Florida Phytopathological Society holds 10th biennial meeting
Physicians have countless conferences and journals to keep them up on the latest treatments for human ailments—but what do plant pathologists do to keep their skills sharp? For those in the Sunshine State, one of the best tools is the biennial meeting of the Florida Phytopathological Society (FPS).
Founded in 1989, the meeting gives members the opportunity to foster contacts as well as to exchange news and views about the unique and often challenging issues faced by Florida agriculture.
Hosted by IFAS, the society’s 10th meeting was held this past May at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy.
UF’s own Raghavan “Charu” Charudattan began the general session with a presentation entitled A Vision for Florida Phytopathology. He was followed by Joji Muramoto from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who brought his knowledge on how crop rotation can aid the health of Florida’s organic strawberry farms.
These discussions were followed by the presentation of 34 technical papers at sessions covering bacteriology, virology, and mycology and epidemiology.
During the evening banquet, UF professor of plant pathology L. W. “Pete” Timmer then gave a retrospective of his nearly 40 years of experience battling citrus pathogens through areas ranging from Argentina to Lake Alfred.
Below: Pete Timmer (right) receives a Career Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to plant pathology in Florida. Charu Charudattan was honored with the same award.
Below: Five graduate students participated in the graduate student paper competition. Award winners and a more detailed listing of the meeting's events can be found here.
Left to right, the students are: Amanda Watson, Jose Figueiredo, Alana Den Breeyen, Linley Smith and Nick S. Dufault.
Send us your comments:
