Activities

A. The procedures for assessment of ecological impact of Herbicide Resistant Crops (HRCs). This revised document is available in English and Spanish (see Herbicide Resistant Crops in Progress on Weed Management), and it replaces the former draft on the same subject.

B. The new book " Weed Management for Developing Countries, Addendum I". It's been published in 2003 by FAO. Several weed scientists from all over the world has kindly contributed to this new book. It is updating with new developments the previous book “Weed Management for Developing Countries".
(see http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/006/Y5031E/Y5031E00.HTM )

C. Group on preventing herbicide resistance. The second meeting of this group took place in Manzanillo, México, at the time of the ALAM Congress, November 2003. The database prepared by Dr Ian Heap is still susceptible to be improved with some data regarding the frequency of herbicide use in rice. This activity was combined with a workshop on this subject, where Drs. Heap, David Gealy, Albert Fischer, Bernal Valverde, Andrey Taberner and Aldo Ferrero presented valuable information regarding the use of herbicides in rice, herbicide-resistance and the use of new mutagenic herbicide-resistant rice in USA .

D. Regional training on the use of the procedures for assessment of ecological impact of Herbicide Resistant Crops (HRCs). This 4-day training took place during February 2004 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra , Bolivia , with the participation of one specialist from each Latin American country. The course hosted by the association of producers of oilseeds and wheat (ANAPO) was sponsored jointly by the Danish government and FAO. The main lectures of the training were conducted by Dr. Bernal Valverde from KVL, Denmark , and the FAO weed officer.

E. New projects on Striga and Orobanche control. at IITA's Biological Control Center , Cotonou , Benin , 29 - 31 October 2002. As a result of the workshops conducted in 2002 and in 2003, in Cotonou and Rabat , respectively, two project documents were prepared and approved by FAO. Both projects will emphasize on IPM training process through the implementation of training of extension workers and other agents (Training of Trainers) as well as farmers (Farmers Field Schools). The objective of the projects is to strengthen national capabilities on parasitic weed control.

F. Session on water weed control, IV International Weed Science Congress, Durban, 20-24 June 2004. This session was organized and sponsored by FAO. It had a total of six oral presentations, one of them was an overview of water weeds prepared by the FAO weed officer, and the second one was from Dr. James Ogwang and it was related to the control of water hyacinth in Lake Victoria . Four other papers presented the problem and control of water hyacinth in Mexico by Dr. Maricela Martínez , the success of the control of Salvinia molesta in Senegal-Mauritania, and of Hydrilla verticillata in USA , by Mr. Ousseynou Diop and Dr Michael Grodowitz, as well as new progress on biological control presented by Mr. Mic Julien. This session was closed with the discussion of several other poster presentations on water weed control.

Assistance to member countries
Water weed control.

• Two new projects on aquatic weed control in Asia have been approved, one for China , and another one for Sri Lanka . Both were started recently. In the case of China the project is implementing a pilot control programme in areas around Haining city in Hangzhou province. The project started in May with a national workshop on control of the plant. An unit for rearing biological control of water hyacinth is already set up. Chinese counterpart is interested in developing a comprehensive programme of control and utilization of the plant for the production of biogas and/or for pork feeding.


• The project in Sri Lanka touches three major weeds, water hyacinth, Salvinia and Pistia . Local authorities are conducting regular removal of water hyacinth, and development of biocontrol of this plant is of interest. Again here a rearing unit will be set up. Salvinia is mostly controlled with the release of insect Cyrtobagous salviniae while Pistia is becoming a problem. Early June a national workshop on water weed control was held in Kandhy.

Other new projects

• Control and management in Prosopis spp in Kenya . This is a project still to start, which will focus on control and utilization of Prosopis plants in Baringo areas. The first activity will be a national workshop on this subject to discuss the strategy of control to follow in the country. The invasiveness of Prosopis is a serious problem in Kenya and also in some other neighbouring countries. The experience of the project will serve for undertaking other control programmes of Prosopis in other areas of Africa and Middle East .


• Control of red/weedy rice in several countries of the Caribbean and Central America . This project started with a regional workshop held in Guanascate , Costa Rica early 2004. Six countries are involved in this project, Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Nicaragua , Panama and Venezuela . Two farmers field schools are going on in each country. Farmers are showing enormous interest in the studies of ecology and biology of weedy rice, identifying existing biotypes in their areas and trying to develop new strategies for the control of the weed.