holistic management of emerging forest pests and diseases

The European Commission’s news alert service Science fFor Environment Policy has issued its latest newsletter under the title "Towards sustainable agriculture: study identifies biodiversity-friendly alternatives to conventional wheat crop management, Germany". The text is based on an article by Redlich, S., et al., called "Sustainable landscape, soil and crop management practices enhance biodiversity and yield in conventional cereal systems.", published in the Journal...

The long list of herbivorous insect species associated with oak has a newcomer - a small bug from the Tingidae family. Its name is Corythucha arcuata, more commonly known as the oak lace bug. The full news piece is written by the PhD ecology researchers Bastien Castagneyrol and Alex Stemmelen, which are part of INRAE, the coordinating institution of the HOMED project. Image taken from theconversation.com Corythucha arcuata is a small bug 3-4 mm long, recognizable by its ruff. The...

The European Commission’s news alert service Science for Environment Policy has issued its latest newsletter on the topic "Trees at the edge: species respond differently to climate changes at hot and cold range edges". The text is based on an article by Kunstler et al., called "Demographic performance of European tree species at their hot and cold climatic edges", published in the Journal of Ecology. Image from Science for Environment Policy Due to...

A conference proceedings paper from the 1st International Electronic Conference on Entomology recently published in the MDPI journal features a new predictive model and its validation. The paper called "Generic Model to Predict the Outbreak of Insects in European Forests" presents a new generic model for predicting insect outbreaks in forests. The four type of functions fi used in the model Researchers Dorian Collot and Christelle Robinet of INRAE (France),...

The second HOMED policy brief is called "Fostering collaboration between pathologists and entomologists for better management of forest pest and pathogen invasion". The brief provides recommendations to policy makers on development of science-based guidelines for sustainable management improving forest resistance and resilience. It is based on a statement prepared by the HOMED project consortium on the occasion of the International Year of Plant Health (2020) and published in...

A research article recently published in the NeoBiota journal presents an investigation of long-term data on classical biological control (CBC) practices in the Western Palearctic. The paper called "Classical biological control against insect pests in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: What influences its success?" reveals that the success of CBC in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is rarely dependent on the released biological control agent. They establish that...

A research article recently published in the Forest Ecology and Management journal presents an overview of the biological control method applied to forest management. The paper called "Biological control of emerging forest diseases: How can we move from dreams to reality?" provides insight into the advantages of the application of biological control of emerging forest diseases in combination with other sustainable management strategies. Main factors of regulation of fungal...

On Friday, 28 May 2021, HOMED held its second quarterly online workshop for HOMED PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. The idea of the workshop, as well as a number of means to intensify young researchers' involvement, was raised during the last HOMED annual meeting, held between 23-27 November 2020. The first workshop took place on 26 February 2021. Promotional material for HOMED's PhD and Post-doctoral researchers workshop The main aim of the workshop is to provide a...

A research article recently published in MDPI Forests journal presents the LAMP tool for rapid detection of tree pathogens causing needle blight. The paper called "Rapid Detection of Pine Pathogens Lecanosticta acicola, Dothistroma pini and D. septosporum on Needles by Probe-Based LAMP Assays" provides insight into the advantages that the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the rapid and early detection of pathogens L. acicola, D. pini and D. septosporum. ...

A peer-reviewed preprint article recently published on the BioRxiv platform presents the results of a study on the host-plant competition between conspecific insect herbivores. The paper called "Host-mediated, cross-generational intraspecific competition in a herbivore species" provides the results of a study on tree moth females (Cydalima perspectalis Walker, Lepidoptera: Crambidae) exposed to box trees (Buxus sempervirens L., Buxaceae) Photo credit: Pixabay Authors of the...

Results of the HOMED project were presented at the Innovative approaches for territorial surveillance event organised by the Working Group on Plant Health Surveillance, co-organized by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). The event was held on 18 March, where 58 participants, two official representatives from each EU country and EC agents, gathered to...

On Friday, 26 February 2021, HOMED held its first quarterly online workshop for HOMED PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. The idea of the workshop, as well as a number of means to intensify young researchers' involvement, was raised during the last HOMED annual meeting, held between 23-27 November 2020. The main aim of the workshop is to provide a forum for discussion between young researchers involved in the project and renowned HOMED senior scientists who can provide...

A special feature article recently published in the The Royal Society Biology Letters journal presents a study on caterpillar response to polarized light through the caterpillar organ responsible for polarized light vision. The paper called "Spatial orientation of social caterpillars is influenced by polarized light" presents information about experimental research performed on two caterpillar species, namely the European Thaumetopoea pityocampa, and Ochrogaster lunifer in...

The year that passed was not an easy one, however the HOMED project team managed to cope with the difficulties of the extraordinary situation of a global pandemic, and amazing project results were achieved in 2020!     The HOMED project wishes everybody a prosperous 2021!

A research article recently published in the Scientific Reports journal investigates the taxonomic status of the parasitoid wasp Ganaspis brasiliensis. The paper called "Evidence for a cryptic parasitoid species reveals its suitability as a biological control agent" presents evidence that G. brasiliensis, which is considered as one of the a candidate for biological control of the invasive spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii, is a complex of at least two cryptic species....

HOMED wishes you a very happy holiday season and a joyful and prosperous New

More than 50 project partners gathered between 23 and 27 November 2020 to mark the successful ending of the second year of the HOMED project. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second annual meeting of HOMED was held online. However, the unusual format did not stop participants from having both fruitful discussions and a great team spirit.  Within the five conference days, working group teams of scientists and experts discussed project achievements, research results and discussed future...

A research article recently published in the Management of Biological Invasions journal ascertains the presence of the pathogen Dothistroma septosporum at several sites in Italy. The paper called "Dothistroma Needle Blight in protected pine forests in Italy" presents evidence that in Italy D. septosporum currently has  a much larger distribution than previously reported, comprising several forest sites both in the South and in the North-East of the country. Authors of the...

A review article recently published in the Neobiota journal provides an overview of the connection between the disciplines of forest pathology and invasion science. The paper, co-authored by HOMED researchers, is called "Harmonising the fields of invasion science and forest pathology". It stresses that there is an increasing interdependence between the two disciplines in terms of determining pests and pathogens which pose a threat to forest health.  The images at the top...

HOMED’s first collection of policy briefs is now launched and the first policy brief is available online. The main objective of HOMED policy briefs is to provide quick and easy access to HOMED scientific insights, results, guidance and methods, designed and translated to answer the needs of policy makers and decision-makers. The policy briefs collection will consist of separate concise outputs that aim to allow users to quickly find the topics that are of interest to them. HOMED policy...