Keynotes Sessions

Posters exhibition created by bachelor students on « One Health – One World – A Fairy Tale?» Mathias Choquer, University Lyon 1, France.

The number of threats to plant health and the impact of plant diseases is currently increasing for all types of ecosystems: agroecosystems, forests, natural and even urban environments. These threats encompass all taxa of pests and pathogens, from viroids to nematodes. Insects can also contribute to new epidemics of plant diseases as they may be vectors of emerging diseases. The following factors greatly contribute to the increase of emerging plant diseases: greater volume and diversity of plant products traded and moved globally, climate change, and to a lesser extent new agricultural practices. Emerging diseases may result in outbreaks either in regions where pathogens were not present so far or the incidence of pathogens may increase unexpectedly when already present in the area. In both cases, these emerging pathogens may cause devastating effects. This session will allow the participants to share up to date information and views on emerging pathogens both at the scientific and regulatory level. The most recent research regarding detection, identification and monitoring of emerging pathogens, as well as epidemiological features leading to their establishment and spread will be addressed. Information and literature scanning as well as risk assessment are key issues in preparing strategies for potential outbreaks. Our ability to manage outbreaks of emerging diseases is determined by efficient epidemiological surveillance programmes, and contingency plans to be able to act early, quickly and effectively. It is therefore important to monitor changes in diseases status in other regions and monitor changes in pathogen populations and disease appearance within a region. All these actions (research, risk assessment, diagnostics and surveillance) have to be performed in various regulatory contexts. Overall, the aim is to reduce plant health risks by preventing outbreaks, and responding rapidly on appearance of emerging diseases, and thereby protecting the environment and ensuring food security.

The session presents results from ISPP's Global Plant Health Assessment (GPHA), initiated with the International Year of Plant Health. The GPHA involves some 100 volunteers; it addresses Plant Systems from agricultural to natural systems: cereals (rice, wheat, maize), roots, tubers and bananas, peri-urban horticulture and household gardens, forests (managed softwood, oaks, eucalypts, and amazon forests), and urban forests. Plant Systems are considered in different world ecoregions: Southeast, South, and East Asia, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, North, Central, and South America, and Australia. A total of 26 systems (i.e., Plant System x Ecoregion) have been assessed with respect to (1) the state and evolution of plant health, and (2) the state and evolution of ecosystem services rendered by the Plant Systems, as affected by disease. Three broad categories of services are considered; Provisioning (food, fibre, material), Regulating (climate regulation, pollution reduction, and protection of biodiversity, soils, and water), and Cultural (spiritual, cultural, re-creational). The status of these systems was assessed on a 5-point scale from "bad" to "excellent", while the evolution of their status was assessed according to three categories: "improving", "stable", or "declining". All assessments are science- and publication-based. The first talk of the session will report GPHA results of the assessments from the standpoints of plant health status and evolution. The second talk will report GPHA results from the standpoint of impacts of disease on ecosystem services. The third talk will discuss outcomes from the findings of the GPHA with respect to plant disease management, food security, biodiversity, climate change, pathogen invasions, plant system resilience to diseases, and some initial thoughts for recommendations. This third talk especially highlights cross-cutting issues, challenging questions, and future research needs and directions generated by the GPHA. These questions will be further discussed in the Roundtable Session which will follow this Keynote Session.

Plants are impacted by various factors, including other organisms of diverse taxa and environmental factors. These interactions can have a significant effect on plant health and productivity. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on understanding these complex interactions in order to identify ways to control parasitic interactions and promote mutualistic ones. This session will examine three types of interactions with plants, including biotic interactions, which involve microbes and their vectors, and abiotic interactions, which involve factors such as temperature, moisture, and nutrients. The session will also explore the ways in which plant responses can impact pathogen behavior and the potential consequences of these interactions on plant health.

This keynote session aims to showcase, and stimulate discussion on, recent technological advances for crop disease management as part of integrated approaches and sustainable solutions for growers, with a key objective to optimize productivity from the finite amount of land available to agriculture. We would like to showcase recent advances in the area of crop disease management, such as precision farming technologies like remote sensing and (early) pathogen diagnosis, vector control, geographic information systems (GIS), and machine learning-driven decision support systems, as well as the development of more effective disease-resistant crop varieties through genetic engineering and selection