IAPPS NEWSLETTER

Number III      March, 2007

XVI INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION CONGRESS (IPPC) FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT & CALL FOR PAPERS

BCPC and the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS) are delighted to announce that the XVI International Plant Protection Congress (IPPC) is to be held 15 - 18 October 2007 in association with the BCPC International Conference & Exhibition - Crop Science & Technology 2007. IAPPS Congresses are held every four years at different locations around the world - the last one was hosted by the China Society of Plant Protection in Beijing - so BCPC welcomes IAPPS delegates to Glasgow. As a result, the BCPC Congress in 2007 will be a much expanded event with the scientific program extended and running for a full four days. The annual BCPC event is already acknowledged as the main event in the crop protection calendar - so the 2007 Congress will be an event not to be missed.

The 2007 Congress and Exhibition will be held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow. The SECC is one of Europe's finest and most flexible conference venues with on-site parking, hotels, restaurants, bank, medical and business centers. The SECC has been the location for the annual BCPC events since 2003 and has proved itself as a popular venue with both Congress delegates, exhibitors, exhibition visitors and all those who simply attend this event for commercial reasons.

Glasgow, the UK's fourth largest city, is one of the liveliest and most cosmopolitan destinations in Europe. The city has been reborn as a centre of style and vitality set against a backdrop of outstanding Victorian architecture. Glasgow boasts the best shopping in the United Kingdom outside London, and the most vibrant nightlife in Scotland. Art and culture are important in Glasgow life - world famous galleries and museums are in abundance - most with free admission. A very useful website to review details about Glasgow is www.seeglasgow.com.

Call for papers: Offers of papers for presentation to any of the topics covered by the Congress are sought. You may offer your presentation as a verbal platform paper, as a free-standing display poster board, or both. Authors of all accepted offers are required to produce a paper for publication in the Congress proceedings. A full list of Congress topics is available at www.bcpc.org/IPPC2007/offers.

Some of the topics will be of two, or even four, platform session lengths so facilitating a large number of presentations. Subject to suitable offers, each topic will consist of a platform and a complementary poster session. All offers of papers or posters can only be made via the Congress website at www.bcpc.org/IPPC2007/offers . All offers must be submitted before 5 April 2007. On the website, authors will be asked to complete an 'Offer a Presentation form' and must provide the proposed title plus a brief synopsis (150 - 200 words) of their presentation. Full contact details for the corresponding author will be required. All authors must also indicate to which topic they are offering their presentation.

All offers will be reviewed by the Congress Program Committee. Authors will be advised if their presentation has been accepted for inclusion in the Congress by early May 2007. The Program Committee reserves the right to redirect an offer from one topic to another, if appropriate. All papers for publication within the Congress proceedings are required to be in English and two pages in length. All paper scripts will be handled electronically.

One author from each platform and poster presentation will be able to register for the Congress at the highly favorable rate of UK£200 to cover all administrative aspects. Attendance at the event, and the inclusion of each paper in the proceedings, is dependent upon payment of this reduced fee.

Post-graduate students are invited to present the results of their research at this major international congress and to benefit from the considerable networking opportunities this exposure presents. Subjects may be from any topic relevant to the Congress and all accepted presentations will be entered into the Post-graduate student poster competition. Each post-graduate student accepted into this session will receive free Congress registration.

For more information visit the regularly updated website: www.bcpc.org/IPPC2007, or contact the organizers:

BCPC
7 Omni Business Centre, Omega Park
Alton, Hampshire
GU34 2QD
UK
Tel: (0) 1420 593 200
Fax: (0) 1420 593 209
E-mail: md@bcpc.org

NEW SORGHUM/MILLET AND OTHER GRAINS CRSP

Dr. John Yohe, INTSORMIL CRSP Program Director, has announced that the University of Nebraska (UNL) has been selected as the Management Entity for the new Sorghum/Millet and Other Grains CRSP. The award was based on national competition among U. S. universities. This CRSP is funded through a Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement instrument as opposed to a grant under which INTSORMIL was funded since 1979. The INTSORMIL CRSP, Managed by UNL in partnership with Kansas State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, UNL and West Texas A&M University, ends June 30, 2007. The Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement is effective as of September 30, 2006 and ends September 29, 2011. Estimated cost for the five year cooperative agreement is $9,000,000. Dr. Yohe will be the Program Director of the Sorghum/Millet and Other Grains CRSP.

IPM issues in this new CRSP: Disease, insect, weed, and bird pests of sorghum, pearl millet, and other grains annually cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and costs for control. Persistent, major pests of sorghum and pearl millet include many insects, pathogens, and Striga. Other pests annually fluctuate in abundance and the damage they cause.

The parasitic weed Striga ("witchweed") is the scourge of agriculture in much of Africa and parts of Asia. It also is present in the United States and could become a pest problem. Striga attacks the major cereal grains and legumes in Sub-Saharan Africa, significantly reducing the already low yields of subsistence farmers. Striga is the major reason that sorghum and pearl millet productivity has remained at a subsistence level. For many decades, research on Striga targeted eradication, suppression, or breeding for cultivars that support fewer emerged Striga plants. Decades of such effort have led to few successes. More recently, basic research efforts at U.S. universities focusing on the fundamental biology of the parasite led to better understanding of the enemy. This new knowledge, in turn, led to on-farm successes in the field that are being expanded slowly throughout Africa. Newly derived biotechnological information integrated with basic agronomic practices of water conservation and soil fertility led to development of an intervention program dubbed Integrated Striga Management (ISM). In this new program, the synergistic effects of improved Striga-resistant cultivars, use of modest amounts of nitrogen fertilizers, and water conservation using tied-ridges resulted in a dramatic reduction in infestation by Striga and an increased grain yield of sorghum on farmers' fields in several countries in Eastern Africa.

Changes from traditional cultural practices and/or landrace cultivars can result in changes in pest population and damage. Pest problems have greater impact because of the higher economic value and quality concerns of value-added grains. Stored grain pests are likely to become even more problematic, particularly in humid areas, when grain is stored for longer periods to seek better prices through organized inventory credit systems currently being implemented. Pest management strategies are needed to provide sustainable solutions to pest problems without relying on chemical controls that can adversely affect non-target organisms, including humans, and the environment. An integrated, multi-faceted, ecological system of pest management strategies used when pest abundance or damage exceeds economic thresholds will improve nutrition and health, maximize soil and quality, and help mitigate post-harvest constraints, enhance productivity and livelihoods of people in marginal areas, and improve food quality and safety without relying on chemical controls and associated pesticide residues.

The Sorghum, Millet, and Other Grains CRSP will study and develop integrated pest management strategies against major pests of sorghum and pearl millet and be prepared to prevent outbreaks into new areas. Research on existing and potential pests will be organized in an integrated and multidisciplinary way with scientists in allied sciences to evaluate and develop cultural controls, biological controls, and molecular techniques for sustainable management of pests. For example, sorghum and pearl millet cultivars adapted for production in agriculturally marginal lands and with high-yield and food/feed qualities will be developed and transferred to end-users by a team of plant breeders, entomologists, plant pathologists, cereal chemists, and technology transfer agents.

Training and capacity building: Teams of collaborating-country and U.S. scientists and technology transfer agents, including agronomists, plant breeders, entomologists, plant pathologists, economists, and weed scientists, are needed to develop and transfer integrated crop management technology. Teams of cereal chemists, entomologists, plant pathologists, and plant breeders are needed to solve pest problems of grain in storage. Pest management scientists are needed to develop procedures and computer models to be able to forecast and respond to evolving pest problems and outbreaks. Pest biology and adaptation to diverse production systems must be understood to develop sustainable management strategies. Technology transfer agents are needed to work in conjunction with the other scientists to disseminate information to end-users.

The overall strategy for the Sorghum, Millet, and Other Grains CRSP is to strengthen the capacity of both, institutions and individuals, with the objective of developing a sustainable approach to grain production research and technology transfer. The Sorghum, Millet, and Other Grains CRSP will stress two important concepts in capacity building of institutions: (a) Build upon past successes of the INTSORMIL CRSP and (b) Create links and working relationships with other agencies up and down the supply chain.

Dr. E. A. "Short" Heinrichs
IAPPS Secretary General
E-mail: eheinric@vt.edu

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