<div dir="ltr">The next BSW meeting will be on March 4, 2025 at 7pm. on Zoom. <br><br>Speaker: Alina Puig, PhD, Research Plant Pathologist at USDA-ARS<br>Title: Theobroma Cacao Cultivation and Diseases<br><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85364752388?pwd=dziuhKauuIet3iyAMKYxmzfnW1vca4.1">https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85364752388?pwd=dziuhKauuIet3iyAMKYxmzfnW1vca4.1</a><br><br>Overview: The seeds of Theobroma cacao are the main ingredient in chocolate. This understory tree originated in the Amazon but is now grown in<br>tropical regions across the globe. Despite its importance, approximately 40% of the global cacao yield is lost to pathogens with few solutions<br>available to growers. This presentation will talk about the history of the crop, and diseases affecting it in the modern day.<br><br>Bio: Alina Puig is a Research Plant Pathologist at USDA-ARS working on emerging oomycete and viral pathogens. Her work on pathogens affecting<br>Theobroma cacao has led to an improved understanding of their epidemiology and distribution. Dr. Puig’s other research areas include diseases<br><div>of avocado and mango as well as staple food crops such as maize and potato.</div><div><br></div><div>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br></div><div>Meet the 'Wooly Devil,' a New Plant Species Discovered in Big Bend National Park<br><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308248/wooly-devil-new-species-genus-big-bend">https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308248/wooly-devil-new-species-genus-big-bend</a></div><div><br></div><div>How Does Life Happen When There’s Barely Any Light?<br><a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-life-happen-when-theres-barely-any-light-20250129/">https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-does-life-happen-when-theres-barely-any-light-20250129/</a></div><div><br></div><div>National Museum of Natural History Scientists Discover That Ancient Insects Perfected Their Plant Palates 165 Million Years Ago<br><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2025/03/03/national-museum-of-natural-history-scientists-discover-that-ancient-insects-perfected-their-plant-palates-165-million-years-ago/">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2025/03/03/national-museum-of-natural-history-scientists-discover-that-ancient-insects-perfected-their-plant-palates-165-million-years-ago/</a></div><div><br>Botanic Gardens are Struggling to Keep Up with the Biodiversity Crisis – Here’s What They Can Do<br><a href="https://theconversation.com/botanic-gardens-are-struggling-to-keep-up-with-">https://theconversation.com/botanic-gardens-are-struggling-to-keep-up-with-</a><br>the-biodiversity-crisis-heres-what-they-can-do-248722<br><br>Linnean Lens:  Leonhard Fuchs’s History of Plants (1542) | Sachiko Kusukawa<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN-wLc6Jmx8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN-wLc6Jmx8</a></div></div>