September 1998, Volume 19 No. 3
- Editorial
- General News
- Biorational
- Training News
- Internet Round-Up
- Announcements
- New Books
- Conference Reports
- Forthcoming Meetings
British Mycological Society International Symposium
'The Future of Fungi in the Control of Pests, Weeds and Diseases' symposium sponsored by the British Mycological Society, EU COST-821 and EU COST-816 was held on 5-9 April 1998 at Southampton University with approximately 60 speakers, 90 poster presentations and 350 delegates. A vast range of topics was covered ranging broadly from research findings in mycology through to the development of a commercial bioproduct, with an entire day covering registration aspects. Sessions commenced with an overview of fungal biocontrol agents (BCAs) which was followed by 'Mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis', 'Improving virulence and ecological fitness of fungal BCAs', 'Ecology of BCAs' and 'Markers and monitoring of fungal BCAs'. This led on to sessions on 'Production, formulation and application' and 'Biocontrol fungi: progress, problems and potential'. These were interspersed with sessions on offered papers all of which were of an extremely high standard and the final day consisted of sessions on 'Risk assessment and registration: COST 816 sponsored meeting in collaboration with BMS' and 'Registration of fungal biocontrol agents'. Of particular interest were two workshops - one a debate on fungal toxins and the other on registration of biocontrol agents. Running alongside the symposium were also one-day meetings of the nine other BMS Special Interest Committees.
Rottboellia Workshop
An international workshop on the integrated pest management and biological control of Rottboellia cochinchinenesis was held at CATIE (Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Enseñanza; the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences), Costa Rica on 11-13 May 1998. Most of the some 40 participants were from Costa Rica, but there were also participants from Bolivia, Mexico, Panama, Peru and the UK.
The workshop gave an opportunity to review progress in a CATIE/CABI Bioscience/NRI (Natural Resources Institute, UK) project on IPM of the weed, which contains elements covering validation of an IPM strategy, mycoherbicide control, modelling, and classical biological control. Results of the screening of the smut pathogen Sporisorium ophiuri were presented, and a proposal was presented for its potential introduction into Costa Rica. The workshop identified a number of areas of research (host range testing, efficacy, and behaviour under varying environmental conditions) that were felt should be further explored before the pathogen is released. General support was expressed, both by Costa Rican participants and by those from other Latin American countries, for the import of exotic pathogens for classical biological control of R. cochinchinenesis to Costa Rica, subject to safety and effectiveness criteria being met. The comprehensive biological control agent import legislation passed by Costa Rica in 1997 [see General News, this issue] makes the steps required to meet these criteria clear.
Interest was also shown in building on the work already done in maize-based cropping systems to develop an approach to integrated Rottboellia management to take in other crops, relevant to other Latin American countries and cropping situations.
Biocontrol of Plant Diseases
As a part of the celebration of 50 years of India's Independence, a National Seminar on Biological Suppression of Plant Diseases, Phytoparasitic Nematodes and Weeds, including the use of entomophilic nematodes for insect control, was organized in Bangalore, India, on 16 May 1998 by the Project Directorate of Biological Control (PDBC) on behalf of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi.
The seminar included lectures and discussions by leading luminaries in the field of biological control. It had three sessions covering plant diseases, phytoparasitic nematodes and weeds, respectively. Topics covered in the different sessions included: the importance of adopting biocontrol methods in the control of plant diseases in view of the hazards of chemical usage; the development of strains of fungal and bacterial pathogens resistant to chemicals; developing an integrated plant disease management strategy with biocontrol as a major component; mass production of fungal biocontrol agents, including the feasibility of using fermentation technology. The development of formulations and field application strategy was discussed. There were also papers on biological suppression of field and plantation crop diseases using fungal and bacterial antagonists; the utility of Pasteuria, Trichoderma and Verticillium in the control of plant parasitic nematodes in an integrated system in plantation and horticultural crops; biological weed control; and Parthenium control with antagonists.
The group recommended that a national repository for antagonists be established at PDBC and also stringent guidelines be evolved and enforced before an antagonist formulation is registered for commercial use. The importance of entomophilic nematodes for insect control was realized, and it was recommended that this line of work should be strengthened by collaboration and networking.
