IAPPS NEWSLETTER

Number III      March, 2004

IPM RESEARCH BRIEF LAUNCHED

The Systemwide Program on Integrated Pest Management (SP-IPM) of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has launched an IPM research brief series. The series is part of the SP-IPM strategy to promote information exchange among stakeholder groups so as to increase public awareness and benefits of IPM, encourage the full integration of IPM into mainstream agriculture and thereby raise the profile of IPM within farming communities. The briefs are primarily intended to meet the information needs of agricultural research managers, policy makers and the development partners with whom governments plan IPM inputs into agricultural and rural development activities. The briefs analyse the biological and ecological bases of IPM related food insecurity issues of common concern across agroecologies and regions, synthesise the research results that feed into location-specific farmers' field experiments and advise on the partnership opportunities foe scaling out/up the benefits gained by farmers.

IPM brief number 1 discusses the challenge posed by parasitic weeds to productivity and sustainability of cereal-legume production systems in Africa and presents ecologically sound IPM options for controlling these weeds, which have become a major factor contributing to food insecurity in the continent. After a statement of the scale and nature of the parasitic weed problem, the brief synthesises research findings that point the way towards solutions, summarises the current state of knowledge and the action taken so far to put this knowledge into practice at farm-level and points out outstanding research needs that will help to sustain the gains made by farmers. The SP-IPM expects the brief to be of value both to those directly involved in research for development and to the decision makers who determine the policy environment for development, indeed to all stakeholders in the research for development community whose consensus and collaboration are needed if development efforts are to succeed.

IPM brief number 1 has been prepared by the SP-IPM Secretariat in collaboration with Green Ink Ltd (UK) and is based on materials provided by scientists and development workers at the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Institute of Agricultural Research of Ahmadu Bello University (IAR/ABU) in Nigeria, the Agricultural Research Centre (ARC) in Egypt, the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Morocco, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), the Agriculture Department Group of the FAO Regional Office for Africa (FAORAFA), the Pan-African Striga Control Network (PASCON), the African Union's Semi-Arid Food Grains Research and Development programme (AU/SAFGRAD) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya.

Braima James, B.James@cgiar.org Coordinator, Systemwide Program on Integrated Pest Management (SP-IPM) IITA, Cotonou, Benin
www.spipm.cgiar.org

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The XVth International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC), co-organized by the China Society of Plant Protection (CSPP) and the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) in Beijing, China, has been rescheduled to take place 11-16 May, 2004 The main venue for the XVth IPPC is the Beijing International Convention Center (BICC) located in the north of the City. The BICC is a first class convention facility with a newly built hotel and support complex (www.bicc.com.cn). The Opening Ceremony and Welcoming Reception will be held in the Great Hall of the People.

Here some important dates and addresses

Further information can be obtained on: www.ipmchina.net/ippc On-line registration web site: http://www.congress.com.cn/ippc/form.htm

Organizing Committee Chairman
Prof. Zhou Darong zhou.dr@263.net
Institute of Plant Protection
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
#2 West Yuanmingyuan Rd.
Beijing 100094, China
Tel.: 86-10-62815614
Fax: 86-10-62895451

The Sixth International Symposium on Chemical and Non-Chemical Soil and Substrate Disinfestation will take place in Corfu Holiday Palace on the Island of Corfu, Greece, from 4-8 October, 2004.

Up to now over 100 scientists from 20 countries all over the world have pre-registered or expressed their interest to participate in the symposium.
As indicated in the first circular, the forthcoming ban of methyl bromide in many countries around the globe in January 2005, and the difficulties in effectively replacing this valuable chemical, is challenging the future of vegetable and ornamental cultivation, creating anxiety among farmers and causing alert among the policy makers.
Hence, scientists from all over the world searching for alternatives to methyl bromide are invited to Corfu to present their research data and discuss recent findings in controlling soil-borne pathogens. Advances related to the chemical and non-chemical soil disinfestation will be also included. The long-standing tradition of the collaboration with the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS), which will publish the proceedings of the Symposium in Acta Horticulturae, will be continued.
It is expected that the hot scientific topic and the beauty of Corfu, one of the most famous Mediterranean summer resorts will attract world famous scientists. The organizing committee will be honored and pleased if you could participate and share with us your current knowledge and research experience under a highly constructive and inspiring environment.

International Scientific Committee
M. Besri (Morocco), D. Chellemi (Usa), V. Cebolla (Spain), J. Coosemans (Belgium), P. Ducom (France), A. Gamliel (Israel), A. Garibaldi (Italy), L. Gullino (Italy), J. Katan (Israel), F. Lamberti (Italy), E. Paplomatas (Greece), W. T. Runia (The Netherlands), E. Tjamos (Greece), A. Vanachter (Belgium)

The web page of the symposium is: http://www.aua.gr/SD2004/

Local Organizer-Coordinator
Prof. Eris Tjamos ect@aua.gr
Dept. of Plant Pathology
Agricultural University of Athens Votanikos
118 55, Athens, GREECE
Fax +30 210 529 4513
Tel +30 210 529 4505 / +30 210 529 4502
Mobile +30 6932 36 55 66

The IAPPS Newsletter is published by the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences and distributed in Crop Protection to members and other subscribers. Crop Protection, published by Elsevier, is the Official Journal of IAPPS.

IAPPS Mission: to provide a global forum for the purpose of identifying, evaluating, integrating, and promoting plant protection concepts, technologies, and policies that are economically, environmentally, and socially acceptable.

It seeks to provide a global umbrella for the plant protection sciences to facilitate and promote the application of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to a the world's crop and forest ecosystems.

Membership Information: IAPPS has four classes of membership (individual, affiliate, associate, and corporate) which are described here.

The IAPPS Newsletter welcomes news, letters, and other items of interest from individuals and organizations. Address correspondence and information to:

Dr. Manuele Tamo, Editor
IAPPS Newsletter
Biological Control Center for Africa, IITA-Benin
08 B.P. 0932 Tri Postal, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
E-mail: m.tamo@cgiar.org