CABI Annual Report Switzerland 2014 www.cabi.org KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE CABI improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment CABI improves people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. © CAB International 2015. CAB International trading as CABI and recognized in the UK as an International Organization as defined by the UK International Organizations Act 1968 and formalized by Statutory Instrument 1982 No. 1071. CABI Head Office, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 8DE, United Kingdom. This annual report was prepared by the staff of CABI’s centre in Switzerland and covers activities in 2014. Images are attributed to the photographers as far as is known and are by CABI staff unless specified. Front cover photo – Transplanting rice in Phattana village, Lao PDR (photo: D. Babendreier). Inside front cover photo – Stefan Toepfer checking banana plants at the request of a commercial small holder farmer (photo: M. Matimelo, Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, Zambia). Citation details: CABI (2015) CABI Switzerland Annual Report, 2014. CABI, Delémont, Switzerland. For copies of this report, please contact CABI ([email protected]), or visit the CABI website www.cabi.org www.cabi.org KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE contents preface 2 assessing the risk and impact of invasive alien species for Europe 38 insects as a source of protein: PROteINSECT 39 introduction 3 Insects as Feed in West Africa: IFWA 40 in memory of Dieter Schroeder 4 ecosystems management 42 highlights 6 introduction 42 CABI joins prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative biological control of broad-leaved dock, Rumex obtusifolius 43 Training Network 6 working towards sustainable management of Ambrosia artemisiifolia CABI Switzerland increases its involvement in research on in Europe 44 insects as feed 6 improving the establishment of ecological compensation areas in Plantwise, the International Plant Protection Convention and the the Swiss Jura mountains 45 FAO work together to lead successful workshops for coordinated plant protection in Africa 7 weed biological control 46 Plantwise progress and renewed support at Donor Forum 2014 8 introduction 46 groundwork laid for the first inaugural class of the Masters of biological control of toadflaxes, Linaria genistifolia and L. vulgaris 48 Advanced Studies for Integrated Crop Management 9 is there still hope for biological control of houndstongue, collaboration with the University of Neuchâtel 10 Cynoglossum officinale, in the USA? 49 monitoring and evaluation training for ICM team in Delémont 10 biological control of hawkweeds, Pilosella spp., for North America 50 training course on experimental design and statistics 11 controlling noxious Russian knapweed, Acroptilon repens, the ICM team expands 12 in the USA and Canada 51 Stefan Toepfer seconded from CABI in Switzerland to MoA-CABI biological control of the environmental weed garlic mustard, Joint Laboratory in Beijing 12 Alliaria petiolata 52 new steering committee members of the MoA-CABI Joint Laboratory 13 biological control of whitetops, Lepidium draba and L. appelianum, for the USA 53 17 entomopathogenic nematode mass production facilities established in DPR Korea 14 foreign exploration consortium for biological control of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, in the USA 54 Malaysia and Vietnam National Plant Protection Organisations exchange knowledge and experiences with Ministry of Agriculture giving dyer’s woad, Isatis tinctoria, the blues 55 Department of Plant Protection, DPR Korea 15 protecting the USA’s wetland areas from common reed, two new weed biocontrol agents released in Canada 16 Phragmites australis 56 the XIV International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds 16 searching for specific pathogens to control Canada thistle, the “Bible” of weed biocontrol revised 17 Cirsium arvense, in the USA 57 successful IWGO conference in Chicago 18 tackling common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, in North America 58 CABI Board meeting 19 biological control of swallow-worts, Vincetoxicum spp. 59 CABI hosts the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety 20 stemming the spread of Russian olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia 60 renovation of the facades 20 prospects for the biological control of oxeye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare 61 student highlights 21 revisiting biological control of field bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis 62 Alicia Leroux defends her Master’s thesis at the University of Manitoba 21 what are the prospects for biological CABI summer student wins ESC award 21 control of tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum, in New Zealand? 63 Pierre Girod, new PhD student working on Drosophila suzukii 21 evaluating the risk of biocontrol introductions for Japanese knotweed, Gabriela Maciel Vergara obtained her MSc for her work in Ghana 21 Fallopia japonica, in Switzerland 64 prospects for biological control of Butomus umbellatus 65 arthropod biological control 22 introduction 22 integrated crop management 66 biological control of the cabbage seedpod weevil, introduction 66 Ceutorhynchus obstrictus 24 steering CABI’s flagship programme: Plantwise 68 biological control of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella 25 improved food security for smallholder rice farmers in the biological control of the brown marmorated stinkbug, Greater Mekong Subregion 70 Halyomorpha halys 26 strengthening maize producing farming communities in the impact of climate on Lygus parasitoids 27 Greater Mekong Subregion 71 biological control of red clover casebearer 28 enhancing capacity for crop protection through partnership biological control of plant bugs in Chinese cotton 29 with MoA DPR Korea 72 finding the optimal dose for beneficial nematodes to control increasing food production in DPR Korea by sustainably reducing Diabrotica soil pests in European maize production 30 the impact of soil-borne insect pests 73 improving data quality of Diabrotica trials for early stage transfer of beneficial nematode technology for biological control product testing 31 of soil pests from China to Rwanda 74 implementing a global tobacco IPM programme 75 risk analysis & invasion ecology 32 official close of the IPM programme in oriental tobacco in Turkey 76 introduction 32 sustainable forest management for fuelwood production in Brazil 77 increasing sustainability of European forests: ISEFOR 33 rational pesticide use training in Colombia 78 pathway evaluation and pest risk management in transport: PERMIT 34 ecological impact of the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, publications 79 in Switzerland 35 investigating the invasion and management of Drosophila suzukii: staff 85 DROPSA 36 what does CABI do? 88 the box tree moth, Cydalima perspectalis, in natural stands in the Swiss Jura 37 acronyms 90 1 preface Firstly, I would like to express my thanks to the team at CABI in Switzerland for inviting me to contribute to this edition of their Annual Report. It was with pleasure that I accepted, especially following the warm welcome with which I and the CABI Board members had been received during our visit to the centre in July 2014. This was the second time that the CABI Board had chosen to hold their meeting at the CABI centre in Delémont, the first time being in June 2011. I have been invited to participate in the meetings of the CABI Board for some time now, initially as an elected observer and currently as Chair of the CABI Executive Council, and I was particularly happy to join this one and have the opportunity to meet the staff of the Swiss centre and learn more about their work. I speak for both myself and the entire CABI Board when I say how impressed we were with the level of professionalism and expertise demonstrated by the staff and students at the centre in managing and implementing their project work. There is another aspect of the CABI centre which I remember very vividly – the special “buzz” that the presence of the international summer students brings to Delémont. It was a privilege to see their enthusiasm and their interest in CABI. For me, Delémont in the summer really brings CABI’s international nature as a member organization and a global player in food security to life. CABI’s Executive Council is comprised of the representatives from each of CABI’s 48 member countries, of which Switzerland has been one since 2000, and has the responsibility of approving CABI’s annual accounts and budgets, the admission of new members and key policy decisions. It meets once a year and communicates regularly outside of these meetings in order to monitor CABI’s affairs and implement resolutions that come out of CABI’s Review Conferences. I have been Switzerland’s representative on the Executive Council since 2003, chairing it for the last four years, and have been impressed with how CABI has continued to grow and expand its expertise over the years in order to meet its mission and goals in the area of food security. Plantwise, which commenced during my early years on the CABI Board, is CABI’s first global programme and is now its flagship programme following its success and impact in strengthening plant health systems and agricultural production in 34 target countries. I was happy to meet the team that coordinates the programme out of the Swiss centre during my visit in July. One of the things that impresses me most about CABI is its continual motivation to innovate and branch out into new territory. One example of this, which I came across during my visit to the Swiss centre, is the current collaborative effort between CABI, the University of Neuchâtel and the Canton Jura to develop a new Masters of Advanced Science programme in Integrated Crop Management, which will be implemented for the first time in 2015. This exploration into higher education is new to CABI, however, it is perfectly suited to both the existing expertise and mission of the organization. The knowledge that the students will absorb through undertaking the programme will be taken back and put to use where it is needed the most; right at the heart of the plant health systems of the students’ native countries.