Minutes of the Annual Business Meeting
The 62nd annual meeting of the Northeastern Division of APS was held October 2-4, in Bromont, Québec, Canada, at the Château Bromont. The business meeting was held at 4:45 on October 3.
President Margery Daughtrey called the meeting to order. She noted her use of the new American Chestnut gavel, made by Gary Moorman, to be handed on to suceeding NED-APS Presidents. Councilor-Elect Margaret Tuttle McGrath asked for a monent of silence in memory of Wilford Mills, Spencer Davis, Michael Szkolnik, and Dewayne Torgeson, all of whom passed away since the 2001 meeting.
Margery Daughtrey introduced Jacqueline Fletcher, President of APS, who addressed the Division. Dr. Fletcher noted that there are now 5000 members of APS. The APS Vision statement that she read stresses our global community. The membership includes 26% from countries other than the U.S. or Canada. Canadian members comprise 5%. International efforts by APS include activities of the Office of International Programs, International Travel Awards, and the Caribbean Division. APS has bid to host joint APS-International Society of Plant Pathology meetings in St. Paul, MN in 2008 to coincide with the APS Centennial celebrations. The APS organizational structure is being examined because, rather than having Council do all the strategic planning for a given time frame, a rolling strategic plan is being developed and committees and staff will also be participating on an ongoing basis. President Fletcher noted our changing communications forms. APSnet has Plant Healthy Progress and Crop Management online journals through the Plant Management Network. Also the APS Education & Learning Center is online. She briefly noted several new initiatives concerning the Public Policy Board, Divisional issues, and student travel and awards. Dr. Fletcher concluded by thanking the Division for inviting her participation and extended an invitation to Division members to attend the national meeting in North Carolina in 2003.
Councilor Barbara Christ reported that APS headquarters donated pencils for everyone and 25 hats to be given as prizes during the Jeopardy Game entertainment. She discussed APS governance, noting that a decision has been made to retain the Division structure. Council membership will be increased by adding Disciplinary Councilors. The 2006 national meeting will be held in Quebec City and the NED-APS is the local host. Council has increased the number of Senior Editors for Phytopathology and Plant Disease. We should expect a vote on Constitutional changes related to the duration of editorships. An unwritten role of the Division Councilor is to form a Division team (4 graduate students, 1 faculty member, and 1 staff, postdoc or industry person) to participate in the DeBary Bowl at the national meeting. In 2002, it was very difficult to put a team together and some who had volunteered then did not participate. Councilor Christ asked for assistance and cooperation in putting at team together.
Vice President Suha Jabaji-Hare presented the 2001 minutes. These were accepted and approved.
Gary Moorman presented the Secretary-Treasurer’s report. NED-APS had a balance of $12,854.49 at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1, 2002) and as of September 18, 2002, has a balance of $19,364.49. He thanked Ann Brooks Gould and James Lamondia for running for Secretary-Treasurer and reported that the tally was extremely close. Ann Gould won. It may be necessary to amend the Constitution with a way of breaking a tie vote.
Committee Reports:
Sharon M. Douglas, Secretary, reported.
Representing seven states, sixteen people reported observations of new or noteworthy diseases to the 24 attendees of the extension session chaired by Steve Johnson (Maine). Among the highlights reported during the session were:
· Fusarium diseases of aster, Scotch broom, and giant pumpkin were prevalent in Connecticut. Frost and extended drought continued to plague a variety of woody plants throughout the state and Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae was reported on many species. As yet unidentified problems of dieback and sudden death of American beech and a bract spot on poinsettia and concerns about the use of a commercially available strain of Verticillium dahliae from potato for control of Dutch Elm disease were presented for discussion.
· Lance and root knot nematodes were found at unusually high levels in turf in Massachusetts. Powdery mildew was prevalent on many hosts and was particularly noteworthy on dogwood. A survey for blueberry scorch yielded only one positive which happened to be located on the grounds of the Cranberry Station. Turf problems included widespread anthracnose and a resurgence of gray leaf spot. An unusual occurrence of striped smut was diagnosed on an unsprayed fairway of a golf course.
· New Hampshire reported frost damage to oaks and fields of peppers and cucurbits and problems with bedding plants and tomatoes in high tunnels from cool temperatures. Phomopsis and Botryosphaeria diebacks and Armillaria root rot were more prevalent than usual on drought-stressed woody and forest species. Spider mites, broad mites, and cucumber beetles contributed to unusually high levels of plant damage.
· In New York, black mold caused by Aspergillis niger was reported as a significant problem on onion. This pathogen appeared to be seedborne since the fungus was present in all parts of the plant and stress at harvest was suggested as the trigger for symptom development. Bacterial canker of tomato was found to be spread through handling and pruning of indeterminate varieties and was presented as something to watch for with the increased popularity of indeterminate heirloom tomatoes. Puccinia lagenophorae on groundsel was presented as a potential threat to ornamental Cineraria production. Downy mildews were found on salvia and Osteospermum and Pythium aphanidermatum was identified on rotted roots of chrysanthemum and poinsettia. An unusual manifestation of fire blight was reported on pears. No symptoms were present on foliage but fruit exhibited mid-summer decay. Sudden changes in temperature and overhead irrigation were associated with the outbreak. Considerable stress-related problems were reported on field crops. It was announced that Rose Loria was the new PI for the New England Plant Diagnostic Center and more information about this USDA program will be forthcoming.
· It was a great year for turf problems in New Jersey and some of the most problematic diseases were anthracnose and gray leaf spot. Cultural practices such as increased use of growth regulators and problems with fungicide resistance were discussed. An early outbreak of late blight was reported on tomato transplants before they were planted and the source was traced to infected petunias. High thrips populations were found on tomato and pepper and were thought to be associated with a “pox” symptom complex on tomato fruit. An unusual discussion of slobbering horses was reported after horses had fed in a pasture of orchardgrass. Slaframine, a mycotoxin from Rhizoctonia leguminicola, was speculated as the cause of the slobbering. Extremely high levels of bacterial leaf scorch of oak were found throughout the state, particularly on red and pin oak. Symptoms appeared in an unusually short window during August and September. The idea of alternate hosts as sources of inoculum for leafhopper vectors was presented.
· Pennsylvania reported Calibrachoa, a relatively new bedding plant, as the host of numerous root pathogens including several species of Pythium and Phytophthora as well as Thielaviopsis. Bacterial blight of geranium continued to be the fourth-ranking pathogen in the state lab. Ralstonia solanacearum Biovar II remains a pathogen of concern since tomatoes and potatoes are very susceptible to this cooler climate strain.
· Mop top virus of potato (PMTV) was a key disease for concern in Maine and presented with regard to management, containment, and quarantine issues. Although PMTV had been reported in several Canadian provinces, shipments of potatoes from Maine and 7 other states were not allowed to cross the border.
Special note was made of Steve Johnston’s report of horse-slobber disease induced by the ingestion of Rhizoctonia-laced hay. Steve Johnson (Maine) requested that Steve Johnston (New Jersey) hereafter be recognized for that contribution, thereby providing an excellent way for members to differentiate the two Steves.
Dave Rosenberger was unanimously elected as the next secretary of the Extension Committee. Sharon Douglas is the chairperson for 2003.
No report
James White reported that in addition to announcing a winner this year, the Committee will also announce two runners-up because the presentations were outstanding. He will make it clear that runners-up recognition will be noted in PhytopathNews and each will receive an APS hat. The next chair will be Russell Twedell.
Marie Thorne of Syngenta Canada noted that 2 reports were given at the Industry meeting. New uses and updates on product labels were presented by Jeff Heuther, Cerexagri and Phil Brune, Syngenta, US. Michael Agnew, Syngenta Professional Products and chair of the 2002 committee sent an e-mail on September 25 requesting financial support to help defray the cost of the NED-APS meeting. As of September 30, no responses had been received.
Odile Carisse, chair of the local arrangements committee, reported that there were 15 student papers in the competition. A total of 92 people registered for the meeting. The pre-meeting tour was attended by about 30 people.
Suha Jabaji-Hare is the only active member of the committee at this time because Brad Hillman is on sabbatic leave. Suha encouraged everyone interested in this committee to volunteer to participate. Elwin Stewart and Louis Bernier volunteered to participate on the committee.
Rob Wick is chair of the Site Selection Committee. Cheryl Smith announced that the site of the 2003 annual meeting will be the Wayfarer Inn, Bedford, New Hampshire, October 22-24. The 2004 meeting is scheduled for the Days Inn, State College, Pennsylvania October 6-8. It has been suggested to the Potomac Division that they meet jointly with the NED in 2004 on those dates. Arrangements for the 2005 meeting are uncertain at this time. It is possible that Rhode Island will host the meeting with assistance from Maine.
The excellent quality of the Fungicide/Bactericide Resistance Symposium was noted and the organizer, Wakar Uddin, was thanked.
Sharon Douglas encouraged everyone interested in serving the Division to volunteer to run for office or ask a colleague to nominate them.
There was no old business to discuss.
Barbara Christ reported on the work of the ad hoc Committee on Divisional Issues. The goal should be to increase communications among Divisions and between Divisions and APS headquarters. Divisions should develop a strategic plan. To improve inter-division communications, the Executive Committees of all the Divisions meet as a group at the national meeting. In future such meetings, a particular Divison will be asked to develop the agenda. For within-Division communications, it was suggested that more time be placed on strategic planning. Currently, most Executive Committees spend the majority of their time on annual meeting planning. Additional time and methods should be used for strategic planning, including conference calls, e-mails, etc. A survey has been developed to determine who is attending Division meetings, who is not attending, and why they are or are not participating. Of the national APS members living in the northeastern region, 59% are NED members.
Gary Moorman announced that future meeting notices and other Division information will be posted on a website by APS in order to eliminate the costs incurred for printing and mailing materials to the members. Meeting registration forms and other materials that need to be filled out and mailed to the Division will be in a pdf file format for printing out. It is proposed that an e-mail list of Northeastern Division members be used to bring the web-posted information to their attention in a timely fashion, in addition to placing notices in PhytopathNews. Also beginning in 2003, meeting registration fees and payments for abstract publication can be paid by using credit cards or purchasing cards. Only American Express, Visa, and Mastercard will be accepted. This will require that credit card numbers and signatures be placed on the forms.
The new officers for 2003 were announced:
Suha Jabaji-Hare, President
Gary Moorman, Vice President
Ann Gould, Secretary-Treasurer
Barbara Christ, Councilor (term ends with 2003 meeting)
Margaret McGrath, Councilor-Elect
Respectfully submitted,
Gary W. Moorman