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Journal article
Insect pollination is important in a smallholder bean farming system
Background Many crops are dependent on pollination by insects. Habitat management in agricultural landscapes can support pollinator services and even augment crop production. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in many low-income countries, particularly so in East Africa. While this...Elisante, Filemon ; Ndakidemi, Patrick ; Arnold, Sarah E. J. ; Belmain, Steven R. ; Gurr, Geoff M. …
Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Science, Agricultural Science, Research article, and Entomology
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Journal article
The state of the world’s urban ecosystems: What can we learn from trees, fungi, and bees?
Social Impact Statement Positive interactions between people and nature inspire behaviours that are in harmony with biodiversity conservation and also afford physical and mental health benefits. Since most people live in towns and cities, urban greenspaces are key points of influence for conservation, but also provide diverse ecosystem services. City... -
Journal article
Information arms race explains plant-herbivore chemical communication in ecological communities
Plants emit an extraordinary diversity of chemicals that provide information about their identity and mediate their interactions with insects. However, most studies of this have focused on a few model species in controlled environments, limiting our capacity to understand plant-insect chemical communication in ecological communities. Here, by integrating information theory...Zu, Pengjuan ; Boege, Karina ; del-Val, Ek ; Schuman, Meredith C. ; Stevenson, Philip C. …
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Journal article
Scope for non-crop plants to promote conservation biological control of crop pests and serve as sources of botanical insecticides
Besides providing food and shelter to natural enemies of crop pests, plants used in conservation biological control interventions potentially provide additional ecosystem services including providing botanical insecticides. Here we concurrently tested the strength of these two services from six non-crop plants in managing cabbage pests in Ghana over three successive...Amoabeng, B. W. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Mochiah, B. M. ; Asare, K. P. ; Gurr, G. M.
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Journal article
Age-related pharmacodynamics in a bumblebee–microsporidian system mirror similar patterns in vertebrates
Immune systems provide a key defence against diseases. However, they are not a panacea and so both vertebrates and invertebrates co-opt naturally occurring bioactive compounds to treat themselves against parasites and pathogens. In vertebrates, this co-option is complex, with pharmacodynamics leading to differential effects of treatment at different life stages,...Folly, Arran J. ; Stevenson, Philip C. ; Brown, Mark J. F.
Bombus terrestris, pollinator health, medication, Trifolium pratense, phytochemicals, and Nosema bombi
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Journal article
Opportunities and Scope for Botanical Extracts and Products for the Management of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) for Smallholders in Africa.
Fall Armyworm (FAW) (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a polyphagous and highly destructive pest of many crops. It was recently introduced into Africa and now represents a serious threat to food security, particularly because of yield losses in maize, which is the staple food for the majority of small-scale farmers in Africa....Rioba, Naomi B. ; Stevenson, Philip C.
Biopesticides, Botanicals, Fall Armyworm, Prospects, Zea mays, Corn, Pests, Africa, Spodoptera frugiperda, and Insects
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Journal article
Additive Effect of Botanical Insecticide and Entomopathogenic Fungi on Pest Mortality and the Behavioral Response of Its Natural Enemy
Sustainable agricultural intensification employs alternatives to synthetic insecticides for pest management, but these are not always a direct replacement. Botanical insecticides, for example, have rapid knockdown but are highly labile and while biological pesticides are more persistent, they are slow acting. To mitigate these shortcomings, we combined the entomopathogenic fungus... -
Journal article
Extracts of Common Pesticidal Plants Increase Plant Growth and Yield in Common Bean Plants
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important food and cash crop in many countries. Bean crop yields in sub-Saharan Africa are on average 50% lower than the global average, which is largely due to severe problems with pests and diseases as well as poor soil fertility exacerbated by low-input smallholder...Mkindi, Angela G. ; Tembo, Yolice L.B. ; Mbega, Ernest R. ; Kendal-Smith, Amy ; Farrell, Iain W. …
tryptophan, phenylalanine, rutin, botanicals, induced systemic response, and foliar fertiliser
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Journal article
Knowledge gaps among smallholder farmers hinder adoption of conservation biological control
Conservation biological control uses habitat management to enhance the survival and impact of arthropod natural enemies for pest control. Its advantages are that it relies on native or established invertebrate populations that are adapted to local agricultural ecosystems and conditions. We surveyed 300 farmers in three agro-ecological zones of Kilimanjaro...