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)
In this issue:
Lise Korsten, Winner of the
ISPP Challenge Project 2007
The ISPP Executive has selected the proposal
entitled "Changing Public Perceptions and Opinions on Global Food
Security" from Professor Lise Korsten as the winner for 2007.
Lise is from the Department of Microbiology and
Plant Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa. Her
telephone is +27-12-420-3295, and her e-mail address is ( Lise.korsten@up.ac.za
).
The proposal was judged to be an excellent match
to the terms of the Call from the ISPP Task Force on Global Food Security
- in particular to "raise the profile of plant disease, as a
contribution to the challenge of global food security". See ( http://www.isppweb.org/foodsecurity_congresschallenge2007.asp
).
The proposal's understandable focus on South
Africa was noted, as was its intention to "establish a Food Security
Information Hub at the University of Pretoria to build capacity in South
Africa and Africa in Plant Pathology and to create public-private sector
awareness of the importance of plant diseases in food security."
The proposal foreshadowed that co-funding would
come from the University of Pretoria.
On the agreed start date after January 2008, ISPP
will pay US$25,000, which is 80% of the first year's budget of US$31,250.
Twelve months later, Lise will be asked to report on the progress of the
project, and provide a financial report. Once that has been done
satisfactorily, ISPP will pay the remaining 20% of the first year's budget
and 80% of the second year's budget. A similar procedure will be applied
before the end of the second year. At the end of the third year, Lise will
be asked to present a final report. Once that has been done
satisfactorily, ISPP will pay the remaining 20% of the final year's
budget. In the financial reports ISPP expects enough detail for an
auditor's inspection of ISPP accounts.
New Chairs of ISPP Subject
Matter Committees
Two new chairs have been announced. They are for
the:-
ISPP Epidemiology Committee
Dr Odile Carisse at 430 Gouin Blvd /430, Boul.
Gouin St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec/St-Jean-sur-Richelieu(Québec) J3B
3E6, Canada. Telephone: +1-450-515-2023 and facsimile: +1-450-346-7740.
E-mail: ( carisseo@agr.gc.ca ).
ISPP Plant Virus Epidemiology Committee
Professor Alberto Fereres Castiel, Director del
Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias (ICA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones
Cientificas-CSIC, C/Serrano 115 dpdo. 28006 Madrid, Spain. Telephone:
+34-91-5627620. E-mail: ( afereres@ccma.csic.es
).
First International Symposium
on Chili Anthracnose
The Symposium was held at the Seoul National
University, Korea, in September 2007. The abstracts edited by Dae-Geun Oh
and Ki-Taek Kim are now available at ( http://www.avrdc.org/anthracnose/abstracts.html
).
The State of Food and
Agriculture in 2007
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the
United Nations has produced its annual publication "The State of Food
and Agriculture". The report emphasizes the roles taken by farmers in
managing environmental services and the world's natural resources. Paying
farmers for environmental services helps to reduce the negative
side-effects of agriculture while meeting the growing demands for
agricultural products.
See ( ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1200e/a1200e00.pdf
).
Climate Change and Agriculture
in India
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
suggested the deployment of new technologies to cope with the impact of
climate change in agriculture. ICAR held a national conference on climate
change and Indian agriculture from 12-13 October 2007 and recommended
policies and action to increase the country's preparedness. It also calls
for exploring an international partnership and establishing a 'Green
Research Fund' to strengthen research on adaptation, mitigation and impact
assessment on climate change.
See ( http://www.icar.org.in/Recommendations-CLIMATE-CHANGE-CONFERENCE.pdf
).
Open Microbiology Journal
Several members of ISPP have received a letter
from Bentham Science Publishers along the lines of the following.
Bentham Science Publishers have gained an
international reputation for their excellent standards and top quality
science publications. Many journals published by Bentham Science
Publishers have received high impact factors in their respective fields.
For the current list of publications, see ( www.bentham.org
). Seven Nobel Laureates have endorsed a number of Bentham Science's
journals; see their quotes at ( www.bentham.org/Nobel.htm
).
The publishers are now undertaking a new venture
by launching a number of Open Access journals in 2007, devoted to various
disciplines in the fields of science and technology.
Open Access Journals are freely accessible via the
Internet for worldwide, open access to the full text of articles serving
the interests of the scientific community. All interested readers can
read, download, and/or print open access articles at no cost. There is no
subscription fee for Open Access journals. The modest publication costs
are usually covered by the author's institution or research funds.
Moreover, authors who publish in the Open Access journals retain the
copyright of their article. Open Access journals are no different from
traditional subscription-based journals; they undergo the same peer-review
and quality control as any other scholarly journal.
The Open Microbiology Journal is an Open Access
online journal, which publishes research articles, reviews and letters in
all areas of microbiology. See the journal's homepage and
"Instructions for Authors" for article submission at ( www.bentham.org/open/tomicroj
).
The journal aims to provide the most complete and
reliable source of information on current developments in the field. The
emphasis will be on publishing quality articles rapidly and making them
freely available to researchers worldwide. All published articles will be
deposited immediately upon publication in at least one widely and
internationally recognized open access repository, such as Medline, PubMed
Central. Moreover, all articles are indexed by Google and Google Scholar,
therefore providing the maximum exposure to the articles.
All published open access articles will receive
wide international exposure and they will also receive high citations.
In this connection, Dr Matthew Honan, Editorial
Director, Bentham Science Publishers, invites submission of research
articles, reviews and letters to The Open Microbiology Journal.
Persons interested in submitting an article, are
referred to the "Instructions for Authors" or invited to contact
by e-mail at ( tomicroj@bentham.org
) or ask for submission guidelines from ( sabiha@benthamscience.org
).
Changes in Potato Species
The US Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the
International Potato Center (CIP) have shown that there are four potato
species instead of the postulated seven. This comes from the use of
molecular markers in combination with morphological characteristics in
screening 742 cultivars and 8 wild relatives for a DNA mutation which
distinguishes potatoes from the Andes and those from the Chilean lowlands.
The four species are the widely cultivated Solanum tuberosum, and the less
common S. ajanhuiri, S. juzepczukii and S. curtilobum.
See ( http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261
).
European Crop Protection
Network
Crop protection specialists from ten European
nations have collaborated to launch the European Network for the Durable
Exploitation of Crop Protection Strategies (ENDURE) as a network of
excellence for diversifying crop protection. See ( http://www.endure-network.eu
). In addition to the initial collaborators, an additional 120 persons
from 18 organizations have committed to ENDURE for the period 2007-2010.
Participating countries presently include Denmark, France, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
ENDURE is organizing "Diversifying Crop
Protection", its first international conference, in October 2008 at
Montpellier, France (see "Coming Events").
Collaboration against Black
Leaf Streak of Banana
Black leaf streak disease of bananas, often
referred to as Sigatoka disease [see ( http://www.isppweb.org/names_common.asp
)] requires frequent applications of fungicides for its control. Yield is
significantly reduced by the disease which is a serious threat to banana
worldwide, because it is very aggressive, fast spreading and attacks the
main commercial varieties. In a breakthrough, researchers from EMBRAPA
(the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) in collaboration with
others in the Netherlands, the USA, France, and Mexico have sequenced the
genome of the causal agent Mycosphaerella fijiensis.
The plan is to use the information obtained from
the five thousand fungal genes in conjunction with information from the
banana genome, in order to understand better the disease and to design
control mechanisms for resistant commercial varieties of banana.
See:( http://www.embrapa.br/imprensa/noticias/2007/outubro/2a-semana/cientistas-sequenciam-o-genoma-do-fungo-causador-da-pior-doenca-da-bananeira/?searchterm=Sigatoka
).
New Director General for
CIMMYT
The International Maize and Wheat Improvement
Center (CIMMYT) has chosen Dr Thomas Lumpkin as Director General. He is
the current Director General of The Asian Vegetable Research and
Development Center (AVRDC) in Taiwan. Dr Lumpkin will take up his new
position on 15 March 2008.
Dr Lumpkin has wide experience in agriculture and
in leading agricultural research institutions. He received his BSc in
Agronomy from Washington State University and MSc and PhD in Agronomy from
the University of Hawaii.
See ( http://www.cimmyt.org/english/wps/news/2007/nrelease/dg.pdf
).
The World's Poor
A report entitled "The World's Most Deprived:
Characteristics and Causes of Extreme Poverty and Hunger" has been
released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). It
points out that 162 million of the world's poorest survive on about 50 US
cents a day. Most people belonging to the group are socially excluded, and
include those that live in rural areas and have no access to roads,
market, education and health services.
The report uses household poverty data from 1990
to 2004 examining below the dollar-a-day poverty line and examines who the
poorest people are, where they live, and how they have fared over time.
See ( http://www.ifpri.org/2020/dp/vp43/vp43ch05.pdf
).
Coming Events
AAB (Association of Applied Biologists) Advances
in Nematology at the Linnean Society, London, United Kingdom. 11 December
2007. See ( http://www.aab.org.uk/contentok.php?id=184&basket=wwsshowconflist
).
National Soybean Rust Symposium in Louisville,
Kentucky, USA. 12-14 December 2007. Contact ( aps@scisoc.org
). See ( www.apsnet.org ).
International Conference on Environmental,
Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability at Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu, Malaysia. 4-7 January 2008. See ( http://www.SustainabilityConference.com
).
AAB International Advances in Pesticide
Application 2008 at Robinson College, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 9-11
January 2008. See ( http://www.aab.org.uk/contentok.php?id=184&basket=wwsshowconflist
).
Plant Innate Immunity (X2) at Keystone Resort,
Keystone, Colorado, USA. 10-15 February 2008. www.keystonesymposia.org/Meetings/viewMeetings.cfm?MeetingID=932
2nd International Conference on Health and
Biodiversity in Galway, Ireland. 25-28 February 2008. See ( http://www.cohabnet.org/cohab2008
).
International Symposium "Underutilized Plant
Species for Food, Nutrition, Income, and Sustainable Development" in
Arusha, Tanzania. 3-7 March 2008. See ( http://www.avrdc.org/pdf/Symposium2008%20First%20Circular.pdf
).
International Conference on Biotic Plant
Interactions in Brisbane, Australia. 27-29 March 2008. See (www.uq.edu.au/plants/icbpi).
Molecular Marker Applications in Crop Genetics and
Breeding a training course at the ICRISAT campus, Patancheru, Greater
Hyderabad, India. 31 March-11 April 2008. See ( http://www.dbtindia.nic.in/Misc/ICRISAT.htm
). Contact Dr Dave Hoisington at ( d.hoisington@cgiar.org
).
Third International Late Blight Conference 2008 in
Beijing, China. 3-6 April 2008. See ( http://research.cip.cgiar.org/typo3/web/index.php?id=1053
).
International Conference on Banana and Plantain in
Africa: Harnessing International Partnerships to Increase Research Impact
in Mombasa, Kenya. 7-10 April 2008. See ( http://www.banana2008.com
).
6th International Seed Testing Association Seed
Health Symposium at Kruger National Park, South Africa. 14-18 April 2008.
See ( www.up.ac.za/conferences/ielc
).
12th International Symposium on Virus Diseases of
Ornamental Plants at Van der Valk Hotel, Haarlem, The Netherlands. 20-24
April 2008 See ( www.plant-virology.nl/ISVDOP12
).
VIII International Symposium on Plant
Biotechnology in Villa Clara, Cuba. 23-25 April 2008. See ( http://simposio.ibp.co.cu
).
2008 International Conference on BioMedical
Engineering and Informatics (BMEI 2008) in Sanya, Hainan, China. 28-30 May
2008. See ( http://www.hainu.edu.cn/BMEI2008
).
13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases
(ICID) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 19-22 June 2008. See ( http://www.isid.org/13th_icid
).
The 1st Global Conference on GMO Analysis
(organized by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission) in
Villa Erba, Como, Italy. 24-27 June 2008. See ( http://gmoglobalconference.jrc.it
).
5th International Congress of Nematology in
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 13-18 July 2008. See ( www.5icn.org/
).
APS Centennial Meeting, Minneapolis in Minnesota,
USA. 26-30 July 2008. Contact: ( aps@scisoc.org
). See ( http://meeting.apsnet.org/centennial/default.cfm
).
International Symposium on Induced Mutations in
Plants (ISIM) in Vienna, Austria. 12-15 August 2008 See ( http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/Announcements.asp?ConfID=167
).
The 16th Congress of the Federation of European
Societies of Plant Biology (FESPB) in Tampere, Finland. 17-22 August 2008.
See ( http://www.fespb2008.org ).
Also satellite symposium on Peroxidases. 20-23 August 2008. See ( http://www.peroxidase2008.org
).
4th International Symposium on Rhizoctonia in
Berlin, Germany. 20-23 August 2008. See ( http://rhizoctonia.org
).
3rd International Phytophthora/Pythium Workshop in
association with the 9th ICPP-2008 in Torino, Italy. 23-24 August 2008.
See ( www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/identification/phytophthora
).
9th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP
2008) in Torino, Italy. 24-29 August 2008. Contact: Congress Secretariat,
Valentina Communication, Via Cibrario 27, 10143 Torino, Italy. Phone:
+39-0114374250; Fax: +39-0114374318; e-mail: ( info@icpp2008.org
). See ( www.icpp2008.org ).
The X International Fusarium Workshop and the
Fusarium Genomics Workshop at the Hotel Carlos V in Alghero, Sardinia,
Italy. 30 August-2 September 2008. See ( http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9850
).
First International Symposium on Biotechnology of
Fruit Species in Dresden, Germany. 1-5 September 2008. See ( http://www.biotechfruit2008.bafz.de
).
APS Caribbean Division Meeting, part of the 6th
International Scientific Seminar on Plant Health, in Havana, Cuba. 22-26
September 2008. Contact: ( aps@scisoc.org
). See ( www.apsnet.org ).
16th Ornamental Workshop on Diseases and Pests in
Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA. 22-26 September 2008. See ( www.cals.ncsu.edu/plantpath/activities/societies/ornamental
).
ENDURE International Conference "Diversifying
Crop Protection" in the Congress Palace of La Grande Motte, near
Montpellier, France. 13-15 October 2008. See ( http://www.endure-network.eu
).
IV International Silicon in Agriculture Conference
at Wild Coast Sun, Port Edward, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. 26-31 October
2008. See ( www.siliconconference.org.za
).
2nd InternationaL Symposium on Biological Control
of Bacterial Plant Diseases in Orlando, Florida, USA. 4-7 November 2008.
Contact:( JBJones@ufl.edu ).
International Conference on Legume Genomics and
Genetics in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 7-12 December 2008. See ( http://www.ccg.unam.mx/iclgg4/index.html
).
International Forest Biosecurity Conference,
incorporating the 6th International Forest Vegetation Management
Conference, in Rotorua, New Zealand. 16-20 March 2009. See ( www.ensisjv.com/forestbiosecurity
). Contact: Dr Brian Richardson, General Manager, Ensis Forest Biosecurity
and Protection, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua, New Zealand. Phone:
+64-7-343-5516; Fax: +64-7-343-5333; Mobile: 021-913-221.
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