IAPPS NEWSLETTER

Number X      October, 2008

GRAFTING WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED IN INDIA

Two training workshops on integrated vegetable grafting technology for managing soil-borne diseases and increasing tolerance to flooding in the hot-wet season were recently conducted by World Vegetable Center (AVRDC) staff and collaborators in India. The first workshop, held near Delhi on 1-3 May 2008, was hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The second, held in Coimbatore on 7-9 May 2008, was hosted by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). Trainees built a grafting chamber and received hands-on experience grafting tomato, eggplant, pepper, pumpkin, watermelon, sponge gourd and bitter gourd. They learned about the technical requirements for successful vegetable grafting and heard about how grafting has been applied in Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh. They received an introduction to AVRDC's Production Theme and integrated disease management of bacterial wilt.

Trainees included farmers, TERI staff, and TNAU faculty and students. Twenty-seven men and women were trained in Delhi, while the Coimbatore workshop had about 30 trainees and 25 other visitors. Most of the farmers trained in Coimbatore are Convenors of Farmer Groups for their villages. Each Convenor plans to train approx. 20 farmers now that they have completed the training. TERI staff are quite experienced in farmer facilitation and are well-equipped to carry grafting technologies forward in the field.

These workshops were part of the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) funded by USAID. Trainers were Deng-Lin Wu, Greg Luther and Jaw-Fen Wang of AVRDC, and E.A. "Short" Heinrichs, IPM CRSP Consultant and Secretary General of the International Association of Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS).

Dr. Greg Luther
AVRDC- The World Vegetable Center
E-mail: greg.luther@worldveg.org

NEW BOOK ON MYCOTOXINS

A new book titled "Mycotoxins Detection Methods, Management, Public Health and Agricultural Trade" edited by J Leslie, R Bandyopadhyay, and A Visconti is now available from CABI Publishing.

Mycotoxins are produced worldwide by several fungi on a wide range of agricultural commodities. Exposure to them can cause severe health hazards for both domesticated animals and humans. Government regulations and routine monitoring of the food supply has decreased the risks posed by mycotoxins in developed countries. Populations in less-developed countries, however, continue to be affected due to food insecurity, few enforced regulations and unforgiving environments that favor fungal growth and toxin production.

Examining mycotoxins and their impact on health and trade, this book provides an introduction to the subject and serves as a guide for the development of cross-disciplinary solutions to current problems. Through the consideration of issues such as ecology, epidemiology, occurrence, detection and awareness, priority actions are recommended from technical, institutional and policy perspectives. While focusing on the experience of sub-Saharan and tropical Africa, this book will provide agricultural researchers, health and trade specialists and policy makers with valuable information on the occurrence and considerable impact of mycotoxins, which can be applied to similarly affected areas throughout the world.

Contents of the book include:

• Health and Trade Issues
• Mycotoxin Contamination and Toxigenic Fungi in Africa and the Mediterranean Basin
• Mycotoxin Detection Methods
• Mycotoxin Management
• Institutional Issues in Mycotoxin Management
• International Programs on Mycotoxins

About the Editors:

• John F. Leslie is Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA.
• Ranajit Bandyopadhyay is a senior research scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria.
• Angelo Visconti is the Director of the Institute of Sciences of Food Production (ISPA) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR) in Bari, Italy and was the Coordinator of the MycoGlobe Research Network.

The book can be ordered online at www.cabi.org/bookshop for the price of £85.00 / US$170.00 / €135.00

Dr. Manuele Tamò
Editor, IAPPS Newsletter
E-mail: m.tamo@cgiar.org

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