PRESS RELEASE

Findings from the National Soybean Rust Symposium Now Available 

St. Paul, Minn. (December 8, 2005) – The proceedings of the first of its kind National Soybean Rust Symposium is now posted on the Plant Management Network’s publicly available Soybean Rust Information Center at www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/infocenter. To access the proceedings, click the green symposium icon on the upper right of the page.

The symposium, which was organized by The American Phytopathological Society (APS), concluded Wednesday, November 16 in Nashville, TN. A diverse audience of more than 350 attendees participated in the event, which was coordinated by Gary Bergstrom, Cornell University; a technical program planning committee chaired by Anne Dorrance, Ohio State University; and an advisory board comprised of representatives of several key related organizations.

A total of 43 presentations, three breakout sessions, and 53 posters comprised the two-day event which was designed to:

·         Provide the best research and latest information on soybean rust acquired during North America’s first crop season with the disease.

·         Identify national priorities for strategic response and research planning on soybean rust. 

According to Gary Bergstrom, symposium coordinator, “The symposium successfully met its purpose. We have a wealth of information that we’ve compiled and are making available to all the key stakeholders dealing with soybean rust. Attendees were also able to walk away from the meeting with the latest information available on the disease. We anticipate the findings will play a significant role in plans for 2006.”

The organizers thank the 17 sponsors, nine partnering organizations, 43 speakers, 53 poster presenters, 34 breakout session facilitators and recorders, and others who contributed to the event.
 

APS is a non-profit, professional scientific organization. The research of the organization’s 5,000 worldwide members advances the understanding of the science of plant pathology and its application to plant health.
 

The Plant Management Network (PMN) is a nonprofit informational  website designed for plant and agricultural professionals. PMN publishes four science-based applied journals – Applied Turfgrass Science, Crop Management, Plant Health Progress, and Forage and Grazinglands – and includes an image database, three field trials publications, a plant science database of more than 4,000 fact sheets, a soybean rust information center, and a monthly newsletter.