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INTERNATIONAL
NEWSLETTER ON PLANT PATHOLOGY
ISPP
Newsletter 29 (4) August 1999
In this issue:
ProMED-Plant,
a plant disease news service for you
I want to
apprise plant pathologists who subscribe to the ISPP Newsletter of an
opportunity to keep up with timely reports on emerging plant diseases
worldwide. I am the moderator for ProMED-Plant, an electronic conference
on emerging plant diseases. ProMED-Plant is one of several sections of
ProMED (Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases) which was initiated
at Geneva, Switzerland in 1993 during the Conference on Global Monitoring
and Response for Emerging Infectious Diseases. ProMED’s objective is specifically
to create a global system of early detection and timely response to disease
outbreaks. ProMED-mail offers such a system of reporting on diseases of
human, animal and plant diseases worldwide. Currently, there are 17,800
subscribers to ProMED-mail in over 150 countries; of these, 511 plant
pathologists in 54 countries receive plant disease information via e-mail
through ProMED-Plant.
ProMED-Plant
started up in 1996 and Pamela Anderson at CIAT performed herculean service
as its first moderator. She asked to be relieved from her ProMED duties
earlier this year because of her very heavy work load and I took over
as moderator in April 1999. ProMED-Plant monitors reports on diseases
of about 30 major food crops, as listed in a paper by Harlan (Harlan,
J. R. 1976. The plants and animals that nourish man. Sci. Amer.
21[2]:88-97). It does not cover diseases of non-food crops
(eg. ornamentals, wood and fibre crops, etc). The current list of crops
is: wheat, rice, maize, potato, barley, sweet potato, cassava, grapevine,
soybean, oats, sorghum, sugarcane, millet, banana, tomato, sugar beet,
rye, oranges, cottonseed oil, apples, yam, peanut, watermelon, cabbage,
onion, beans, peas, sunflower seed, and mango. The list is undergoing
review for possible inclusion of other major food crops.
Four principles
guide the operation of ProMED-Plant: 1) It directly serves the plant health
community; 2) it concentrates on diseases of major food crops; 3) it must
serve colleagues in developing countries; and 4) it does not include reports
on insects and weeds, as important as these are in food production.
Subscribers
to ProMED-Plant are located in 54 countries: Angola, Argentina, Australia,
Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt,
El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Greece,
Guatemala, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg,
Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama,
Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States,
Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. I want to urge those of you who are not subscribers
to subscribe to ProMED-Plant. Instructions on how to do so are given at
the end of this article.
Reports
for posting to ProMED-Plant are provided by news agencies, organizations
and individual scientists. These are referred to me for editing and comment,
and those that are deemed suitable for posting to ProMED-Plant are submitted
for posting on ProMED-mail, which includes human and animal disease reports,
as well as ProMED-Plant. All postings since the inception of ProMED-Plant
are available in its archives and can be easily obtained through the ProMED-mail
website at <www.healthnet.org/programs/promed.html>
or the Agricultural Network Information Centre
(AGNIC) at <www.agnic.org/pmp/index.html>
and follow the instructions.
We all know
that human disease reports receive high publicity, but those relating
news of plant disease are often deemed less ‘newsworthy’. Dealing with
saving human lives seems more ‘urgent’ than worrying about a plant disease,
despite the fact that major crop losses due to disease precede famine
and untold human suffering. I look at ProMED-Plant as an opportunity to
provide plant pathologists with disease reports which they would not obtain
from current journals. Just as important is the opportunity for ProMED-Plant
to educate pathologists who study human and animal diseases, since all
ProMED-Plant postings are received by them through ProMED-mail. A recent
news story on cassava mosaic disease and its effect on food security in
Africa is a case in point. Since I began moderating ProMED-Plant in March
of this year, I have edited about 50 stories, covering diseases in Asia,
the Americas, Africa, and Europe. It is particularly gratifying to be
able to link a plant pathologist who needs assistance on diagnosis with
an expert in that subdiscipline of plant pathology within 24-48 hours.
I want to
encourage plant pathologists to subscribe to ProMED-Plant and to submit
reports on disease occurrence in your area. At present, reports come to
me because someone, usually a news reporter, files a story which is submitted
to a news agency and is picked up by ProMED’s scanning system. You may
have a news story that is of interest to fellow plant pathologists, so
consider submitting the story to ProMED-Plant.
Subscription
to ProMED-Plant is free. To subscribe, go to the ProMED website <www.healthnet.org/programs/promed.html>
and follow the instructions. To submit a news story about a plant disease
to ProMED-Plant, send it via e-mail to <promed@usa.healthnet.org>.
It will be referred to me for evaluation.
I hope that
you will subscribe to ProMED-Plant. I also need reporters within the international
community of plant pathologists, and I hope that you will submit newsworthy
stories to ProMED-Plant. Together, subscribers to ProMED-Plant can provide
a very useful service in apprising plant pathologists of emerging plant
diseases around the world and also in apprising pathologists of different
stories about plant disease and their impact on world food security.
Dick
Hamilton, Moderator, ProMED-Plant,4771 Foxglove Crescent, Richmond, BC,
CANADA V7C 2K4; Phone: +1-604-277-3774; Fax: +1-604-277-1264; e-mail:
<rhamilto@direct.ca>.
A new
English journal from the Phytopathological Society of Japan
In view of
an increased number of English reports, the Phytopathological Society
of Japan has decided to publish a new English journal entitled "Journal
of General Plant Pathology" launching
in February 2000.
The new journal,
JGPP, covers all the fields of plant pathology; etiology, ecology and
epidemiology of diseases, cytology, ultrastructure and biochemistry of
diseases, molecular biology of host-pathogen interactions, genetic aspects
of pathogens and host plants, chemical and biological control of diseases,
disease assessment and diagnosis, pathological disorders, and other subjects
related to plant pathology. The editorial board welcomes manuscript submission
from all these areas of plant pathology.
The
manuscripts should be an original research report that has not been published
elsewhere and should be prepared according to the General Rules and Guidlines
for Manuscript Submission which will be posted in the home page of the
Society at <http://ss.niaes.affrc.go.jp/pub/moriwaki/PSJ/PPSI_J.html>.
The manuscripts
should be submitted in triplicate - one original and two copies including
all the tables, figures, and plates, to the Editor-in-Chief at the following
address:
Professor
Shigeyuki Mayama, Faculty of Agriculture, Kobe University,
1-1
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan; Phone: +81-78-803-5864; Fax:
+81-78-803-5865; e-mail: <mayama@kobe-u.ac.jp>.
Postharvest
Pathology
The committee
for Postharvest Pathology of the International Society of Plant Pathology
will hold its first annual gathering within the framework of the ‘Postharvest
2000’ meeting that will take place in Jerusalem on 26-31 March 2000. This
meeting will present the latest developments in Postharvest Pathology
and is one of the annual activities of the members of the Committee on
Postharvest Pathology.
During the
meeting there will be several activities of interest for members of the
committee and we encourage all members to participate. There will be:
- A keynote
presentation on postharvest pathology
- Sessions
dedicated to biological control, mechanism of host resistance, natural
and induced resistance to disease, heat treatments for the control of
disease.
- Poster
presentations on the above subjects
- Informal
workshops and discussions about recent and on-going research.
For further
information on the meeting in Jerusalem, see the web-site <http://www.agri.gov.il/events/PostHarvest2000.html>
or e-mail: <postharvest@kenes.com>.
Professor
Dov Prusky, Chairman of the ISPP Committee on Postharvest Pathology, ARO
Volcani Research Station, Israel.
Dr Greg Johnson,
Program Manager Postharvest Technology, ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra
ACT 2614, Australia; Fax: +61-2-62170501, e-mail: <johnson@aciar.gov.au>
also advises about the 19th ASEAN Postharvest Seminar, Quality Assurance
in Agricultural Produce, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 9-12 November
1999. For updates on this seminar, see <http://www.aciar.gov.au/aciarptp/index.htm>.
Seed
Testing
The Accreditation
Standard of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) has been
slightly modified and came into force on 1 July 1999. The revision will
help to make it easier for laboratories to understand and to apply the
accreditation requirements. No substantial changes have been made.
Details may
be obtained from the ISTA Secretariat, Reckenholzstrasse 191, P O Box
412, CH-8046 Zurich, Switzerland; e-mail: <istach@iprolink.ch>.
Also you can see the web-site at <http://www.seedtest.org>.
ISTA also
announces that Heinz Schmid has resigned from his post as Executive Officer
as of 15 June 1999 and that his work has been taken over by Dr Michael
Muschick. Please also note the new numbers; Phone: +41-1-377-60 00; Fax:
+41-1-377-60 01.
APS
Press Announcement
The American
Phytopathological Society Press (APS Press) announces the forthcoming
publication of a new book on the history of Plant Pathology in the USA,
entitled "The Formative Years of Plant Pathology in the United States."
The book is on sale for $US44 through 31 July 31 1999, plus $5 shipping
for orders in the USA and $10 shipping for orders outside of the USA.
Distribution will be in August 1999.
For more information,
see <http://www.scisoc.org/apspress>.
Methyl
bromide - USA
The
Environmental Protection Agency in the USA has recently issued a Final
Rule revising the regulations for the accelerated phaseout of methyl bromide.
These regulations relate to the production, import, export, transformation
and destruction of substances that deplete the ozone layer. For more information,
see the web-site <http://www.access.gpo.gov/index.html>.
Books
in Spanish
Four books
published by APS Press and catalogued earlier this year are now available
in Spanish. Three are in the series of compendia of plant diseases, and
concern grapes, citrus and turf. The fourth is "Managing Diseases
in Greenhouse Crops."
For
more information, see <http://www.scisoc.org/apspress>.
Coming
Events
Methods
and Markers for Quality Assurance in Micropropagation in
Cork, Ireland.
24-27 August
1999.
Contact: Prof
A C Cassells, Plant Science Department, University College, Cork, Ireland;
Fax: +353-903294; e-mail: <a.cassells@ucc.ie>
or <ishs@ucc.ie>.
Web-site: <http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/biotech/ishs>.
Biological
Control Agents in Crop and Animal Production
in Swansea, UK.
24-28 August
1999.
Contact: Dr
Tariq M Butt, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Swansea,
Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK; Fax: +44-1792-295447; e-mail: <T.Butt@swansea.ac.uk>.
Pseudomonas
’99: Biotechnology and Pathogenesis in
Maui, Hawaii.
1-5 September
1999.
See <http://www.asmusa.org/mtgsrc/>.
5th International
Workshop on Septoria/Stagonospora Diseases of Cereals in
El Batan, Mexico.
21-24 September1999.
Contact: Dr
Ravi Singh, Wheat Program, CIMMYT, Lisboa 27, Apartado 6-641, Mexico D.F,
Mexico; Fax: +52-525-726-7558; e-mail <rsingh@cimmyt.mx>;
Website: <http://www.cimmyt.mx/>.
XIII Congress
of European Mycologists in Madrid, Spain.
21-25 September
1999.
Contact: Dr
R Galan, Dpto de Biologia Vegetal, Facutdad de Ciencias, Universidad de
Alcala, 28871 Alcala de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Fax: +341-885-5066; e-mail:
BVMHF@JARIFA.ALCALA.ES
9th Australian
Wheat Breeding Assembly in Toowoomba,
Queensland, Australia.
26 September-1
October 1999.
Contact: Joy
Pugh, Meetings and Events, PO Box 282, Darling Heights, Toowoomba, Queensland
4350, Australia;
Phone: +61-7-4631-2840;
Fax: +61-7-4635-5550; e-mail: <marksuth@usq.edu.au>;
website: <http://pig.ag.uq.edu.au/wbsa/wbsadefault.htm>
The Xth
Latinamerican Phytopathological Congress (X Congreso Latinoamerican de
Fitopatologia) in Guadalajara, State of
Jalisco, Mexico.
27 September-1
October1999.
Contact: Sociedad
Mexicana de Fitopatologia, c/o Unidad de Biotecnologia - CINVESTAV, Apartado
Postal 629, Irapuato - Gto, 36500 Mexico. See web site: <http://www.cimmyt.mx>.
12th Biennial
Australasian Plant Pathology Society Conference
in Canberra, ACT, Australia.
27 September-1
October 1999.
Contact: Greg
Johnson (Convenor), Postharvest Technology - ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra,
ACT 2601; Fax: +61-2-6217-0501; e-mail: johnson@aciar.gov.au
For updates,
please follow the web-site at <http://www.ozemail.com.au/~williap/Conference/Conference.html>.
The 1st
International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases - Esca (Black Measles)
and Grapevine Decline in Tuscany, Italy.
1 to 2 October
1999.
Contact the
Secretarial Office, MPU: Laura Mugnai, Istituto di Patologia e Zoologia
forestale e agraria, Piazzale delle Cascine 28, 50144 Firenze, Italy;
Fax. +39-055-354786; e-mail: <laura@ipaf.fi.cnr.it>.
International
Working Group on Plant Viruses with Fungal Vectors in
Monterey, California.
5-8 October
1999.
Contact: John
L Sherwood; Fax: +1-706-542-1262; e-mail: <sherwood@arches.uga.edu>
or see the web-site <http://www.res.bbsrc.ac.uk/plantpath/Iwgpvfv/Monterey.html>.
BMS Sympoium
- Fungal Conservation in the 21st Century
in Kew, UK.
13 November
1999.
Contact: Conservation
Officer, Maurice Rotheroe, Fern Cottage, Falcondale, Lampeter, Dyfed SA48
7RX, UK; Fax: +44-1570-423437; e-mail: <FernCottage@netwales.co.uk>.
British
Society for Plant Pathology Presidential Meeting: Vector-pathogen-plant
interactions in UK.
December 1999.
Contact: Dr
Mark J Hocart, Crop Science & Technology, SAC Edinburgh, West Mains
Road, Edinburgh, EH12 8NJ, UK; Fax: +44-131-667-2601; e-mail: m.hocart@ed.sac.ac.uk
Combined
Millennium Meeting Biotech SA 2000 in
the broad area of Experimental Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Biochemistry,
Molecular Biology and Plant Pathology in Grahamstown, South Africa.
23-28 January
2000.
Contact the
BIO Y2K Secretariat, c/o Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,
Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa; Fax: +27-46-6223984; e-mail:
<bioy2k@ru.ac.za>.
Canadian
Phytopathological Society Joint Meeting
with the Pacific Division of the American Phytopathological Society in
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
18-21 June
2000.
See <http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/conf/cps_aps/>.
Contact:
Jack R. Sutherland, Chair, Local Arrangements Committee; Fax: +1-250-598-1959;
e-mail: <jsuther@islandnet.com>
American
Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting in
New Orleans, USA.
12-16 August
2000.
See <http://www.scisoc.org>.
The 1st
Asian Conference on Plant Pathology (ACPP 2000) in
Beijing, China.
25-28 August
2000.
Contact: Dr
Guo Li Yin, Chinese Society for Plant Pathology, Plant Protection Building
No. 313, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 1000904, China; Fax:
+86-10-6289-1025; e-mail: <bauicbe@public.bta.net.cn>;
web-site: <http://www.chinaspp.com>.
Symposium
on Chemical and Non-Chemical Soil Disinfestation in
Turin, Italy.
11- 15 September
2000.
Contact:
M Lodovica Gullino, Di Va P R A - Patologia vegetale, Via L da Vinci
44,
10095 Grugliasco
(Torino), Italy; Fax: +39-011-6708541; e-mail : gullino@agraria.unito.it
Tropical
Mycology in Liverpool, UK.
25-29 March
2000.
Contact: Profesor
Roy Watling; e-mail: <r.watling@rbge.org.uk>.
5th EFPP
Congress, Biodiversity in Plant Pathology
in Taormina and Giardini-Naxos, Italy.
18-22 September
2000.
Contact: EFPP
2000 Congress Secretariat, Institute of Plant Pathology, Universita di
Catania, Via Valdisavoia, 5- 9123 Catania, Italy; Fax: +39-95-234416;
e-mail: EFPP
2000@mbox.fagr.unict.it
The XIth
Latinamerican Phytopathological Congress
in Piracicaba, State of Sao Paolo, Brazil.
August 2001.
Contact: Brazilian
Phytopathological Society (SBF).
American
Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting in
Salt Lake City, USA.
25-29 August
2001.
See <http://www.scisoc.org>.
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>.
The 3rd
International Bacterial Wilt Symposium
in Sun City, Republic of South Africa.
Late January
or early February 2002.
Contact Jody
Terblanche, Tobacco and Cotton Reserach Institute, Private Bag x 82075,
Rustenberg, 0300, Republic of South Africa; Fax: +27-142-993113; e-mail:
<Jody@NITK1.AGRIC.ZA>.
8th International
Congress of Plant Pathology in Christchurch,
New Zealand.
2-8 February
2003.
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>.
ICPP2003 Website: <http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/icpp2003/>.
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