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.

Editors, Joseph-Alexander Verreet, e-mail: javerreet@phytomed.uni-kiel.de
and Elaine Davison, e-mail: edavison@agric.wa.gov.au

In this issue:

• Report on the Second International Conference on Sunn Pest, ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria, July 19-22, 2004
• Training Courses at the Central Science Laboratory, UK
• The World Directory of Plant Pathologists needs your help!
• Disease-Resistant Papaya Saves Hawaiian Papaya Industry
• New books of interest to Plant Pathologists
• Coming Events

The Second International Conference on Sunn Pest was held at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) headquarters in Aleppo, Syria from 19-22 July, 2004. The conference was organized by ICARDA; the University of Vermont, USA; and the Arab Society for Plant Protection (ASPP). It was sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Untied States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Federal Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the UK Department for International Development.

The conference brought together 150 scientists from countries of North Africa, West and Central Asia, and Eastern Europe that suffer regular infestations of this major insect pest of wheat and barley production. The importance of this insect has increased over the last decade as evidenced by the larger areas of wheat and barley infested, its spread to new regions, the losses incurred, and the enormous amount of resources spent for its control.

However, research findings presented and discussed during the conference showed various possibilities for the development and implementation of sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) practices. These could be based on safeguarding the complex of natural enemies that occur in all regions, the use of insect-killing fungi, host plant resistance, cultural practices, and the selective use of pesticides. The implementation of IPM would reduce costs for farmers and national economies and significantly reduce environmental and health problems.

While very encouraging progress has been made, several issues were also identified as priorities to further enhance the implementation of effective and environmentally sound and sustainable IPM of Sunn pest. Significant investment in both research and outreach activities must be made through regional approaches, and encouraging international collaboration. Because insects do not recognize country borders, a regional strategy is critical to successfully reduce the impact of Sunn pest on food security. The ultimate goal is to maintain Sunn pest populations at low levels using multiple tactics in a coordinated program. The following specific priorities were identified by the International Conference to achieve this goal:

1. Encourage governmental policy changes to promote reduced pesticide use in terms of total active ingredient per hectare.

2. Undertake outreach activities to educate farmers on Sunn pest IPM.

3. Develop standard procedures for Sunn pest population sampling and damage assessment and establishing economic threshold levels.

4. Promote farmer participation in field monitoring to effectively utilize established economic thresholds and IPM options.

5. Conduct research to fully evaluate biological and mechanical controls and design mechanisms for their adoption by farmers.

 Training Courses at the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), UK

CSL's plant health training courses are aimed at giving practical knowledge and skills and courses are designed for scientists, technicians, inspectors and diagnosticians at all stages of the crop production chain. Courses are run by internationally recognised experts in the field, and combine lectures with laboratory sessions to ensure you get maximum benefit. Courses are offered at CSL's modern laboratory facility in the north of England, with accommodation provided in the nearby historic city of York.

Two specialist courses are being held in November:

Phytophthora ramorum - 15-17 November 2004

For those who are involved in diagnosing and managing this disease, the course focuses on: detection and identification; latest news and information; lectures and laboratory sessions.

Applied virology - 22-26 November 2004

Plant viruses cause massive economic losses to crops around the world. To reduce this damage, knowledge of viruses and their epidemiology is essential. This unique course will focus on: detection, diagnosis, characterisation, epidemiology, control, and viral infection risk management. Practical sessions and lectures will be complemented by open forums to allow thorough discussion of the information with CSL's virology specialists.

Further courses will be offered in 2005:

• The Diagnosis of Quarantine Fungi - 21-25 February 2005
• The Diagnosis of Quarantine Bacteria - 16-20 May 2005

For more information and to reserve your place, please visit www.csl.gov.uk/plhtraining

Nicola Spence, Plant Health Group, Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK

The ISPP World Directory of Plant Pathologists needs to include more national societies and to update the data in those listed below. Please work with the appropriate person in your society to help make the World Directory more useful. Check out the Directory at http://www.scisoc.org/ispp/world_directory or through the ISPP Home Page at http://www.isppweb.org. Instructions for preparing society data are available from World Directory Facilitator, Charlie Delp at charliedelp@hotmail.com.

Participating Organizations:

• The American Phytopathological Society (APS)
• Canadian Phytopathological Society (CPS)
• Chinese Society for Plant Pathology (CSPP)
• Danish Society for Plant Pathology (DSPP)
• Société Française de Phytopathologie (SFP)
• International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
• The Phytopathological Society of Japan (PSJ)
• Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU)
• The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
• Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP)
• Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS)
• Asociacion Latinomericana de Fitopathologia (ALF)
• Pakistan Phytopathological Society (PPS)
• Sociedade Portugueste de Fitiatria e Fitofarmacologia (SPF)
• Arab Society for Plant Protection (ASPP)
• Swiss Society for Phytiatry
• The European Foundation for Plant Pathology (EFPP)

Disease-Resistant Papaya Saves Hawaiian Papaya Industry

A new papaya, genetically resistant to papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), has rescued the Hawaiian papaya industry and may have the potential to do the same in other papaya-growing regions of the world, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).

"In 1992, Hawaii's papaya industry faced economic disaster when PRSV was discovered in the Puna District of the Hawaii Island where 95 percent of the state's papaya was grown," said Dennis Gonsalves, plant pathologist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Hilo, HI. By 1995, PRSV was widespread in Puna and the industry was in a crisis situation. PRSV rapidly spreads when aphids (small insects) pick up the virus on their mouths while feeding on infected plants and continue to feed on healthy plants.

In the late 1980s, plant pathologists began to develop transgenic papayas resistant to PRSV and the disease-resistant papaya was commercially released in May 1998.

"Today, we are proud to say that the transgenic papaya has fulfilled the hope of the Hawaiian papaya industry to control PRSV and to restore the supply of papaya to nearly the level existing before PRSV entered Puna in 1992," said Gonsalves. The resistance of the transgenic papaya allowed farmers to directly reclaim their farms without first clearing their land of all infected papaya trees. The percentage of Hawaii's fresh papaya production produced in Puna has risen from a low of 65 percent in 1999 to 84 percent in 2002.

Since PRSV is a worldwide problem on papaya, other countries have showed interest in developing the technology for their use. "Due to its success, the transgenic papaya has often been referred to as the model for the use of biotechnology to help agriculture," said Gonsalves.

More on this subject can be found in the APS feature article at http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/ringspot/.

Amy Steigman, The American Phytopathological Society (APS) apsheadquarters@scisoc.org 

Agrobacterium tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology (edited by Eugene Nester, Milton P. Gordon, and Allen Kerr) is an anthology that traces the fascinating progress from plant pathology to biotechnology through 38 scientific papers on Agrobacterium, published over the past century. Included are the seminal scientific papers on the biology and application of Agrobacterium with many introductory commentaries many of which were contributed by those involved in the original work. The commentaries give background to the papers and explain the problems faced and the techniques used, providing insight into the way fundamental research progresses.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens has played a major role in the astounding advances that have been made over the past several decades in the areas of plant genetics, plant molecular biology, and plant genetic engineering. The papers included in this book were integral to the current understanding of the interaction of Agrobacterium with its hosts, its development into a major player in the genetic engineering of plants, and the biological control of crown gall.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology is divided into five sections. The first section begins with 1904 when Erwin F. Smith began detailed work on crown gall and considered it to be a plant pathological problem. It explores many of the biological discoveries made over the past century, including the pivotal moment when Armin C. Braun discovered that crown gall was a plant cancer. Other papers cover the beginnings of T-DNA research and the development of vectors to improve the process of transferring T-DNA from bacterium to plant cell. The second section delves further into vector systems and genetic coding for disease and insect resistance, exploring the evolution of genetic engineering in crops. The final three sections deal with themes developed from crown gall studies, including "quorum sensing" or population density, the DNA sequencing of one strain of A. tumefaciens, and the first genetically engineered organism, strain K1026, released for commercial use.

According to Editor, Eugene Nester, "This book should serve as a testimony to the 100 years of research on this remarkable organism, as well as to an international group of investigators who helped reveal secrets of this natural genetic engineer."

Review Copies of Agrobacterium tumefaciens: From Plant Pathology to Biotechnology will be available in the fall of 2004. If you are interested in reviewing this title, please contact Michaela DeLong. Upon publication, we would appreciate receiving two copies of the published review.

Contents:

• Biology of Agrobacterium tumefaciens: Century of Pioneering Work Begins;
• Armin C. Braun and the Discovery of Agrobacterum-mediated Transformation of Plant Cells;
• Treasure The Unexpected;
• George Michael Morel (1916-1973): Chemist, Botanist, Plant Tissue Culture Pioneer;
• Loss of Tumor-Inducing Ability;
• Discovery Of theTi Plasmid;
• A Plasmid Was Present After All;
• My Life with Phytohormones;
• I'm Certainly Glad I was there;
• An Adventure in Agrobacteriology;
• Wow!!! The T-DNA is Integrated;
• When Toothpicks Mattered: Using Microbial Genetics and Transposition Tagging to Map the T-DNA;
• Cross, Count and Calculate! T-DNA Satisfies Mendelian Rules;
• How does Agrobacterium "know" what is T-DNA on the Ti Plasmid; Such a Clever Bug;
• Early Events in the T-DNA Transfer Process;
• VirD Targets T-DNA into the Plant Nucleus;
• From Plant Pathogen to Vector for Plants, Yeasts and Fungi;
• Application of A. tumefaciens in Genetic Engineering: A Reckless Decision;
• Shrinking the Ti Plasmid;
• The First Tumorless Transformed Plant was Treated with Utmost Care;
• Foreign Genes can be Expressed in Plant Cells;
• There were Multiple Transformants on Each Plate;
• Agrobacterium Infects Maize, After All!;
• The Ups and Downs of Bt Gene Expression in Plants;
• Transformation Of Cereals By Agrobacterium;
• Quorum Sensing: TraR AND AAI: Autoinduction goes Mainstream;
• DNA Sequencing: Going After the Whole Genome from Two Different Angles;
• Biological Control of Crown Gall: We Have a Strange New Bacteriocin that Controls Crown Gall

ISBN: 0-89054-322-4; Item No. 43224 $119

Ordering Information: APS PRESS, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, Saint Paul, MN 55121, U.S.A.

E-mail: aps@scisoc.org, web site: http://www.shopapspress.org/

Genomic and Genetic Analysis of Plant Parasitism and Defense (edited by Shinji Tsuyumu, Jan E. Leach, Tomonori Shiraishi, and Thomas Wolpert) features papers containing original research on the use of genomics and genome-associated technologies in a variety of pathosystems to explore topics such as mechanisms of pathogen compatibility and incompatibility, host-pathogen signaling and mechanisms of plant disease resistance.

Regular price: $79

Ordering Information: APS PRESS, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, Saint Paul, MN 55121, U.S.A.

E-mail: aps@scisoc.org, web site: http://www.shopapspress.org/

Biology of Plant-Microbe Interactions, Volume 4 (edited by Igor Tikhonovich, Ben Lugtenberg and Nikolai Provorov)

This new volume provides a comprehensive summary of the current status of research in plant-microbe interactions as presented at the 11th International Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. These papers include information on nearly all the major crops cultivated throughout the world and on the major trends in the modern research of plant-microbe interactions, including molecular dialogue of partners, integration of plant and microbial metabolic pathways, and development of novel cellular and tissue structures during interactions.

Regular price: $139

Ordering Information: APS PRESS, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, Saint Paul, MN 55121, U.S.A.

E-mail: aps@scisoc.org, web site: http://www.shopapspress.org/

The Pesticide Manual - the independent source of global pesticide information.
Contains 1,469 detailed profiles and 611 superseded products.
Published in book and CD format.
Details and demonstration at www.pesticidemanual.com

Coming Events

VI International Symposium on Chemical and Non-Chemical Soil and Substrate Disinfestation, Corfu, Greece
4-8 October 2004
ect@aua.gr

III International Symposium on Persimmon, Jinju, Korea
5-9 October 2004
smk@nongae.gsnu.ac.kr

2^nd International Conference of Powdery Mildew, Pacific Grove (Monterey), California, USA
10-14 October 2004
www.cevs.ucdavis.edu/Cofred/Public/Aca/webSec.cfm?confid=191&webid=926

III International Chestnut Symposium, Chaves, Portugal
20-23 October 2004
www.utad.pt/eventos/chestnutcongres

IV ISHS Symposium on Brassica and XIV Crucifer Genetics Workshop, Daejon, Korea
24-28 October 2004
yplim@cnu.ac.kr

XIII International Botrytis Symposium in Antalya, Turkey.
25 -31 October 2004.
contact: Dr. Figen Yildiz <fyildiz@ziraat.ege.edu.tr>.

BCPC Seminars, Crop Science & Technology 2004, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
1-3 November 2004
contact: lozzy.white@bcpc.org

5th International Walnut Symposium, Sorrento, Naples, Italy
7-14 November 2004
Contact: Emilia Malvolti <mimi@ias.tr.cnr.it

Postharvest Unlimited Downunder Conference 2004, Sydney, Australia
10-12 November 2004
www.airah.org.au/postharvest2004

IX International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics, Almeria, Spain
14-19 November 2004
mgavilan@ual.es

International Symposium on Processing Tomatoes, Melbourne, Australia
15-18 November 2004
Http://www.worldtomatocongress.com.au/

II International Symposium on Acclimatization and Establishment of Micropropagated Plants, Cancun, Mexico
22-26 November 2004
http://www.cicy.mx/eventos/simp2004/simposium.htm

Nematode Identification Short Course, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
4-11 December 2004
http://pppweb.clemson.edu/Nematode.htm

2^nd International Symposium of Fusarium Head Blight, Orlando FL, USA
11-15 December 2004
www.scabusa.org/fhb_symposium.html

VI International Symposium on Peach, Santiago, Chile
9-13 January 2005
www.peach2005.cl

V International Symposium on Mineral Nutrition of Deciduous Fruit Crops, Talca, Chile
16-21 January 2005
www.fruitmineralnutrition.cl

4^th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases, Stellenbosch, South Africa
20-21 January 2005
phfourie@sun.ac.za

43^rd Annual Congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology and the 5^th Congress of the African Mycological Association, Hartenbos, South Africa
23-26 January 2005
http://www.saspp.org/list_circular.php or  http://194.203.77.69/AfricanMycologicalAssociation/

X International Symposium on Timing of Field Production in Vegetable Crops, Bonn, Germany
13-17 March 2005
www.gartenbauwissenschaft.uni-bonn.de/vegcrop2005

International Plant Virus Epidemiology Symposium, Lima, Peru.
4-8 April 2005
www.cipotato.org/training/PlantVirusEpidemSymp05

9^th International Workshop on Plant Disease Epidemiology, Rennes, France
10-15 April 2005
www.rennes.inra.fr/epidemio2005/

International Working Groups on Legume and Vegetable Viruses, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
11-15 April, 2005
Contact: Gail Wisler gcwisler@mail.ifas.ufl.edu

International Working Groups on Legume and Vegetable Viruses, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
11-15 April 2005
www.ifa.to.cnr.it/vvwg

IV International Pineapple Symposium, East London, South Africa
11-15 April 2005
www.pinesymp05.org

International Edible Legume Conference in conjunction with the IV World Cowpea Congress, Durban South Africa
17-21 April 2005
www.up.ac.za/conferences/ielc

13th Meeting of the Latin American Association of Plant Pathology. Córdoba. Argentina
19-22 April 2005
slenard@infovia.com.ar

III International Symposium on Figs, Faro, Portugal
16-20 May 2005
jleitao@ualg.pt

IV International Symposium on Pistachio and Almond, Tehran, Iran
20-26 May 2005
http://www.pri.ir

XII Mediterranean Phytopathological Union (MPU) Congress, Bari, Italy
21-27 May 2005.
http://www.unifi.it/istituzioni/mpu/XIIMPUCongress/mputabinfo.html

V International Cherry Symposium, Bursa, Turkey
6-10 June 2005
masum_burak@yalova.tagem.gov.tr

13th International Sclerotinia Workshop Monterey, California, USA
12-16 June 2005
stkoike@ucdavis.edu

XIII International Symposium on Apricot Breeding and culture, Murcia, Spain
13-17 June 2005
congresos@viajescajamurcia.com

II International Symposium on Sweetpotato and Cassava – 2ISSC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
14-17 June 2005
http://www.mardi.my

V International Symposium on Artificial Lighting, Aas, Norway
21-24 June 2005
www.lightsym2005.no

Second Asian Conference on Plant Pathology, ‘Challenges and Opportunities in Plant Pathology in Asia’. Singapore.
25-28 June 2005
http://www.2ndACPP.org

X International Symposium on Plant Bioregulators in Fruit Production, Saltillo Coahuila, Mexico
26-30 June 2005
www.saltillo2005.org

IX International Controlled Atmosphere Research Conference, East Lansing, MI, USA
5-10 July 2005
allens@msu.edu

International Symposium on Herbaceous Ornamental Plant Germplasm Conservation and Utilization, Columbus, Ohio, USA
6-9 July 2005
http://opgs.osu.edu

International Symposium on Greenhouse Systems and Energy Conservation, Columbus, Ohio, USA
13-15 July 2005
short.2@osu.edu

International Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Cancun, Mexico
17-22 July 2005
www.ismpminet.org

XVII International Botanical Congress (XVII IBC 2005), Vienna, Austria,
18-23 July 2005
http://www.ibc2005.ac.at

APS Annual Meeting, Austin TX, USA
30 July-3 August 2005
www.apsnet.org

International Congress of Auchenorrhyncha and Concurrent Workshop on Leafhoppers and Planthoppers of Economic Significance, Berkeley, California, USA
11-15 August 2005
www.cnr.berkeley.edu/hoppergongress/index

1st International Conference on the Importance of Biodiversity to Human Health, Galway, Ireland
23 - 25 August 2005
www.cohab2005.com

International Conference & Exhibition on Soilless Culture – Singapore 2005, Singapore
1-4 September 2005
www.singaporehydroponics.com

International Symposium on Growing Media, Angers, France
4-10 September 2005
http://ishs-angers.agrena.org

Potato 2005, Emmeloord, The Netherlands
5-11 September 2005
www.potato2005.com

III International Symposium on Cucurbits, Townsville, QLD, Australia
12-16 September 2005
gordon@ahr,com.au

International Symposium on High Value Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics and subtropics: Production, Utilization and Marketing, Lilongwe, Malawi
20-28 October 2005
f.akinnifesi@cgiar.org

IX International Rubus and Ribes Symposium, Santiago, Chile
5-7 December 2005
pbanados@puc.cl

18^th World Congress of Soil Science, Philadelphia, PA, USA
9-15 July 2006
www.18wcss.org

APS Annual Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
29 July-2 August 2006
www.apsnet.org

APS Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA
28 July-1 August 2007
www.apsnet.org

APS Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, USA
26-30 July 2008
www.apsnet.org

ICPP 2008, Torino, Italy,
24-29 August, 2008
Contact: Prof. M.L. Gullino, University of Torino: marialodovica.gullino@unito.it