IAPPS NEWSLETTER Number VI June, 2008 INTRODUCING OUR NEW IAPPS GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS Dr. Cláudia Vieira Godoy, Representative for Region XII (LA/Caribbean), is a Pathologist at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA), National Center of Soybean Research, located at Londrina, Brazil.Dr. Godoy obtained her Ph.D. in Agronomy/ Plant pathology (epidemiology), São Paulo University, Brazil, 2000. Since 2002, she is a researcher in plant pathology focused on epidemiology and control of soybean diseases. Her current projects include integrated management and breeding to control soybean rust, determination of risk areas for soybean rust epidemics, integrated management of soybean diseases, and the development of yield loss prediction tool for Asian soybean rust. She is a member of the EMBRAPA Soybean technical committee, Leader of the plant pathology researchers at EMBRAPA Soybean, and Technical Coordinator of the anti-rust consortium (Consórcio Antiferrugem). The consortium is formed by several public and private institutions linked in a network of 159 experts and 85 accredited laboratories spread over 17 Brazilian states. Its main goal is to summarize and deliver information for better disease management practices. EMBRAPA Soybean is one of 40 research units Corporation. Thanks to its outstanding contribution to the Brazilian soybean agribusiness, Embrapa Soybean has become a world reference in the development of technologies for tropical areas. Its mission is "to provide competitive technological solutions for sustainable soybean development through generation, adaptation and transfer of knowledge and technologies, for the benefit of the society" Dr. Godoy has enjoyed international training at Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Universität zu Hannover, and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany, as well as Université Paris-Sud - France. She can be reached by e-mail at godoy@cnpso.embrapa.br  Dr. Keith Jones, Industry Representative, is currently Manager, Stewardship and Sustainable Agriculture with CropLife International, located at Brussels, Belgium. CropLife is the global federation representing the plant science industry that develops crop protection and agricultural biotechnology products. His main role at CropLife is to oversee the federation's global stewardship activities, which includes support for safe use and integrated pest management, as well as programmes to manage empty pesticide containers and obsolete pesticide stocks. Prior to joining CropLife, he was Head of sustainable agriculture at the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) in the University of Greenwich (United Kingdom), where he worked on development projects researching and promoting integrated pest management strategies. During this time he worked in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including a four-year secondment to CARE International in Sri Lanka. He has a BSc in applied entomology and environmental studies and a PhD from the University of Reading. He has authored more than 50 scientific articles. Dr Jones can be reached at keith@croplife.org  Dr. Trevor Jackson, Representative for Region X (Oceania) is Science Program Leader at AgResearch Ltd, Lincoln Research Centre located at Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr Jackson is an entomologist/microbiologist with expertise in development of biological control systems for integrated pest management (IPM). His research focus has been on development of insect pathogens as biopesticides and inoculants for the control of insect pests, particularly those that live in the soil or other concealed environments. He has developed a strong expertise in microbial production and formulation for pest control products. His research has focused on biological control of pests in extensive pasture, plantation crop and horticultural ecosystems. Dr. Jackson obtained his PhD from Lincoln University, in 1982, and his research has been published in more than 100 refereed scientific papers, numerous conference and industry presentations and incorporated into >5 patents/patent applications. He has led training programs in insect pathology/pest management in the Pacific, Asia and Latin America and has worked with industry in development and implementation of beneficial microbes in plant protection and growth enhancement. Dr. Jackson is currently a science program leader at AgResearch, where he leads programs on microbial product development and pasture pest management. He is a member of the Program Advisory Committee of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and leads a program for biological control of food crop pests in the Pacific. He can be reached at trevor.jackson@agresearch.co.nz  Dr. K.L. Heong, Representative for Region VIII (S.E. Asia), is an IPM Specialist and Insect Ecologist at The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños, Philippines.He obtained his Masters with distinction (1979) and PhD degrees from Imperial College, London (1986), and his Doctor of Science from the University of London (1999). Since 2005, Dr. Heong is also Executive Secretary of the Environmental Council. During his long scientific career, Dr. Heong was bestowed with many awards, the most recent ones include: COM+ Communications Award for communicating science to people and the Planet - Alliance of communicators for sustainable development (2006); Third World Academy of Science (TWAS) Prize (2006); World Bank Development Marketplace Award (2005); Golden Rice Award - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam (2003); Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practices, UK (2003); Charles Black Award for exemplary contributions to public understanding of food and agricultural sciences - US Council for Agricultural Sciences and Technology (2003). He is currently advisor for the International Foundation for Science, and visiting professor at several Universities in China and Philippines. He has published more than 100 articles in peer review journals, edited 10 books, and prepared 3 CD publications. Dr Heong can be contacted at: k.heong@cgiar.org NEW BOOK ON RICE BLACK BUGS The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) recently published a book titled, "Rice Black Bugs: Taxonomy, Ecology, and Management of Invasive Species" This new book, with Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian, PhilRice Executive Director as one of the editors, covers extensive information on Rice Black Bugs (RBB) taxonomy, ecology, and management. Dr. Sebastian teamed up with Drs. Ravindra C. Joshi and Alberto T. Barrion to bring forth an 800-page book, witch will be officially launched in January 2008.Co-published with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD), the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), this reference material reinterprets old problems and introduces new ecological techniques for RBB management. As suggested by Dr. Hans Rudolf Herren, an internationally acclaimed entomologist and recipient of the 1995 World Food Prize, farmers should learn more about ecological and sustainable management options for RBB to prevent crop losses and diminish environmental damage at the same time. The book includes ecologically-sound management approached to RRB outbreaks, as well as country reports of RBB invasions in other rice-growing countries. The DOST-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) and the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) likewise supported the printing of the book. One accessory of the RBB book is an auto-run DVD-ROM containing about 350 published full-text articles on RBB sourced out from experts around the world, dating way back 1864 to 2006. All articles are searchable using both natural language and keywords from a structured vocabulary indexed automatically by freeware Search Engine Builder. Dr. MS Swaminathan, father of the Green Revolution, recalls the beginnings of the book through a workshop organized to answer the alarms raised by the onset of RBB in the Bicol Region. Researchers from PhilRice convening then with the DA, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and UP Los Baños researchers further inspired them to come up with an exhaustive RBB information material in the form of this book. In the book's foreword, Swaminathan hopes the RBB book will be widely used by scientists, policy makers, consumers and farmers so that the threat of RBB will soon be part of history. For more information about book price, shipping costs and paying options, please visit http://www.philrice.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104&Itemid=139 or contact: Dr. R. C. Joshi, FRES Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) E-mail: rcjoshi@philrice.gov.ph
|