INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER ON PLANT PATHOLOGY

(UK Registered Charity No 1065521)

Material for the Newsletter is invited from individual members of ISPP, Associated Societies, Council members, Chairs of all Committees and representatives of Affiliated Societies and Supporting Organisations.

Editor, Brian J. Deverall,  e-mail: bdeveral@mail.usyd.edu.au

In this issue:

• ISPP Instructional Technology Online Symposium
• XIth International Sclerotinia Workshop
• International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium
• Plant Virus Epidemiology
• APPS Conference, Cairns, Australia
• Seventh Arab Congress of Plant Protection
• Executive Committee for the Arab Society for Plant Protection
• The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses
• International Union of Biological Sciences
• Coming Events

You can access the schedule for the symposium now at <http://www.ispp-itsymposium.org.nz/> to plan your participation. The free online symposium in Instructional Technology will be held from 15 May-30 June 2001 on this site. It has been organized by the Teaching Committee of the International Society for Plant Pathology.

It includes "papers" about various instructional technologies with online discussions between the authors and symposium participants. The symposium allows time for instructors to access various demonstrations and then participate in discussions about how best to use them. It also includes weekly discussion sessions on topics related to instructional technology. New papers and discussions will be posted throughout the symposium. Even after the active presentations are complete, all materials will be archived and available for viewing. This symposium is particularly exciting because it can literally involve instructors in plant pathology (and related disciplines) from around the world.

Dr Terry Stewart of Massey University is the webmaster for this event and is generously contributing his time and effort. The organizing committee members and moderators are Drs Cleora D’Arcy, Darin Eastburn, David Guest, Thorsten Kraska and James Partridge and me.

Gail L Schumann, Chair, ISPP Teaching Committee, University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, USA; Phone: +1-413-545-3413; e-mail: <schumann@pltpath.umass.edu>.

XIth International Sclerotinia Workshop

This workshop will take place in the Central Science Laboratory, York, UK, from 8-12 July 2001. It is being held under the auspices of the British Society for Plant Pathology and the ISPP Sclerotinia Committee. The keynote address by Professor L Kohn, University of Toronto, Canada, will be on "Integrating our genotypic diversity data towards a global picture of population subdivision and fine-scale structure in Sclerotinia - and implications for disease management". Workshop information will appear at <http://www.isppweb.org/subcom.htm>. The intention is to produce a proceedings of short papers of all contributions. Papers will be edited and citable.

York is situated in the north east of England and close to some outstanding countryside. It has a history going back some 2000 years to Roman times. It was the site of the coronation of Constantine the Great. The Viking Eric Bloodaxe and William the Conqueror also made their mark. The city has 30 museums, including a National Railway Museum. It is reputedly one of the most haunted cities in Europe!

Contact: Dr Nigel Hardwick, Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK; Fax: +44-1904-462111; e-mail: <nigel.hardwick@csl.gov.uk>.

This symposium will be held in Aschersleben, Germany, from 12-17 May 2002. It is being organised under the auspices of the ISPP Plant Virus Epidemiology Committee. The main objective is to provide a forum for presentations and discussions on recent developments in the areas of Plant Virus Epidemiology and Control. Contributions will be accepted on the following topics:

• Virus resistance in plants

• General and molecular virus epidemiology

• Virus-vector interactions
  - Spatial and temporal dynamics of virus epidemics and modelling
  - Economic impact of viruses and integrated virus disease management

Participants who wish to present a paper/poster are invited to submit a preliminary title and to indicate the general topic under which their contribution fits (by mail, e-mail or by visiting <http://virus-2002.bafz.de>). Authors may indicate their preference for an oral or poster presentation, but the final decision on acceptance and form of presentation will be made by the Organising Committee. The provisional titles should be received not later than 31 July 2001.

The second announcement will be published in October 2001. Because of the high cost of producing and mailing brochures, the next announcement will only be mailed to those who have notified their interest.

Aschersleben – located in the heart of Germany – is the oldest town of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Historically, it was mentioned for the first time almost 1250 years ago. It is surrounded by an ancient cultural landscape, where agricultural crops have been produced for hundreds of years and plant breeding has a long lasting tradition. The region is rich of historical buildings, churches, castles and fortification systems well preserved from the Middle Ages.

Please contact: Dr T Kuehne, Federal Centre for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants (BAZ), P O Box 1505, 06435 Aschersleben, Germany; Phone: +49-3473-879165; Fax: +49-3473-879200; e-mail: <T.Kuehne@bafz.de>.

Plant Virus Epidemiology - Special Issue

A special 262-page double issue of the Elsevier journal Virus Research contains papers based on material presented at the ISPP Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium held in Almeria, Spain, during April 1999. There are 6 substantial reviews and 13 other papers on a wide range of topics from Australia (1), France (2), Israel (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), Spain (4), Uganda (1), UK (2) and USA (6).

The volume has already been distributed to regular subscribers. Additional copies can be purchased through the ISPP Plant Virus Epidemiology Committee by contacting its Chair, Dr Roger Jones, Agriculture Western Australia, Locked Bag No. 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia; Fax: +61-8-9475-2840; e-mail: <rjones@agric.wa.gov.au>.

APPS Conference, Cairns, Australia

The Australasian Plant Pathology Society’s 13th Biennial Conference will be held at the Cairns Convention Centre, Tropical Far North Queensland, Australia, from 24-27 September 2001.

See <http://www.australasianplantpathologysociety.org.au/Cairns2001/Cairns.htm>.

Symposia are entitled:

• Pathogen dynamics in the plant environment

• Getting the message out

• Plant pathology in a challenging environment

Workshops will be on:

• Identification and classification of Ascomycetes

• Identification and classification of Ustilaginomycetes

• Uncultivable plant pathogens

• Introduction to Bionavigator - a tool for bioinformatics

• Soil nematode ecology

• Plant defence mechanisms

• Dieback in tropical rainforests

• Diagnosis of plant diseases caused by bacteria

• Diagnostics

The Workshop Co-ordinator is Vanessa Brake at <vanessa.brake@aqis.gov.au>.

The closing date for submission of paper summaries by electronic means is 28 May 2001, for early conference registration 2 August 2001 and for workshop and regular conference registration 17 September 2001.

For further information, please contact: Suzanne Denyer, Secretary, APPS Conference, Department of Primary Industries, Centre for Tropical Agriculture, P O Box 1054, Mareeba QLD 4880, Australia; Fax: +61 7 4092 3593; e-mail: <denyerS@dpi.qld.gov.au>.

The 7th Arab Congress of Plant Protection was organized by the Arab Society for Plant Protection and the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, and held in Amman, Jordan, during 22-26 October, 2000. The congress was under the patronage of her royal highness Queen Rania El-Abdallah. Around 350 participants from 14 Arab and five non-Arab countries (USA, UK, France, Italy and Iran) attended the congress.

The scientific program included symposia on (i) plant protection and the next century, (ii) biological control of insect pests, fungal diseases, nematodes and weeds, and (iii) pests of economic and/or quarantine significance in the Arab Countries. The symposia were followed by either oral paper or poster presentation sessions on various topics in plant protection. During the third day of the congress, a field trip was organized for all the participants which covered a number of historical and touristic sites in Jordan and ended up in the experimental farm of the Faculty of Agriculture in the Jordan Valley. During the evening of the fourth day of the congress, all participants were invited to a cultural performance by the Palestinian folk-dance group ìHanounehî.

Further information from: Khaled Makkouk, Acting Program Leader, Germplasm Program ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, SYRIA; Fax: +963-21-2213490; e-mail: <K.MAKKOUK@cgiar.org>. The ICARDA homepage is <http://www.cgiar.org/icarda>.

A Newly Elected Executive Committee for the Arab Society for Plant Protection (ASPP)

During the Seventh Arab Congress of Plant Protection, a new executive committee for the Arab Society for Plant Protection was elected to serve for a three years’ term (2001-2003) and is composed of:

-Dr Bassam Bayaa (Syria), President

-Dr Akl Mansour (Jordan), Vice President (President-elect)

-Dr Efat Abou Fakhr Hammad (Lebanon), Secretary-Treasurer

-Dr Khaled Makkouk (Lebanon), member and Editor-in-Chief, Arab Journal of Plant Protection

-Dr Ibrahim El-Gheryani (Libya), member and Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the Eighth Arab Congress of Plant Protection, to be held in El-Bayda, Libya during 2003.

-Drs Abdallah Abdel Moneim (Egypt), Said Ba-Angood (Yemen), Ibrahim Al-Jboori (Iraq) and MíBarek El-Fatmi (Morocco), members and also chairpersons of specialized committees within ASPP.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)

Dr Claude Fauquet advises that the next mid-term meeting of the ICTV Executive Committee will be held in Washington DC, USA, at the National Academy of Sciences, on 28-29 April 2001. The ICTV will review taxonomic proposals made by all the ICTV study-groups and subcommittees.

ICTV has now a network allowing all the ICTV members at large as well as any scientist interested in viral taxonomy, to exchange information with a single ICTV member, or a study-group or a subcommittee, or the entire ICTV membership. Comments, ideas and proposals are welcome.

See the ICTV site: <http://www.danforthcenter.org/iltab/ICTVnet/>.

Further contact can be made with Dr Claude Fauquet, Director ILTAB, ILTAB/Danforth Plant Science Center, University of Missouri, St Louis, Center for Molecular Electronics, M307, 8001 Natural Bridge Road, MO63121-4499, USA; Fax: +1-314-516-4582; e-mail: <ILTAB@danforthcenter.org>.

Report on the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS)

Professor Antonio Graniti represented ISPP at the 27th General Assembly of IUBS from 8-12 November 2000 in Naples, Italy, and his report is summarised as follows.

There were a number of formal reports at the Assembly. For example, the International Committee on Bionomenclature reported on progress with a revised Draft BioCode. ISPP did not present a report.

The International Union of Biological Sciences was established in 1919. It is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. Its objectives are:

- to promote the study of biological sciences,

- to initiate, facilitate, and coordinate research and other scientific activities that require international cooperation,

- to ensure the discussion and dissemination of the results of cooperative research, and

- to promote the organization of international conferences and to assist in the publication of their reports.

IUBS serves as an umbrella organization for many national academies, research councils and centres, and international societies. Member countries (about 40, of which 30 attended the recent Assembly) pay dues. Scientific societies (about 80, of which 20 attended) do not. The new President is M H Wake from the USA, an evolutionary biologist.

The Scientific Programmes of IUBS are mostly broad-ranging, interdisciplinary or international. Examples are the International Biological Program (IBP), Global Taxonomy Initiative, Biological Education, Towards an Integrative Biology (TAIB) and Reproductive Biology and Aquaculture, DIVERSITAS.

The next IUBS General Assembly will be in Egypt in 2003.

Antonio Graniti strongly recommends continued affiliation by ISPP. He also recommends collaboration through individual members of national socieities to the activities and programmes of IUBS. He cites the views of the outgoing President (J-C Mounolou) that IUBS provides scientific partnership and develops synergies on shared objectives, and adds an international dimension to initiatives.

Professor Graniti may be contacted at the Università degli Studi di Bari, Dipartimento de Biologia e Patologia Vegetale, Via G Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy; Fax: +39-080-544-2906; e-mail: <granitia@agr.uniba.it>.

Coming Events

ISPP On-line Instructional Technology Symposium on Plant Pathology hosted by Terry Stewart at <http://www.ispp-itsymposium.org.nz/>, Massey University, New Zealand.
15 May-30 June 2001.
Join through <http://www.ispp-itsymposium.org.nz/>. Contact: Gail L. Schumann, Chair, ISPP Teaching Committee, University of Massachusetts, 209 Fernald Hall, Amherst MA 01003-2420, USA; Fax: +1-413-545-2532; e-mail: <Schumann@pltpath.umass.edu>.

Sixth International Symposium on Positive Strand RNA Viruses in Paris, France.
28 May-2 June 2001.
Contact: e-mail: <vdeubel@mailhost.pasteur.fr>.

The 2001 Canadian Phytopathological Society’s Annual Meeting, Plant Protection and the Environment, in London, Ontario, Canada.
10 to 13 June 2001.
See the Society’s website: <www.cps-scp.ca>.

26th Congress of the International Seed Testing Association in Angers, France.
14-22 June 2001.
Contact: ISTA Secretariat, P O Box 412/Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH-8046 Zurich, Switzerland; Fax: +41-1-377-60-01; e-mail: <istach@iprolink.ch>.

International Union of Forestry Research Organisation Working Party on Foliage, Shoot and Stem Diseases in Helsinki, Finland.
16-24 June 2001.
Contact: Antti Uotila at <antti.uotila@helsinki.fi>.

World Congress of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 2001 in Budapest, Hungary.
8-10 July 2001.
Contact: Dr Oszkar Kock, National Institute for Agricultural Quality Control, P O Box 30, 93., H-1525 Budapest, Hungary; Fax: +36-1-2122-673; e-mail: <map.congr@ommi.hu>.

XIth Meeting of the International Sclerotinia Workshop in York, UK.
8-12 July 2001.
The provisional programme will appear at <http://www.bspp.org.uk/>.
Contact: Dr Nigel Hardwick, Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK; Fax: +44-1904-462111; e-mail: <nigel.hardwick@csl.gov.uk>.

10th Congress of the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions in Madison, USA.
10-14 July 2001.
See web-site: <http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/mpmi/>.
Contact: 10th IS-MPMI Congress, UW-Extension Conference Centers, The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon Street, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

20th Annual American Society for Virology Meeting in Madison, USA.
21-25 July 2001.
Contact: via <www.mcw.edu/asv/meetings.html>.

3rd International Geminivirus Symposium in Norwich, UK.
24-28 July 2001.
See the web-site <http://iltab.danforthcenter.org/symposium.html>.
Contact: <carol.aab@hri.ac.uk> or <gemini-2001.enquiries@bbsrc.ac.uk>.

The XIth Latin American Phytopathological Congress (XI Congreso Latinoamericano de Fitopatologia) in Sao Pedro (near Piracicaba), State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. To be held jointly with the XXXIV Brazilian Phytopathological Congress (Congresso Brasileiro de Fitopatologia).
5-10 August 2001.
Contact: Professor Sergio F Pascholati, Setor de Fitopatologia, ESALQ / Universidad de Sao Paulo, C P 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP - Brasil; e-mail: <fito2001@carpa.ciagri.usp.br>. See also the website: <www.sbfito.com.br>.

American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, USA.
25-29 August 2001.
See <http://www.apsnet.org>.

International Symposium on Asian Pears in Kurayoshi, Tottori, Japan.
25-29 August 2001.
Contact: S Iwahori, Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan; Fax: +81-298-53-6617; e-mail: <iwahori@sakura.cc.tsukuba.ac.jp>.

9th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology - Interactions in the Microbial World in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
26-31 August 2001.
Contact: for scientific program - Jan Woldendorp, CTO-NIOO, P O Box 40, 6666 ZG Heteren, The Netherlands; Fax: +31-26-4723227; e-mail: <woldendorp@cto.nioo.knaw.nl>, or for organisation - Dr Wietse de Boer at e-mail: <wdeboer@cto.nioo.knaw.nl>.

2nd MPU/ICGTD Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases - Esca and Grapevine Declines in Lisbon, Portugal.
14-15 September 2001.
For information and electronic pre-registration see <http://icgtd.isa.utl.pt> or contact Professor Helena Oliveira; Fax: +351-213-610196; <heloliveira@isa.utl.pt>.

Molecular Biology of Fungal Pathogens in UK (sponsored by the British Society for Plant Pathology).
14-16 September 2001 and 17-19 July 2002.
Contact: Dr Jim Benyon <jim.benyon@hri.ac.uk> or Dr Surapereddy Sreenivasaprasad <ss.prasad@hri.ac.uk> or Dr Mark Hocart <m.hocart@ed.sac.ac.uk>.

XI Mediterranen Phytopathological Union (MPU) Congress jointly with the 3rd Sociedade Portuguesa de Fitopatologia (SPF) Congress in Évora, Portugal.
17 to 20 September 2001.
For more information and electronic pre-registration, visit <www.eventos.uevora.pt/mpu_congress> or contact Professor Maria Ivone E Clara; Fax: +351-266-760824; <spf_mpu@uevora.pt>.

13th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society in Cairns, Australia.
24-27 September 2001.
See <http://www.australasianplantpathologysociety.org.au/Cairns2001/Cairns.htm>.
Contact: Suzanne Denyer, Centre for Tropical Agriculture, P O Box 1054, Mareeba, Queensland 4880, Australia; Fax: +61-7-4092-3593; e-mail: <DenyerS@dpi.qld.gov.au>.

Second International IUFRO Meeting on Phytophthora Diseases in Forests and Natural Ecosystems in Perth and Albany, Australia.
30 September-5 October 2001.
See: <http://wwwscience.murdoch.edu.au/conf/phytophthora/index.html>.
Contact for meeting information: Dr Giles Hardy, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Western Australia; Fax: +61-8-9360-6303; e-mail: <g-hardy@central.murdoch.edu.au>.

IX International Workshop on Fire Blight in Napier, New Zealand.
8-12 October 2001.
Contact: Dr Christopher Hale, Hort Research, Private Bag 92169, Auckland, New Zealand; Fax: +64-9815-4201; e-mail: <chale@hort.cri.nz>.

6th Symposium of the International Society of Root Research in Nagoya, Japan.
11-15 November 2001.
Contact: Dr S Morita, c/o Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Tokyo, Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan; Fax: +81-5641-5070; e-mail: <anatomy@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp>; web-site <http://wwwsoc.nacsis.ac.jp/jsrr/isrr>.

The 3rd International Bacterial Wilt Symposium in White River, Republic of South Africa.
4-8 February 2002.
See the web-site: <http://ardeath.biosci.uq.edu.au/ibwc/>.
Contact: Jody Terblanche, Tobacco and Cotton Reserach Institute, Private Bag x 82075, Rustenberg, 0300, Republic of South Africa; Fax: +27-14-536-3113; e-mail: <jody@nitk1.agric.za>.

VIIIth International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium in Aschersleben, Germany.
12-17 May 2002.
See the web-site: <http://virus-2002.bafz.de>.
Contact: Federal Centre for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants (BAZ), P O Box 1505, 06435 Aschersleben, Germany; Phone: +49-3473-879165; Fax: +49-3473-879200; e-mail: <T.Kuehne@bafz.de>.

American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
27-31 July 2002.
See <http://www.apsnet.org>.

XXVIth International Horticultural Congress & Exhibition in Toronto, Canada.
11-17 August 2002.
See: <www.ihc2002.org>.
Contact: IHC2002 c/o Congress Canada, 49 Bathurst Street, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MSV 2P2; e-mail: <IHCreg@congressscan.com>.

8th International Congress of Plant Pathology in Christchurch, New Zealand.
2-8 February 2003.
Website: <http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/icpp2003/>.
Contact: Congress Chairman, Dr Ian Harvey, PLANTwise, P O Box 8915, Christchurch, NZ; Fax: +64-3-325-2946; e-mail: <harveyi@plantwise.co.nz> or Helen Shrewsbury, ICPP Secretariat, P O Box 84, Lincoln University, Canterbury, NZ; Fax: +64-3-325-3840; e-mail: <shrewsbh@lincoln.ac.nz>.

6th International Symposium on Chemical and non-Chemical Soil and Substrate Disinfection in St Paul, USA.
2003.
Contact: Professor J Katan, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota, USA; Fax: +1-972-8946-6794; e-mail: <gamliel@agri.huji.ac.il>.

The XIIth Latin American Phytopathological Congress (XI Congreso Latinoamericano de Fitopatología) in Mc Allen, Texas, USA.
Around May 2003.
To be held jointly with the Caribbean and Southern Divisions of the American Phytopathological Society.

American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
9-13 August 2003.
See <http://www.apsnet.org>.

5th International Postharvest Research Symposium in Verona, Italy. 2004.
Contact: Professor Pietro Tonutti, University of Padova, Italy; Fax: +39-04982-72850; e-mail: <ptonutti@agripolis.unipd.it>.

The XIIIth Latin American Phytopathological Congress (XIII Congreso Latinoamericano de Fitopatología) in the city of Cordoba, Cordoba Province, Argentina.
Mid-2005.
To be held jointly with the Asociación Argentina de Fitopatología.