COVER IMAGE: Polar bears face a loss of the sea ice on which they depend to hunt seals and build up their reserves against the extreme cold of the artic winter. Picture by Frances McKim We seem to lurch from one food crisis to another and we report on the plea from Alvaro Lario, President of the UN’s IFAD for real investment in the worlds’ small scale farmers who produce one third of the world’s food with just 2% of global finance. Twitter is being used to track pests, but not from their tweets! While in the UK super-rats are on the move. The CABI portal has reached – and probably exceeded b ..read more

Harry A Edwards Abstract: With population numbers increasing and climate change on the horizon, our soil resources are becoming ever more valuable. It is critical more people understand this finite resource and our impact on it as global agriculture inevitably becomes more intensified and productive. The following poster aims to introduce how a loss of organic matter can affect soil’s physical, chemical and biological components – all of which are vital for developing sustainable farming systems. _________________________________________________________________ Download poster The post Effect ..read more

A company tour, technical discussions and the presentation of a prototype: IGEBA from Germany celebrated its strong values at its 40th company anniversary that went to the heart of all those attending – and will certainly stay in people’s minds for a while. There were goose bumps in the ballroom in front of the mountain range of the Alps when Frederick Heng stood up at the anniversary celebration and came to the front. It is clear to everyone; IGEBA has a special and enduring relationship with its customers, because Frederick Heng is customer No. 1 and still enjoys doing business with the comp ..read more

The death of Our Queen – or The Queen as President Macron so eloquently put it – is one of those rare events that you remember by where you were when you heard the news. Its finality provides a moment to reflect – on the nature of integrity, honesty, service, sacrifice, competence, and leadership. Like many others, IPC recognises Queen Elizabeth II’s lifetime of duty to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She was born to rule an empire, but during her 70-year reign, former colonies asserted their independence while global inequities persisted.   Her death bookends a mighty span ..read more

Bag hidden under table. Photo: Earth Care Products Pest Control Professionals (PCPs) are often confronted with horrible odours from dead rodents. The death could have been natural, from the use of a rodenticide, or from a trap that struck the rodent, did not capture it, but was fatal. If the technician is lucky, they can find and remove the dead carcass. If the carcass is found and removed then the area should be treated to avoid lingering foul odours from the body fluids of the dead carcass. Dead rodents can end up in the attic, wall void, insulation, crawl space or some inaccessible place ..read more

COVER IMAGE: Re-introduction of the lynx (Lynx lynx) to the UK could control sika deer (Cervus nippon) Picture by Glen Hooper With no sign of the war in Ukraine coming to an end any time soon and with every chance this could prove to be a long drawn-out war the issue of grain shortages combined with high fuel and fertiliser costs means that any research that suggests we could maintain yields with reduced inputs has to be worth reading about. For that reason our lead news story comes from Rothamsted Research where work on the impact of fertiliser on yield has been a feature of its research s ..read more

WANTED: LARGE WHITE BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS Help needed for research into biological control of pests https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/wanted-large-white-butterfly-caterpillars WANTED: ARE YOU BLIGHTED BY WIREWORM? Study into new control methods looking for people with a pest problem https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/wanted-are-you-blighted-wireworm The post Rothamsted Research appeared first on International Pest Control Magazine ..read more

The  European regulatory landscape for the control of chemicals has changed beyond recognition over the last two decades. Murray Smedley, Managing Director of Barkwith Associates takes a look back and considers what the future might bring as his Company celebrates 20 years of providing regulatory support. Having held a variety of technical roles working closely with testing houses on a number of registration projects, Murray appreciated the importance of providing clear and concise advice in supporting commercial decisions. With increasing complexity and harmonisation of EU processes, he ..read more

COVER IMAGE: A new state-of-the-art greenhouse for breeding vegetable seed varieties, the advanced indoor growing technologies will save water, energy and other agricultural inputs. Picture by BASF The  Governor of the Bank of England is concerned about the level of food price inflation that has been a consequence of the war in the Ukraine. And while food price rises in Europe and the USA may be “apocalyptic” the area of greatest concern is surely the cost of staple foods in the less developed world where consumers faced with a “cost of living” crisis find the term is literal and they s ..read more

COVER IMAGE: A new state-of-the-art greenhouse for breeding vegetable seed varieties, the advanced indoor growing technologies will save water, energy and other agricultural inputs. Picture by BASF The  Governor of the Bank of England is concerned about the level of food price inflation that has been a consequence of the war in the Ukraine. And while food price rises in Europe and the USA may be “apocalyptic” the area of greatest concern is surely the cost of staple foods in the less developed world where consumers faced with a “cost of living” crisis find the term is literal and they s ..read more