Issue 12 | Nov/Dec 2024

vADW 2024-25 - Webinar 1: Plant Virology 

The National Plant Biosecurity Diagnostic Network’s (NPBDN) virtual Annual Diagnostics Workshop (vADW) 2024-25 was hosted on Wednesday 13 November. The first webinar centred on plant virology with a focus on tobamoviruses, especially the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). The webinar attracted expert speakers from Australia, Europe, and the United Kingdom. 

Tune into the CottonInfo Podcast on Lygus: Insights from the American experience

CottonInfo is the Australian cotton industry’s joint extension program that connects growers, consultants, and agronomists with the latest news, information, events, and research in the cotton sector.

The Crop to Top podcast features discussions with the program's regional extension officers, technical leads, researchers, and cotton growers.

In Season 3, Episode 13, the podcast delves deeper into the high-priority pest, Lygus, which continues to pose challenges for cotton crops in the United States. The 41-minute episode includes an in-depth discussion with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) specialist Professor Peter Ellsworth from the University of Arizona. He provides an overview of lygus, its impact on American cotton growers, and strategies for management, along with recommendations on how Australia’s cotton industry can prepare.

Registrations now open for the XXII conference of the International Organisation of Citrus Virologists

The XXII conference of the International Organization of Citrus Virologists (IOCV) will take place from 16 - 20 March 2025 at the Midura Arts Centre, in Mildura, Victoria.

The event is dedicated to the study and control of all diseases of citrus, with a focus on viruses and virus-like pathogens.  The mid-conference tour will include a visit to the Auscitrus propagation scheme and the citrus research and extension hub at the Dareton Primary Industries Institute.

Early bird registrations are open until Friday, 31 January 2025 and registration will close on Friday, 28 February 2025. Registration is open to students, members and non-members.

Visit the website to learn more and to register.

More information on the IOCV: Journal of Citrus Pathology

Registrations now open for the 25th Australian Plant Pathology Society Conference

Registrations are now open for 25th Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) Conference that will be held at the International Conference Centre in Sydney, NSW from 26 - 28 May 2025.

The conference theme From Field to Future, Scientific Collections and Plant Pathology will focus on the role of scientific collections.

Plant pathology collections are valuable to agriculture, ecology, and biosecurity, preserving specimens, and living cultures, from both economically and environmentally important plant species. The 25^th APPS conference will put the spotlight on these collections, highlighting their role in research and biosecurity and how they can be used, and improved, to ensure they continue to be a vital resource for researchers and decision-makers into the future.

Register before Friday, 28 March 2025 to qualify for early bird rates.

The APPS is inviting researchers, academics and practitioners to submit an abstract. Applications for bursaries are also now open to students and early career researchers.

Career opportunities

Visit the careers page on the PSNAP website to keep up to date with current job and PhD scholarship opportunities.

About the Network

The Plant Surveillance Network Australasia-Pacific (PSNAP) enables members to communicate and share skills in plant pest surveillance. It acts as a coordination point for surveillance professionals and practitioners to strengthen surveillance capacity and capability across Australia, New Zealand and the nearby region. 

The National Plant Biosecurity Surveillance Professional Development and Protocols Projects are coordinated and delivered by Plant Health Australia and are funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.