As my family very well knows, I love plants and, above all, trees. They can tell a story of when I almost broke my leg while walking to get a better look at a particularly beautiful tree.
And yet, plants and trees are under a relentless threat from pests and diseases. Climate change and trade contribute to the increase in the incidence, but our knowledge of how to protect the natural and crop resources also increases.
The year 2020 started as an UN-designated Plant Health Year but very quickly the COVID-19 pandemic caused the plant pests and diseases to be forgotten.
Instead, in both 2021 and 2022 we have designated a week to remind ourselves that without plants we will all be dead.
Under the hashtags #PlantsMakeLifeBetter and #PlantHealthWeek we have this week been celebrating plant beauty and usefulness:
The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Gen 1: 12-13, ESV
To celebrate the #PlantHealthWeek, yesterday I reminded my readers of the article which I wrote earlier this year, in which I told a story of how human lives and activities are intertwined with forest fates:
Today, in turn, we affirm that #PlantsMakeLifeBetter:
Hope you can enjoy – and will continue reading this blog over the remaining days of #PlantHealthWeek (and beyond).
