United States New Zealand

After more than 100 years, the US cotton industry is free of the devastating pink bollworm.

Native to Asia, it has become an invasive species in most of the world’s cotton-growing regions.

According to US Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, rigorous control and regulatory measures mean the pest, which costs US producers tens of millions of rand a year to control as well as in yield losses, had been eliminated from all production areas.

A new device could save the dairy industry millions of rand a year and prevent pollutants from entering waterways by detecting processing losses in dairy plants.

Developed by Lincoln Agritech in New Zealand, the automated biosensor uses a lactose-specific enzyme to measure the level of dairy products present in waste streams and processing lines. Operators can then make changes to the production process when needed.