Dogs trained to protect vines and crops from insects and fungal diseases
A Texas-based university got pet pooches to sniff out powdery mildew - a fungus that grows in humid, damp areas, and appears as a flat, often white powdery growth on surfaces, but it can turn brown or grey - in vineyards, with a 90 per cent accuracy.
Elsewhere, another university in the US got 1,000 dog owners together to teach their pets to sniff out eggs of lanternflies - a planthopper native to China and Vietnam, but have also made their way to Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
The insects are known to damage farms and forests.
The second university's study resulted in 92 per cent accuracy.
Professor Mizuho Nita, study author, is quoted by the Daily Star newspaper as saying: "Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"They look like mud or lichen."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
2 days ago
- AU Financial Review
Sanofi's $2.5b deal to buy biotech with rights to Aussie vaccine invention
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is spending up to $US1.6 billion ($2.5 billion) to acquire a biotech with exclusive rights to a unique vaccine technology developed by University of Queensland scientists. Sanofi is buying Vicebio, a London-based group, which is developing vaccines for two respiratory viruses using the molecular clamp technology invented by University of Queensland's professors Paul Young, Daniel Watterson and Keith Chappell.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Dogs trained to protect vines and crops from insects and fungal diseases
Dogs are being trained to protect vines and crops from insects and fungal diseases. A Texas-based university got pet pooches to sniff out powdery mildew - a fungus that grows in humid, damp areas, and appears as a flat, often white powdery growth on surfaces, but it can turn brown or grey - in vineyards, with a 90 per cent accuracy. Elsewhere, another university in the US got 1,000 dog owners together to teach their pets to sniff out eggs of lanternflies - a planthopper native to China and Vietnam, but have also made their way to Japan, South Korea, and the United States. The insects are known to damage farms and forests. The second university's study resulted in 92 per cent accuracy. Professor Mizuho Nita, study author, is quoted by the Daily Star newspaper as saying: "Finding them is like searching for a needle in a haystack. "They look like mud or lichen."
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coldplay frontman's warning to fans after ‘kiss cam' controversy
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has delivered a cheeky warning to fans they may appear on the big screen during the British band's latest US concert at the weekend – just days after 'kiss cam' video from an earlier show went viral because of the reaction of the pair caught on camera. The Jumbotron Song footage was captured at Coldplay's concert during their Music of the Spheres world tour in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning AEST), and appeared to show Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his chief people officer Kristin Cabot cuddling. Realising they were on the big screen, Byron appeared to duck away while Cabot hid her face behind her hands and turned away from the camera. 'Oh, look at these two ... Either they're having an affair or they're very shy,' Martin said, as laughter rang out across the stadium. Both are believed to be married to other people and Byron resigned from his position as CEO of the New York-based $1.5 billion company on Saturday, according to a statement posted on LinkedIn by the company. On Saturday night (local time) at the band's show in Madison Wisconsin, Martin appeared to deliver an oblique nod to the incident while not specifically referring to it as he warmed up the crowd for another round of footage. 'We'd like to say hello to some of you in the crowd,' Martin said, smiling as he strummed his guitar. 'And how we're going to do this is, we're going to use our cameras and we're going to put someone on the big screen. So please if you haven't done your makeup, do your makeup now.'
