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:
Honorary Members of ISPP as at
February 2008
Honorary Members of ISPP are those individuals who
have been elected by the Council because of their outstanding
contributions to plant pathology, the aims of the ISPP, or both. See ( http://www.isppweb.org/about_objectives.asp#hm
).
The Honorary Members as at this date are: Arthur
Kelman (elected 1988), R K S Wood (elected 1988), Johannes Dekker (elected
1998) and Chiu Wei Fan (deceased; elected 1998).
Citations about the third and fourth members are
at: ( http://www.isppweb.org/nlfeb99.asp
).
ICPP2008 Scientific Programme
The Scientific Secretariat of the 9th
International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP2008) is pleased to inform
that the updated version of the ICPP 2008 Scientific Programme is on line
and can be downloaded. See ( http://www.icpp2008.org/download.php?pag=3
).
ISPP Rhizoctonia Subject Matter
Committee
The Committee and the German Symposium Organizing
Committee invite participation in the 4th International Symposium on
Rhizoctonia, which will be held in Berlin, Germany, from 20 to 23 August
2008. It is an exciting meeting that only occurs every 5 years, and in
2008, takes place immediately before the International Congress of Plant
Pathology in Torino, Italy.
The web site at ( http://www.rhizoctonia.org
) now contains complete information about the location and venue,
accommodation, registration and abstract submission details The web site
also contains current information about invited speakers and the
scientific and social program. Please note the following important dates,
earlybird registration deadline 15 April, hotel symposium rates deadline
30 April and abstract submission deadline 1 June.
The program in Berlin will focus on genomics,
plant-pathogen interactions, pathogen detection, disease control,
molecular technologies, and innovative new findings. These topics will be
addressed in lectures and poster sessions attended by leaders in research
and industry. Time will be reserved for inter-personal interactions to
foster collaborations. The Symposium will provide a platform for
university researchers and teachers as well as government and industry
researchers and extension personnel to share information on the latest
issues in Rhizoctonia.
Stephen Neate ( ispp@rhizoctonia.org
) Chair. Rita Grosch, Chair, Symposium Organizing Committee.
ISPP Epidemiology Committee
In 2008, it will be the occasion to renew the
members of the ISPP Epidemiology Subject Matter Committee. We will have a
meeting during the 9th International Congress of Plant Pathology
(ICPP2008) in Torino. Epidemiologists and ecologists are welcome. In
addition to the election of committee members we will discuss the
possibility of having a newsletter and or a web site hosted by ISPP.
The room and time for the next epidemiology
committee meeting will be announced in a later issue this year of the ISPP
or ICPP Newsletter.
In the meantime, I like to bring your attention to
a new set of teaching modules for using the R programming environment in
epidemiology and ecology. See the open-access on-line peer-reviewed
journal The Plant Health Instructor.
K A Garrett, P D Esker, and A H Sparks. 2007. An
introduction to the R programming environment. The Plant Health
Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-A-2007-1226-02. See: ( http://www.apsnet.org/education/AdvancedPlantPath/Topics/RModules/doc0
).
P D Esker, A H Sparks, M Bates, W Dall'Acqua, E E
Frank, L Huebel, V Segovia, and K A Garrett. 2007. Ecology and
epidemiology in R: Modeling dispersal gradients. The Plant Health
Instructor. DOI:10.1094/PHI-A-2007-1226-03. See: ( http://www.apsnet.org/education/AdvancedPlantPath/Topics/RModules/doc2
).
Other modules are currently in the process of
being published. See the most recent link from ( http://www.k-state.edu/pdecology/RModules.html
).
Odile Carisse ( carisseo@agr.gc.ca
) Chair, ISPP Epidemiology Committee.
5th International Conference on
Plant Pathology in India
This conference with the theme "Plant
pathology in the globalized era" is being organised under the
auspices of the Indian Phytopathological Society. It will be held at the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, from 10-13
November 2009.
The first circular is available from ( ipsdis@indiatimes.com
) or ( ipsdis@yahoo.com ).
ISAAA - crop biotechnology
ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition
of Agri-bio-tech Applications) is a small network with a global hub in the
Philippines and centres in Nairobi, Kenya, and at Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, USA. The chairman and founder Dr Clive James has lived
and worked for the past 25 years in Asia, Latin America and Africa, on
agricultural research and development issues with a particular focus on
crop biotechnology and its contribution to global food security and the
alleviation of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. See ( www.isaaa.org
).
Persons wishing to join should e-mail ( knowledge.center@isaaa.org
), leaving the subject blank and entering the one line of text: SUBSCRIBE
Crop Biotech Network
Report number 37 "Global Status of
Commercialized Bio-tech/GM Crops: 2007" has just been released by
ISAAA. See: ( http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/37/default.html
).
Contact the ISAAA Center in SouthEast Asia at ( publications@isaaa.org
) for a copy of the report. The report is entirely funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation; Ibercaja, a large bank headquartered in the maize
growing region of Spain; and the Bussolera-Branca Foundation from Italy.
According to the report, in 2007 the areas of
biotech crops increased by 12 percent or 12.3 million hectares to reach
114.3 million hectares, the second highest increase in the past five
years.In addition to planting more biotech hectares, farmers are quickly
adopting varieties with more than one biotech trait. Also,
insect-resistant trees can contribute to reforestation efforts.
Also, according to the report, biotech crops have
delivered unprecedented benefits, particularly in China, India and South
Africa. The potential in the second decade of biotech crop
commercialization (2006-2015) is said to be enormous.
In 2007, the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India
and China continued to be the principal adopters of biotech crops
globally. While the USA continues to be the largest user of the
technology, its biotech crop area represents a declining share of the
global area due to the broadening adoption.
Norman Borlaug Award for
Pakistan Scientist
Dr S Sarwar Alam ( drssalam@yahoo.com
) advises ISPP that Dr Muhammad Ahsanul Haq, Director of the Nuclear
Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB) in Faisalabad, Pakistan, was
conferred with the Dr Norman E Borlaug Award - 2007 on the occasion of
World Food Day in a ceremony held in Islamabad on 25 October 2007. The
award has been constituted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Livestock, GoP, in collaboration with the World Food Programme of the Food
and Agriculture Organization, and is awarded to scientists for outstanding
research contributions in the field of agriculture. Dr M Ahsanul Haq has
over 35 years research experience in the field of crop breeding and has
distinguished accomplishments in genetic improvement of chickpea, cotton,
lentil and mungbean. Dr Haq also has more than 135 research publications
in national and international journals and earned the Research
Productivity Allowance for the consecutive three years from 2003-04 to
2005-06.
NIAB in Faisalabad is a premier R&D
institution specialized in the use of nuclear and other advanced
techniques in applied and basic research in agriculture and biology. Its
research efforts have resulted in the development of 24 improved varieties
of crops such as cotton, rice, and grain legumes. The Biosaline
Agriculture Technology developed at NIAB is currently being applied for
rehabilitation of saline wastelands on a large scale in the country and
has also been adopted by several other countries. Other achievements worth
mention include crop protection, fertilizer and water management for major
crops and improvement of livestock health and reproduction, and production
of vaccines for cattle and poultry.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault
By February 2008, over 200,000 crop varieties from
Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, will be shipped to a
remote island near the Arctic Circle, for storage in the Svalbard Global
Seed Vault (SGSV), which is capable of preserving their vitality for
thousands of years.
A collection of rice, wheat, beans, sorghum, sweet
potatoes, lentils, chick peas, and many other food, forage, and
agroforestry plants will be safeguarded. The seeds will be shipped to
Longyearbyen on Norway's Svalbard archipelago, where the vault has been
constructed deep inside Arctic permafrost. The vault was built by the
Norwegian government, and a Rome-based international non-government
organisation the Global Crop Diversity Trust will fund its operation.
The first instalment will contain collection
duplicates from institutions such as the International Potato Center
(CIP), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and International
Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). The International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT) contains 150,000 unique samples of wheat and
its relatives from more than 100 countries and a maize collection
representing nearly 90 per cent of maize diversity in the Americas. CIMMYT
will continue to send yearly shipments of regenerated seed until the
entire collection of maize and wheat has been backed up at Svalbard.
Storage of these and all other seeds at Svalbard
is intended to ensure that they will be available for bolstering food
security should a man-made or natural disaster threaten agricultural
systems, or even the genebanks themselves.
See ( http://www.cgiar.org/news/seedtransfer_svalbard.html
).
Influence of Fungi on Ancient
Civilizations
A 2008 book from APS Press is "Fungi in the
Ancient World: How Mushrooms, Mildews, Molds, and Yeast Shaped the Early
Civilizations of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East". It is
a review of the impact of fungi in helping to shape ancient civilizations.
Mushrooms, mildews, molds and yeast had an effect on diet, customs,
politics and religion, human, animal and plant health, art, folklore and
the beginnings of science. This book discusses the current methodologies
for investigating the co-evolution of plants, fungi, and humans from the
Neolithic to the Middle Ages. It presents reproductions and descriptions
of fungal motifs in ancient art, myth and folklore that enable direct
examination of evidence by any professional or lay reader.
Interdisciplinary in scope, this detailed and illustrated book includes a
historical perspective on co-evolution of fungi with early agriculture
that provides documented summaries of contemporary research in this area,
from archaeology to molecular-genetics.
It is 6" x 9" softcover with 152 pages
and 13 black and white figures. (ISBN 978-0-89054-361-0).
The book may be purchased for $US69 from The
American Phytopathological Society, and ordered from the APS PRESS online
store ( www.shopapspress.org )
or toll-free +1-800-328-7560 in the USA or Canada or +1-651-454-7250 from
elsewhere.
World Bank Robert S McNamara
Fellowships Program
The World Bank Robert S McNamara Fellowship
Program offers support for students from World Bank member countries
working in academic and research institutions. The application for the
fellowship is open and will run until 31 March 2008. Successful applicants
will receive a research grant that covers residence costs for a 5 to 10
month period in a renowned university or research center. Fellows are
expected to advance their research work mainly by using the facilities
provided by the host institution, having access to essential resources
such as reference books and research publications, attending courses, etc.
For application procedure, see: ( http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/EXTWBISFP/EXTRSMFP/0,,contentMDK:21588557~menuPK:563061~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:551843,00.html
).
ISID NEWS
This is the the official newsletter of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID). See the January 2008
issue: ( http://www.isid.org/publications/ISIDnewsletter200801.shtml
).
The 13th International Congress on Infectious
Diseases (ICID) is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 19-22 June 2008.
Coming Events
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and
ISC Intelligence in Science "Science with Africa" in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia. 3-7 March 2008. See: ( http://www.sciencewithafrica.com
).
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
).
4th National Soybean Cyst Nematode Conference in
Tampa, Florida, USA. 6-8 March 2008. Contact: Terry Niblack ( tniblack@uiuc.edu
) or Greg Tylka ( gltylka@iastate.edu
).
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
).
"Advancing Agriculture in Developing
Countries through Knowledge and Innovation" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
7-9 April 2008. See:( http://www.ifpri.org/events/conferences/2008/20080407.asp
).
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
).
The International Plant Tissue and Biotechnology
Conference at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. 11-13 April 2008.
Contact: Dr M Imdadul Huque at ( mimdadul07@yahoo.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
).
2008 International Conference on Biocontainment
Facilities in Washington DC, USA. 21-22 April 2008. Contact: ( BIO2008@tradelineinc.com
). See ( http://www.TradelineInc.com/BIO2008
).
Asia-Pacific Conference (Asia-Pacific Forestry
Week) in Hanoi Vietnam. 21-26 April 2008.
VIII International Symposium on Plant
Biotechnology in Villa Clara, Cuba. 23-25 April 2008. See ( http://simposio.ibp.co.cu
).
International Seminar on Biotechnology for the
Agriculture Sector (Seminario Internacional sobre Biotecnología para el
sector Agropecuario ) in Bogota, Colombia. May 2008. Contact: ( jfernandomarin@yahoo.es
).
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
).
12th International Consortium on Agricultural
Biotechnology Research (ICABR) Conference "The future of agricultural
biotechnology: Creative destruction, adoption or irrelevance?" in
Ravello, Italy. 12-14 June 2008. See: ( http://www.economia.uniroma2.it/icabr/sarea.php?p=2&sa=7
) or e-mail: ( anna.santaniello@tiscali.it
).
13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases
(ICID) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 19-22 June 2008. See: ( http://www.isid.org/13th_icid
).
The BSPP Break Crops Workshop at the Processors
and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) Research Station near
Peterborough, UK. 24 June 2008. See: ( www.bspp.org.uk
).
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
).
The BSPP Potato Workshop at the Scottish
Agricultural Science Agency (SASA) in Edinburgh, UK. 2 July 2008. See: ( www.bspp.org.uk
).
Plant-Microbial Interactions in Kraków, Poland.
2-6 July 2008. Contact: Professor Katarzyna Turnau, Institute of
Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, PL-30-387
Kraków, Poland. Tel: +48.12.664 51 55; Fax: +48.12.664 69 12. E-mail: ( pmi2008@eko.uj.edu.pl
). See: ( www.eko.uj.edu.pl/mycorrhiza/pmi
).
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://www.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 ).
Conference on Adaptation of Forests and Forest
Management to Changing Climate with Emphasis on Forest Health: A Review of
Science, Policies, and Practices in Umea, Sweden. 25-28 August 2008. See:
( http://www.forestadaptation2008.net
).
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
).
The International Symposium "Harlan II -
Biodiversity In Agriculture: Domestication, Evolution and
Sustainability" at the University of California, Davis, USA. 14-18
September 2008. See ( http://harlanii.ucdavis.edu/index.htm
).
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
).
BSPP Presidential Meeting 'Cereal Pathosystems' at
Queen Mary College, London, UK. 16-17 December 2008. See: ( www.bsppmeetings.org.uk
).
XV Latinamerican Congress of Plant Pathology and
XVIII Congress of the Chilean Society of Plant Pathology at Pontificia
Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago, Chile. 12-16 January 2009.
Papers in English, Portuguese and Spanish are welcome. Contact Gloria Caro
at ( gcaro@uc.cl ) or ( fitopatologia@uc.cl
). See: ( http://www.puc.cl/agronomia/congresoalf
).
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.
XXIth International Symposium on Virus and
Virus-Like Diseases of Temperate Fruit Crops and XIIth International
Symposium on Small Fruit Virus Diseases in Germany. 5-10 July 2009. See ( http://www.phytomedizin.org/index.php?id=193
). Source: Professor Dr Wilhelm Jelkmann ( Wilhelm.Jelkmann@jki.bund.de
), Julius Kühn-Institut, Bundesforschungsinstitut für Kulturpflanzen,
Institut für Pflanzenschutz in Obst- und Weinbau, Schwabenheimer Str.
101, 69221 Dossenheim, Germany.
APS Annual Meeting 2009 at the Portland Convention
Center, Portland, Oregon, USA. 1-5 August 2009. See: ( http://www.apsnet.org
).
APPS 2009 "Plant Health Management-An
Integrated Approach" at the Civic Precinct, Newcastle, Australia. 30
September-2 October 2009. Contact: Conference Secretariat, PO Box 6150,
Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia. Phone: +61 2 6281 6624, Fax: +61 2 6285
1336. Email: ( https://www.conlog.com.au/ei/getdemo.ei?id=328&s=_21W0IGVCA
).
The 13th World Forestry Congress (Forests in
development - a vital balance) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 18-25 October
2009. See ( http://www.wfc2009.org/index_1024.html
). E-mail: (info@wfc2009.org).
5th International Conference on Plant Pathology,
with the theme "Plant pathology in the globalized era", at the
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. 10-13 November
2009. Contact: ( ipsdis@indiatimes.com
) or ( ipsdis@yahoo.com ).
APS Annual Meeting 2010 at Opryland, Nashville,
Tennessee, USA. 7-11 August 2010. See: ( http://www.apsnet.org
).
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