospitality Industry so if this is a topic in which you have expertise, we’d welcome your contribution

Chris Endacott, Editor International Pest Control magazine
editor@international-pest-control.com

Contents International Pest Control May/June 2025
Volume 67, Number 3.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • Project to help farmers combat water scarcity
  • Suppressing fruit flies in Africa
  • The future of plant science in England is bright
  • And finally… Alcohol makes male flies sexy

PEST OF THE ISSUE

  • Rodents: Field mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus)

ASSOCIATION & SOCIETY NEWS

  • Global Pest Management Conference
  • Records broken at PestWorld East 2025
  • ICUP 2025 – Only days to go. Register now!
  • UK NPTA COO retirement
  • Book your place now at PestWorld 2025

COMPANY NEWS

  • Syngenta forges strategic collaboration with Al Dahra
  • Catchmaster appoints new International Sales Director
  • Koppert Cress plans DAC technology in greenhouses
  • Russell IPM open new offices at East Malling Trust campus
  • Guru Ramamurthy is new CFO for Bayer’s Crop Science Division
  • Alliance to develop next-generation pest management solutions
  • Biobest appoints new General Manager for NL
  • New range of sustainable LED fly control solutions
  • Certis Belchim & Redestos strengthen partnership
  • Leadership shift at Koppert

SPECIAL FEATURE: Control of Vectors of Disease

  • Arbovirus transmission in Latin America and Brazil
  • A new weapon against malaria
  • The global threat of Lyme disease
  • Re-imagining vector control: Modern perspective on forgotten giants – a review
  • Challenges in vector control in hot climates
  • How male mosquitoes target females – and avoid traps

AGRICULTURE

  • Fly poo boosts Malawi crop yields
  • Genetic secrets of rice pave way for future farming
  • Innovative solution launched against fall armyworm
  • First new plant tissue discovered in 160 years

HORTICULTURE & AMENITY

  • New computer vision system can guide crop monitoring
  • French FSA warns of ‘new’ ToRFV tomato virus
  • Spray volume effects on herbicide application
  • Combatting spider mites incrementally with drones

FORESTRY & PLANTATION

  • Optimising kiwi production with bumblebees
  • Healthy forests require combined control
  • Transforming land into thriving woodlands
  • Fire-tolerant chinaberry tree endorsed for forest planting
  • Protecting Europe’s forests against climate change
  • The art of application to target weevil feeding activity

CLIMATE CHANGE

  • How climate change could affect half of global crops
  • Climate change brings new diseases to greenhouses
  • African cocoa production under pressure

ANIMAL HEALTH

  • Switching wildlife for livestock fosters harmful pests
  • US approves gene-edited pigs

OBITUARY

  • János Daru

CALENDAR

  • Upcoming pest control events

Published in International Pest Control – May/June 2025 issue.

The post International Pest Control – May/June 2025 – Vol 67, Nr.3 first appeared on International Pest Control Magazine.


 

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