SUBJECT MATTER COMMITTEES
2002 ANnual REPORTS



Biochemistry, Physiology, and Molecular Biology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Andrew F. Bent, afb@plantpath.wisc.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Thomas J. Wolpert, wolpertt@bcc.orst.edu

Vice Chair: Christopher B. Lawrence, clawrenc@lamar.colostate.edu

 

Members: (2003) Tom Wolpert, Thomas K. Mitchell, Lisa D. Price; (2004) Andrew F. Bent, Ahmad M. Fakhoury, Camellia M. Okpodu, Rui Rong, Yinong Yang; (2005) Christopher Lawrence, Lisa J. Vaillancourt

 

Outgoing Members: Robert G. Upchurch, Jyothi P. Bolar, Susanne B. Von Bodman

 

Annual Report: Members and visitors were urged to attend this year's symposium, "Programmed Cell Death in Disease and Development," organized by Tom Wolpert. The symposium was held Sunday, July 27, from 1-4:10 pm in room 203C of the Midwest Express Center and was very well attended. Chris Lawrence, Colorado State University was nominated for Vice Chair to serve in 2002-3 and to become Chair following the 2003 annual meeting. He has graciously accepted the nomination. Nominations for new committee members were taken and included: Don Warkentin (USDA-ARS), Won-Bo Shim (USDA-ARS), Charles Woloshuk (Purdue University), Joe Flaherty (Purdue University), Lynda Ciuffetti (Oregon State University), Marty Dickman (University of Nebraska) and Barbara Valent (Kansas State University). The committee reviewed the subjects for a symposium for the 2003 meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. Two possible symposium topics were proposed and submitted: 1) Contemporary Methods for the Analysis of Gene Function in Plants and Plant-Parasitic Microbes (Co-sponsored with the Genetics Committee); and 2) The Role of Reactive Oxygen Species in Plant Disease. If approved by the Program Planning Committee, Andrew Bent would organize the first symposium and the second would be co-organized by Marty Dickman and Tom Wolpert. Two tentative subjects were retained for possible symposia at the 2004 meeting in Anaheim, California. They are: 1) "Post-genomic approaches to the analysis of plant pathogens", and 2) "Genome level analyses of host-parasite interactions" (to be co-sponsored with the Genetics Committee). The committee also decided to submit the topic, "The Biochemistry, Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plant/Microbe Interactions" for consideration as a Melhus symposium. If approved, Lisa Vaillancourt agreed to organize this symposium. The committee also conducted a discussion on the white paper on microbial genome sequencing. The committee appreciates the effort to identify objective criteria for the ranking of microbes in the ongoing attempts to prioritize genome sequencing. The committee also strongly recommends that the white paper undergo constant reevaluation. In addition, a discussion was held on the scheduling of poster sessions and symposia. Committee members felt that the scheduling of posters concurrent with symposia and other talks diminished attendance at the poster sessions. Also, the committee expressed concerns that many symposia of shared interests were scheduled concurrently. This discussion resulted in the committee submitting a recommendation to the Program Planning Committee meeting that: 1) poster sessions be scheduled in the evening concurrent with social activities in the poster area and 2) that tentative schedules for symposia be distributed to Subject Committee chairs to minimize the concurrent scheduling of symposia that would be of mutual interest broad segments of those in attendance. Following the 2002 annual meeting, Andrew Bent assumed the role of Chair of the Biochemistry, Physiology, and Molecular Biology Committee.

 

Self-Evaluation: The membership felt that the committee continues to serve a vital and valuable contribution to the functions of the society. With a perspective to the future and in the context of current efforts toward gene discovery and identification, the role of the type of research considered by this committee will continue to increase in significance and importance. The committee is aggressively seeking broader membership and participation in recognition of its ever-emerging role. The committee also serves as an advisory resource for APS's leadership role in identifying and prioritizing national and international research efforts.

Submitted By: Thomas J. Wolpert at wolpertt@bcc.orst.edu

Biological Control

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Brian McSpadden Gardener, bbmg+@osu.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Bill Stoneman, billstoneman@charter.com

Vice Chair: Erin N. Rosskopf, erosskopf@ushrl.ars.usda.gov,

 

Members: Brian B. McSpadden Gardener 04, William F. Stoneman 03, Erin N. Rosskopf 05, Pamela Adams 05, Susan M. Boyetchk 03, Larry D. Butler 04, Anthony Caesar 04, Brion Duffy 03, Naseem Khan 03, Prem Kharbanda 05, Bonnie Ownley 04, Caroline Press 03, Yasser Shabana 04, James Stack 05, Linda Thomashow 05, Krishna Vanga 04, Roberto Vargas 04, David Weller 05,

 

Outgoing Members: Prem Warrior

 

Annual Report: During the year 2001-2002 the Biological Control Committee of the APS Planned and executed or co-sponsored three special sessions at the 2002 APS Annual meeting.

 

Symposium, "Commercial Biopesticides: Practice and Experience". William Stoneman presiding. For a schedule click here.

 

Symposium, "Creating the right environment for biological control of soilborne diseases." Brion Duffy presiding. Co-sponsored with Soil Microbiology and Root Diseases committee.

 

Symposium, "Chestnut Blight: A 10-year study of disease management using hypoviruses." Jane Cummings presiding. Co-sponsored by Forest Pathology and Epidemiology committees.

 

Discussion session, "Genomic sequencing of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5". Linda Thomashow presiding. Co-sponsored with Bacteriology committee.

 

Brian McSpadden Gardener managed the BCC website.

 

Our committees annual meeting was held at the APS Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, WI. Brian also assembled a list of biological control agents currently in commercial use.

 

Self-Evaluation: The APS BCC Committee Service a purpose as a forum for planning Biological Control special sessions and for determining co-sponsorship or sponsorship of annual meeting sessions and field trips. This committee could be more active in determining the direction of and programs of APS. Under the new chairmanship great new things are expected.

Submitted By: Bill Stoneman at billstoneman@charter.net

 

 

Chemical Control

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Phil Brannen, pbrannen@uga.edu

Immediate Past Chair: David Langston, dlangsto@uga.edu

Vice Chair: Kenneth Seebold, kseebold@uga.edu,

 

Members: Phil Brannen-2004, Kenneth Seebold-2005, Bob Kemerait-2004, John Damicone-2005, Tony Keinath-2005, David Wedge-2004, Francis Wong-2004, Richard Cartwright-2004, Julius Fajard -2004, David Langston-2003

 

Outgoing Members: Norm Lalancette, Randall Gold, Clint Kohls, Timur Momol

 

Annual Report: During the 2001-2002 year the chemical control committee put together sessions for the 2002 APS meeting in Milwaukee, WI. Sessions that were sponsored by the Chemical Control committee were symposiums titled "IPM Labeling - Has the Time Come", "Innovations in Bacterial Disease Control Materials", and a discussion session titled "The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA): Expected Impact on Agriculture and the Consumer". The IPM committee was a co-sponsor of all three sessions. Greta Schuster was the organizer for the IPM labeling session, Norm Lalancette for the bacterial control session, and Kent Smith organized the FQPA discussion. This year we met on 7/27/02 at 7:00 pm. Eleven people were in attendance and some of those individuals indicated that they wished to join the Chemical Control committee. We submitted 2 proposals for potential sessions at next years meeting in Charlotte. These were "Fungicide Compatibility Issues - Do's and Don'ts", and "Fungicide Modes of Action and Deployment for Resistance Management". We also agreed to co-sponsor 2 more sessions and a workshop. These sessions are on soybean rust, which was proposed by the Regulatory committee, and on ornamental greenhouse disease control, which was proposed by the Diseases of Ornamental Plants committee.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Chemical Control committee remains a small but viable APS subject area committee that works cooperatively with the IPM, Pathogen Resistance, and Industry committees. Co-sponsoring of sessions with the Regulatory and Diseases of Ornamental Plants is planned. It is recommended that the Chemical Control committee continue to function as a separate subject area committee at this time.

Submitted By: David Langston at dlangsto@uga.edu

 

 

Diagnostics

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Lindsey du Toit, dutoit@wsu.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Julie Beale, jbeale@uky.edu

Vice Chair: Barbara Ambruzs, ambruzsb@iastate.edu

 

Members: Tom C. Creswell 03, Melodie Ptunam 03, David L. Scott 03, Julie W. Beale 03, Lindsey du Toit 04, Maohammad Babadoost 04, Ellen M. Bentley 04, Jason H. Brock 04, Gary G. Grove 04, Barbara Ambruzs 05, Sharon Douglas 05, Jennifer Chaky 05

 

Outgoing Members: Jacqueline Mullen, Karen Snover, Karen Rane

 

Annual Report: Annual Report: Activities Conducted in Milwaukee -- 2002

A. Diagnostics Poster -- Karen Snover

B. Diagnostics Working Group -- Cheryl Smith

C. Diagnostics Contest -- Karen Snover

D. Co-sponsor of Discussion Session -- "Real-time PCR" (Sponsored by the

Bacteriology Committee)

E. Business Meeting Breakfast -- Diagnostics Table

 

Activities Planned for Charlotte -- 2003 (tentative)

A. A. Diagnostics Poster -- Barbara Ambruzs

B. Diagnostics Working Group -- Cheryl Smith

C. Diagnostics Contest -- Karen Rane

D. Co-sponsor of Symposium -- "Extension's Role in Biosecurity" (Sponsored by the Extension Committee)

 

Other proposed activities: Workshop on Diagnosis of Turfgrass Diseases -- proposed for 2004 with the Turf Committee

Plant Disease Quarterly (PDQ): The Committee re-opened discussion about using remaining funds from PDQ subscriptions to archive PDQ in an electronic format. This issue had been discussed during the 2001 Committee Meeting, but since some disagreement was expressed, the Chair and Immediate Past Chair wanted to provide an opportunity for more discussion. It was agreed (and voted unanimously) to archive PDQ in an electronic format. Any remaining funds could be used for committee activities (workshops, etc.).

 

Other items of discussion: Interest and concern over the Regional Diagnostics Centers was expressed by some members (on-line prior to the meeting and at the meeting). Events during the Annual Meeting about these issues were reviewed and members were encouraged to attend them. On-line discussions over the Diagnostics Centers will likely continue throughout the year.

 

Self-evaluation: The Diagnostics Committee continues to be an active committee, attracting new diagnosticians as members and maintaining considerable involvement from experienced and past members. The committee has long been involved in promoting diagnostics as a unique and important area of plant pathology, and as recent developments in issues of biosecurity bring diagnostics to the forefront, the committee can expect increased interest in its activities. Although meeting attendance (by members) was lower this year than in some previous years due to state budget constraints, on-line communication throughout the year allows members to stay involved. Interest in membership was expressed by a number of individuals during and after the meeting. I recommend that the Diagnostics Committee continue in its valuable role in APS.

Submitted By: Julie Beale at jbeale@uky.edu

 

 

Diseases of Ornamental Plants

2002 Annual Report

 

Current Committee Chair: James W. Buck, jbuck@gaes.griffin.peachnet.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Gary A Chastagner, chastag@wsu.edu

Current Vice Chair: Chuanxue Hong, chhong@vt.edu

 

Members: James W. Buck 2004, Gary A Chastagner 2003, Ann Brooks Gould 2003, Mary K. Hausbeck 2003, James C. Locke 2003, Gary W. Moorman 2003, Anne Bird Sindermann 2003, Ann R. Chase 2004, Raymond A. Cloyd 2004, Maria R. Corral Garcia 2004, Jeffery H. Dobbs 2004, Janet L. Hall 2004, Chuanxue Hong 2005, Brooke Edmunds 2005, Steve Nameth 2005, Jean Williams-Woodward 2005

 

Annual Report: The Diseases of Ornamental Plants Committee sponsored/co-sponsored a workshop and three discussion sessions entitled: Diagnosis of abiotic diseases, Product development in the ornamental market, Diagnosis and management of nematodes on ornamental plants, and Sudden Oak Death: A new disease reported on oaks and Rhododendrons, at the annual meeting in Milwaukee. For the 2003 meeting in Charlotte, NC, we have proposed sponsoring one discussion session and a field tour. Gary Moorman agreed to organize a discussion session entitled: New technologies, new challenges in managing diseases of greenhouse crops. Mike Benson will organize an ornamentals field tour prior to the start of the annual meeting. The committee also discussed program ideas for the 2004 meeting in Anaheim, CA. Jean Williams-Woodward agreed to work on the development of a discussion session dealing with pathogen free production material and Janet Hall agreed to organize an ornamentals field tour prior to the meeting.

 

Self-Evaluation: This committee continues to organize topical sessions and field tours of interest to the APS membership and the continuation of this committee is recommended.
Submitted By: Gary A Chastagner at chastag@wsu.edu

 

 

 

Environmental Quality and Plant Health

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Steven Shafer, srs@ars.usda.gov

Immediate Past Chair: Charles Krause, krause.2@osu.edu

Vice Chair: Michael Simini, michael.simini@sbccom.apgea.army.mil

 

Members: Charles Krause-2003, Michael Simini-2004, Steve Shafer-2004, Muhammed Bhatti – 2005, Jose Chavarria-2004, Cheryl Lennox-2004, Tim Schubert-2003, George Smith-2003, Stephen Vann-2003

 

Outgoing Members: Matthew Krause-2002, Russ Bullock-2002, Peter Gay-2002, Charles Curtis-2002

 

Annual Report: Chris Boerboom, Univ of Wisconsin presented, "Clinical Diagnosis of Herbicide Injury"; Dr. John Skelly, Pennsylvania State Univ, presented "Diagnosis of Air Pollution Injury to Plants"; Dr. Charles Krause presented "New Innovative Methods of Abiotic Disease Diagnosis" and also organized the workshop. The Committee believes that it serves a unique function within APS by addressing the challenges and losses caused by abiotic stress to plants.

 

Self-Evaluation: The committee continues to play a vital role in the society addressing abiotic disease issues not addressed by other committees; and requests continuation of our present mission Submitted By: Charles R. Krause at krause.2@osu.edu

 

 

Forest Pathology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Glen Stanosz, grs@plantpath.wisc.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Linda Haugen, lhaugen@fs.fed.us

Vice Chair: Susan Cohen, cohen057@umn.edu

 

Members: Linda Haugen 98 03, Susan D. Cohen 98 05, Johann Bruhn 00 03, Richard Hunt 00 03, Glen Stanosz 00 04, Pierluigi Bonello 01 04, Matteo Garbelotto 01 04, Ned Klopfenstein 01 04, Joe O'Brien 01 04, Bruce Moltzan 02 05, Mee-Sook Kim 02 05, Steve Oak 02 05, Terry Shaw 02 05, Gaston Laflamme 02 05

 

Outgoing Members: Bill Otrosina 96 02, John Kliejunas 99 02, Paul Zambino 99 02

 

Annual Report: At the 2002 meeting, the Forest Pathology committee sponsored two field trips, two symposia and a discussion. Participants in the 2-day forest pathology field trip enjoyed a day viewing sustained-yield forestry practices at the Menominee Reservation and a day viewing and hearing about research projects on important Wisconsin forest pathogens. Participants in the chestnut field trip were able to experience the largest remaining stand of American chestnut. The symposium "Chestnut Blight: a 10-year Study of Disease Management Using Hypovirus"; explored many aspects of research that has taken place in this unique stand. The Symposium "Forces that Shape Microbe Populations in Forest Ecosystems"; examined the significance of various factors that affect population genetics of forest pathogens. The discussion "Sudden Oak Death: A New Disease Reported on Oaks and Rhododendrons"; provided opportunity for scientists to learn the latest information on a very significant new disease.


For the 2003 meeting in Charlotte, the committee hopes to sponsor a field trip (organized by Steve Oak), a symposium on Diseases of Oaks Worldwide (organized by Dave Appel and Jenny Juzwik), and a discussion on mitigating the movement of exotic forest pests (organized by Sue Cohen).

The forest pathology committee, represented by Joe O'Brien and Linda Haugen, provided input on forest pathogens to the APS list of "Threatening pathogens not present or with very limited distribution in the US". This list, coordinated by Larry Madden, was posted on APSnet in October 2001. In 2002-03, Ned Klopfenstein and Louis Bernier will represent the forest pathology committee to provide input on the APS list of priority organisms for microbial genome sequencing. In 2002-03, forest pathology committee intends to develop an active web page. This web page will be useful to archive committee historical information and facilitate communication about the committee and its activities. It will also serve at a gateway site to sources of tree health information. Carla Thomas of Fieldwise has generously offered to host and help develop the web page. Linda Haugen and Paul Zambino will assist with developing the content.

 

Progress continues to be made toward establishing a Forest Pathology Student Travel award. A minimum of $2500 is needed to establish the award. Mee Sook Kim has been instrumental in leading this effort. The committee thanks those outgoing committee members who rotated off in 2002: Bill Otrosina, John Kliejunas, and Paul Zambino. We nominated Paul Zambino to become incoming vice-chairperson in 2003 (following Susan Cohen). Four additional individuals were nominated to begin service to the committee in 2003.

 

Self-Evaluation: The forest pathology subject matter committee continues to be an active, productive component of APS. Committee meetings are always well attended by a large number of APS members with an interest in forest pathology, in addition to the official committee members. This committee serves an important role in representing and giving voice to a unique subgroup of the Society. The sessions and field trips we sponsor are particularly important for professional development of forest pathologists, but also serve the Society as a whole.
Submitted By: Linda Haugen at lhaugen@fs.fed.us

 

 

Genetics

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Seogchan Kang, sxk55@psu.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Scott Gold, sgold@uga.edu

Vice Chair: Sophien Kamoun, kamoun.1@osu.edu

 

Members: Scott Gold 98/03, Seogchan Kang 98/03, Guo-Liang Wang 00/03, Jeff S. Lehman 00/03, Greg Douhan 01/04, Ravinda Baht 01/04, Sophien Kamoun 01/04, Anthony Glenn 01/04, Yue Jin 01-04, Robert Bowden 02/05, Xianming Chen 02-05, Frank Martin 02/05, Maria Garcia-Pedrajas 02/05

 

Outgoing Members: Gretchen Kuldau, Tobin Peever, Craig Liddell

 

Annual Report: Seogchan Kang was elected vice-chair at the 2001meeting and has assumed duties as chair following the Milwaukee meeting. Sophien Kamoun, Ohio State was elected vice-chair at the 2002 meeting.

 

In attendence at the committee meeting in Milwaukee were the following: Xianming Chen, Maria Garcia-Pedrajas, Tony Glenn, Scott Gold, Niklaus Grunwald, Sophien Kamoun, Seogchan Kang, Yong-Hwan Lee, Frank Martin, Paul Morris, Guo-Liang Wang, Don Warkentin, Quan Zhang

 

Our committee sponsored two symposia at the Milwaukee meeting. The first was entitled "How Many Genes Does It Take to Make a Plant Pathogen?" organized by Tony Glenn. The second was entitled "Functional Genomics of Plant-Pathogen Interactions" organized by Seogchan Kang and Sophien Kamoun which was cosponsored by the Biochemistry, Physiology, and Molecular Biology committee. Both symposia were well attended and well-received. Unfortunately, conflicting sessions impacted attendance and overcrowding impacted by room size continued to be an issue at times. As discussed at the planning session there will be an effort by the Meeting Program Planning Committee to try to look more carefully at subject matter conflicts in the future.

 

Several potential symposia topics were discussed for upcoming annual meetings. Molecular and Ecological Aspects of Pathogen Fitness (Jeff Lehman, organizer) Technology Transfer and Applications Development from Basic Research Models to Less Tractable Organisms (Scott Gold, organizer) Host-Parasite Coevolution (Greg Douhan, organizer) Animal and Plant Pathogens Shared Strategies (Xianming Chen, organizer) The committee decided to go ahead with the last of these proposals and presented this topic at the 2002 planning meeting in Milwaukee. This topic was well received by representatives of the subject matter committees and received the most votes in the "Molecular/Cellular Plant Microbe Interactions" section. Based on this level of support, it is anticipated that this symposia will go ahead for the Charlotte meeting. The committee also lent its name to a few other proposals as cosponsor.

 

The committee continued to spend a substantial amount of time this year on the Microbial Genomic Sequencing

list. Other APS committees also contributed to this effort. Progress on this topic will be reported in an upcoming issue of Phytopathology News. Most importantly it was a successful year for those interested in genomic sequencing of plant-associated microorganisms and the list played a positive role in this achievement.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Committee continues to accomplish the goals outlined in our mission by continuing to sponsor high quality symposia and contribute to important APS education and service issues.

Submitted By: Scott Gold at sgold@uga.edu

 

 

Host Resistance

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Jim Kolmer, jkolmer@umn.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Anne Dorrance, dorrance.1@osu.edu

Vice Chair: Monte R. Miles, mrmiles@uiuc.edu

 

Members: Anne Dorrance 03, James Kolmer 04, Michael Clements 03, Chandrasekar Kousik 03, Fleet Lee 04, Henry Ngugi 04, John Norelli 04, Beatriz Perez 04, Margaret Redinbaugh 04, Raymond Schneider 04, Claude Thomas 04, Casiana Vera Cruz 05, Monte Miles 05, Xiangyang Zheng 05

 

Outgoing Members: Judy Thies, Kristine Crabtree, Phyllis Himmel, Gregory Tylka, Ida Yates

 

Annual Report: The committee sponsored a symposium on Monday July 29th entitled “Comparison of Molecular Marker Techniques and How They can be Used in Breeding Programs”. Speakers for this session included Dr. Nevin Young, Univ of Minnesota; Dr. Guo-Liang Wang, Ohio State Univ; Dr. B. C. Kang, a post doctoral researcher from the laboratory of Dr. Molly Jahn at Cornell; Dr. X. M. Chen, Washington State Univ; Dr. Lila Vodkin, Univ of Illinois; and Dr. David Galbraith, Univ of Arizona. The committee met on Saturday, July 27th in Milwaukee, WI. New members were recognized. We propose to sponsor one symposium during the 03 meeting entitled “ Case Study: Durable Resistance Success Stories” in honor of Dr. Roy Johnson who passed away recently. Dr. Johnson was the first to coin the term “durable resistance”. Monies were requested for publication of these talks in Plant Disease. Activities for the next year include developing a proposal to sponsor the IE Melhus Graduate Student Symposia (lead person is Dr. Peg Redinbaugh) and more involvement in the APS Microbe Sequencing List.

 

Self-Evaluation: We recommend continuation of the committee due to the sustained involvement of the general APS membership in committee activities. Several committee members and guests attended the committee meeting. The symposium that we hosted this year was very well attended, with standing room only audience through several of the speakers. This indicates that the committee addresses issues of interest to APS members and is a very timely topic.

Submitted by: Anne E. Dorrance at dorrance.1@osu.edu

 

Integrated Pest Management committee

2002 annual report

 

Chair: Lorianne Fought, lorianne.fought.b@bayer.com

Immediate Past Chair: Samuel A. Alexander, salex@vt.edu

Vice Chair: Daniel S. Egel, egel@purdue.edu

 

Members: 2005 - Clint Kohls, Katheryne L. Everts, Pamela D. Roberts, Daniel S. Egel, 2004 - Scott A. Heuchelin, Kenneth L. Pernezny, Jennifer L. Riggs, Edward J. Sikora, 2003 - Samuel A. Alexander, Albert K. Culbreath, Lorianne Fought, Harald Scherm, Simon F. Shamoun, William Brown

 

Outgoing Members: Greta L. Schuster, George S. Smith, Narjess Zriba

 

Annual Report: The committee met at the appropriate time with most of the committee members present as well as several nonmembers. A report was given on the status of the IPM Labeling symposium by Greta Schuster. Sam Alexander and Lorianne Fought discussed the webpage for the committee. The committe discused the theme for the next APS meeting, "Plant Health and Securioty in the Age of Genomics", and how we could contribute. After some discussion, it was desided that our proposed topic for the next APS meeting will be "IPM for Tospovirus". Tim Momol and Albert Culbreath will take the lead on puting the symposium together along with Sam Alexander. Dan Egel was elected to be the Vice-Chair for the committee. He agreed to stay on the committee two more years to complete the cycle.

 

Self-Evaluation: The committee recommends continuation as is.The committee meeting was well attended, reflecting continued interest among committee members and non-members. Symposia/Discussion Session hosted and co-sponsored by the chemical control, and industry committee's was well received and well attended, suggesting the committee has been addressing issues of importance to the general membership. There were several new applicants for committee membership.

Submitted By: Sam Alexander at salex@vt.edu

 

 

mycology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Weidong Chen, w-chen@wsu.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Carol Stiles, cstiles@ufl.edu

Vice Chair: Stephen B. Goodwin, sgoodwin@purdue.edu

 

Members: Weidong Chen 2004, Stephen B. Goodwin 2003, Carol M. Stiles 2003, Maria L. Boyd 2003, James C. Correll 2003, Darin M. Eastburn 2003, Lusike Wasilwa 2003, David B. Chalkley 2004, Semra Demir 2004, Carrie L. Lapaire 2005, David M. Beyer 2005, Mary E. Palm 2005, Dean A. Glawe 2005, Julia L. Kerrigan 2005, Reyes Blanco Pietro 2005

 

Outgoing Members: Marc A. Cubeta, Richard E. Baird, Daniel J. Royse

 

Annual Report: After the joint annual meeting with the Mycological Society of America in 2001, the committee added 6 new members. This brings the total membership to 18, the maximum recommended by APS.

 

Members of the Mycology Committee provided substantial input on a revision of the fungal list for microbial genome sequencing priorities (White Paper revision, Plant Pathology Board, O.W. Barnett) carried out by e-mail discussion in Fall, 2001. Members also attended and contributed to a forum on this list at the Milwaukee APS meeting, with discussion centering around how future revisions will occur, and the importance of having representative genera from the different phylogenetic groups.

 

Darin Eastburn established the Mycology Committee “splash” page on the APS website, and attended the Office of Electronic Communication (OEC) meeting in Milwaukee.

 

The Mycology Committee discussed revising the committee mission statement at the 2001 annual meeting; the revised statement will be sent out for approval via e-mail and then added to the committee splash page.

 

The Mycology Committee co-sponsored the following two sessions at the Milwaukee APS meeting:

Symposium: Airborne Mycotoxigenic Fungi in Plant and Human Disease/Sponsoring Committee: Mycotoxicology/Co-Sponsoring Committee(s): Mycology

 

Discussion session: Sudden Oak Death: A New Disease Reported On Oaks and Rhododendrons, Sponsoring Committee: Forest Pathology/Co-Sponsoring Committee(s): Regulatory Plant Pathology, Diseases of Ornamental Plants, Mycology

 

The Mycology Committee proposed a symposium on “Mechanisms of Fungal Speciation” for the 2003 meeting in Charlotte which was well supported by those attending the program planning committee meeting in Milwaukee. The Mycology Committee will also cosponsor a session with the Mycotoxicology Committee for 2003. Two sessions were proposed for 2004: “Data analyses in molecular systematics of fungi” and “Co-evolution of plants with fungi.”

 

Carol Stiles and David Chalkley have continued their activities on the Widely Prevalent Phytopathogenic Fungi Working Group with Karel Jacobs and Anwar Rizvi.

 

Thank you notes for their efforts were sent to Marc Cubeta (past-chair), Daniel Royse, and Richard Baird as they rotated off the committee.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Mycology Committee contributed to the annual program in Milwaukee and continues to provide input concerning pertinent mycology-related issues in APS. The committee has proposed sessions for 2003 and 2004 APS meetings. One current member of the Mycology Committee (Carol M. Stiles) and two recent members serve on the Phytopathology Committee in Mycological Society of America. Carol Stiles is also the APS liaison to MSA, and attended the Affiliates’ meeting at the APS meeting in Milwaukee. Currently the Mycology Committee is composed of 18 members, with two people nominated for membership. Committee members continue to contribute to the grass-roots activities involving “hot issues” such as the microbial gene sequencing priorities list, biosecurity, and regulatory issues, and continue to organize and sponsor popular symposia at APS meetings, thus contributing to the organization as a whole. Committee members also maintain links to other mycological organizations, particularly the MSA. The continuation of the Mycology Committee is therefore strongly recommended.

Submitted By: Carol Stiles at cstiles@ufl.edu

 

 

Mycotoxicology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Anne Desjardins, DESJARAE@mail.ncaur.usda.gov

Immediate Past Chair: Gary Munkvold, munkvold@iastate.edu

Vice Chair: Gretchen Kuldau, kuldau@psu.edu,

 

Members: Gary Munkvold 2003, David Schisler 2003, Anne Desjardins 2004, Ruth Dill-Macky 2004, Jeannie Gilbert 2004, Gary Odvody 2004, Dan Panaccione 2004, Arthur Schaafsma 2004, Dimitrios Tsitsigiannis 2004, Gary Windham 2004, Robert L. Brown 2005, Gretchen Kuldau 2005, Robert H. Proctor 2005

 

Outgoing Members: Hamed K. Abbas, Kenneth E. Damann, Nancy Keller, Frances Trail

 

Annual Report: During 2002, the committee was active in the development of APS priorities for the sequencing of fungal genomes. The committee sponsored one special session at the 2002 APS Annual meeting: Airborne mycotoxigenic fungi in plant and human disease, 8 am -12 pm, Monday July 29. The session was well attended but exact numbers are not available. The next special session will be at the 2003 meeting. The committee agreed to sponsor two symposia:

 1. Gibberella toxins from a(venacea) to z(eae)

 2. Emerging mycotoxin problems in agricultural products

Both to be organized by Gary Munkvold, and both co-sponsored by the Mycology Committee. We requested APS funding to invite non-APS speakers for both sessions, but the first one was ranked poorly at the program planning session on July 30, 2002. If funds are not available for both sessions, the Gibberella session may be dropped.

 

Additionally, we proposed to sponsor the 2003 Melhus graduate student symposium and our proposal was accepted. Art Schaafsma prepared the proposal, will head the selection committee for student participants, and will be the chief organizer of the symposium. An announcement for Phytopathology News also was prepared by Art Schaafsma and will appear in the November 2002 issue.

 

At the 2002 Annual meeting, a new mission statement for the committee was proposed and approved.

 

During 2002-2003, committee members have agreed to collaborate on a regional extension publication on mycotoxins. Charles Woloshuk is leading the effort.

 

Two symposia were suggested for the 2004 Annual meeting on the topics of 1. Mycotoxin genomics with Bob Proctor organizing, and 2. In planta regulation of mycotoxins with Charles Woloshuk organizing

 

Self-Evaluation: The committee had a large turnover in membership last year. The current members are active researchers and enthusiastic committee members. Ideas for special sessions are numerous and members are willing to volunteer for committee activities. The committee wishes to continue as an APS subject matter committee.

Submitted By: Gary Munkvold at munkvold@iastate.edu

 

 

Nematology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Senyu Chen, chenx099@umn.edu

Immediate Past Chair: William T. Crow, wtcr@ufl.edu

Vice Chair: to be elected

 

Members: William T. Crow, 2003, Senyu Chen, 2004, Stephen A. Lewis, 2003, Richard F. Davis, 2004, Terrence L. Kirkpatrick, 2004, An E. MacGuidwin, 2004, Joseph P. McMahan, 2004, Gregory Tylka, 2005

 

Outgoing Members: Charles S. Johnson, Don W. Dickson, Joseph Esnard

 

Annual Report: Nematology Committee is planning a session for 2004 APS annual meeting. The potential topic will be “Soil Health and Nematodes” Five candidates for new members of the committee have been nominated.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Nematology Committee decided that they continue as an active committee of the APS.

Submitted By: Senyu Chen at chenx099@umn.edu

 

Pathogen Resistance

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Hendrik Ypema, ypemah@basf-corp.com

Immediate Past Chair: Timothy Brenneman, ararachis@tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu

Vice Chair: Katherine Stevenson, ks@arches.uga.edu

 

Members: Timothy Brenneman (2003), Hendrik Ypema (2004), Tara Chand-Goyal (2004), Alex Diner (2004), Sally Schneider (2004), Katherine Stevenson (2004), Jennifer Yocum (2004), Margaret McGrath (2005), Wayne Wilcox (2005)

 

Outgoing Members: Paul Lewis, Kristine Crabtree, Steven Jeffers, Patricia McManus, Ronald Romero

 

Annual Report: Several activities were discussed by the committee including a discussion session on "Labeling for fungicide resistance", a symposium on resistance issues with bactericides and GMO's, and a workshop to revise Charlie Delp's book "Fungicide resistance in North America". The first two ideas were discarded due to lack of adequate interest and support. The workshop on fungicide resistance had strong support and will be pursued further. Wolfram Koller (former committee chairman) will coordinate this activity and the committee will assist in planning and support. Many changes have occurred since the original book on fungicide resistance was published, and a revision is badly needed.

 

Self-Evaluation: The committee continues to serve a useful role and we recommend continuation.

Submitted By: Timothy Brenneman at arachis@tifton.cpes.peachnet.edu

 

 

Phyllosphere Microbiology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Steve Lindow, icelab@socrates.berkeley.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Chris Mundt, mundtc@bcc.orst.edu

Vice Chair: Walt Mahaffee, mahaffew@bcc.orst.edu

 

Members: Steve Lindow, Chair (04), Walt Mahaffee, Vice-Chair (05), Chris Mundt, Immediate Past Chair (03), Odile Carisse (03), Barry J. Jacobsen (03), P. Lawrence Pusey (03), Brian D. Shaw (03), Vern J. Elliot (04), Gary Y. Yuen (04)

 

Outgoing Members: Kenneth B. Johnson, Ozlem Kilic, Julien Mercier

 

Annual Report: Activity of the Phyllosphere Microbiology Committee during this past year was oriented primarily toward organizing the symposium "Spatial Scale and Phyllosphere Microbiology". This symposium was held at the 2002 meeting in Milwaukee and appeared to be a considerable success. Our committee meeting in Milwaukee focused mostly on ideas for subject matter sessions at future APS meetings. We have proposed a symposium on the topic of techniques for studying phyllosphere microbiology at the 2003 meeting. Steve Lindow is cting as coordinator for this symposium, with input being provided by Barry Jacobsen and Walt Mahaffee. For future meetings, we are considering a session on pre-harvest phyllosphere microbiology as it relates to food safety issues. Virginia Stockwell will investigate preliminary ideas for topics and speakers for discussion at the 2003 meeting. Our committee would also like to sponsor the Melhus graduate student symposium at some appropriate time in the future.

 

Self-Evaluation: Our committee has played a very traditional role by focusing on sponsorship of high-quality scientific sessions. Our committee differs from some others in that our subject matter is highly interdisciplinary. This has enabled us to sponsor useful sessions that would not have otherwise occurred, and the sessions we have sponsored have been highly successful. A downside this interdisciplinary nature has been a lower level of enthusiasm and committee attendance as compared to some of the more focused committees, such as epidemiology or biological control. Nonetheless, we believe that our committee plays a very important role in APS and should be continued.

Submitted By: Chris Mundt at mundtc@bcc.orst.edu

 

 

plant disease losses

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Susan Fitzsimmons, Susan_Fitzsimmons@ich-us.com

Immediate Past Chair: William Turechek, wwt3@cornell.edu

Vice Chair: Denis Shah, das28@cornell.edu

 

Members: Jie Guan (03), Gareth Hughes (03), Matthew Royer (03), William W. Turechek (03), John E. Lundquist (04), Laurence V. Madden (04), Susan E. Fitzsimmons (04), Denis A. Shah (05)

 

Outgoing Members: Jack C. Comstock, Clayton A. Hollier, Sukumar Chakraborty

 

Annual Report: The committee sponsored the symposium: Managing Risk to Minimize Crop Loss, the Regulatory Committee cosponsored the symposium. The symposium was very well attended with well over 100 people viewing one or more of the talks. We cosponsored with the epidemiology committee the statistical epidemiology workshop: Meta-Analysis: Synthesis across studies in Plant Pathology. The workshop was filled to capacity.

 

At the annual committee meeting in Milwaukee, Denis Shah was elected Vice-Chair (to serve as chair in 2004) and Susan Fitzsimmons will assume the chairmanship duties at the close of the 2002 Annual Meeting. Nominations were accepted for new committee members. Nominations were accepted for new committee members. Suggested members included Gary Grove, Harald Scherm, Kitty Cardwell, Gary Munkvold, and David Long.

 

The committee approved a mission statement for tour committee’s splash page. The page can be viewed at: http://www.apsnet.org/members/com/reports.asp. The committee’s active page can be viewed at http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pp/extension/PDL/PDL.html.

 

The committee is planning on cosponsoring a session “Non-science issues unique to private practitioners” with the Private Practice committee. We will attempt to select a speaker who can address crop loss issues from an insurance company perspective. In 2004, we fully develop a symposium around insurance issues if the talk(s) in the 2003 symposium are well received. We are also considering sponsoring a session to look at the potential impact of new and emerging diseases on crop loss.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Plant Disease Losses Committee has been a very active committee from the standpoint of sponsoring and organizing special sessions. There is a need, however, to increase the visibility of the concept of plant disease losses both within and outside APS. Our committee is taking steps to be more proactive in this regard by recruiting new members and by organizing oral and poster sessions under the heading of "Plant Disease Losses". The Plant Disease Losses Committee is developing a web page to help promote our committee activities. The Plant Disease Losses Committee recommends continuation (perhaps under a different name) and does not support a merger with other APS Committees.

Submitted By: William Turechek at wwt3@cornell.edu

 

 

Plant Pathogen and Disease Detection

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Nancy Robertson, pfnlr@uaa.alaska.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Andre Levesque, Levesqueca@em.agr.ca

Vice Chair: Peter Ellis, ellisp@shaw.ca

 

Members: Reid Frederick (05), Doug Luster (05), Ioannis E. Tzanetakis (05), Elisabetta Vivoda (04), Michael Sulzinske (04), Renee DeVries-Paterson (04), Jim Beck (04), Adib Rowhani (05), Neil Glynn (03), Jun Xia (03)

 

Outgoing Members: Wally H. Sheta, Laurene Levy (past chair)

 

Annual Report: At the 2002 annual meeting our committee sponsored a discussion entitled "Application of Quality Assurance and ISO Certification to Plant Pathology" with four speakers: Carol Masters "From confusion to compliance: The bumpy road to accrediting a plant health diagnostic laboratory to ISO 17025", G.L. Lamka and W.E. Dolezal "Use of a Quality Management System (ISO:9000) in addressing phytosanitary issues", Michael G. Tiffany "Agdia's journey on the road towards laboratory certification", and Michael D. Ward "To ISO or not to ISO: APHIS and NSHS and their decision not to require ISO certification of accredited labs". This is an issue that several laboratories will need to address and discussions as well as attendance showed that there is a strong interest in this topic.

We are planning a discussion for the 2003 meeting entitled "Detection of plant pathogens for biosecurity". The proposed list of topic is Risk Assessment, Lab Detection Technology, Forensics, and First Responder Technology. During our discussions it was agreed upon that a key part of the risk assessment was the development of a list and the establishment of criteria for making it in the list. On the technology side the session would not be a review of all techniques but would be more of a critical assessment of what can be practically used, including discussion of issues about hypersensitivity of certain techniques and development of standards. What should we do to collect forensic evidence? What are the technologies that can be used by first responders for surveys? What would trigger a large scale response? These are some of the questions we want to discuss at the session.

 

A symposium on the "Lab on chip" had been proposed in 2001 for 2003 but biosecurity issues changed priorities. This topic could be a symposium in 2004. "Sampling for quarantine and certification programs" was also proposed for 2004.

 

We had discussions on obtaining sequences of some gene from many microbes in addition to focusing on the entire genome sequence of selected microbes. Plant Pathogen and Disease Committee supports the promotion of genome projects that focus on the sequencing of selected regions with utility in plant pathogen detection and differentiation of a wide range of microorganisms. This was unanimously accepted at the APS meeting. [See http://www.apsnet.org/members/ppb/communitycomments.asp for this comment by the committee]

 

Peter Ellis, Phyto Diagnostics Co Ltd, North Saanich, BC, Canada, was nominated and became the new vice chair by unanimous vote.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Plant Pathogen and Disease Detection committee is a very active committee. The annual meetings are always well attended and generate lively and yet constructive discussions. This year was an excellent example where a new topic on biosecurity was brought forward and a full session was quickly planned for 2003 with vital input from several members. The subject matter of this committee is more relevant than ever with detection technologies being identified as a major gap in biosecurity and invasive alien species issues. Input from this committee is likely to be sought regularly in the next couple of years around these issues as the committee represents a broad range of expertise in the field of detection. More frequent contacts should be done by e-mail. Five new members joined the committee last year and so far, five have accepted to be nominated.

Submitted By: Andre Levesque at levesqueca@em.agr.ca

Postharvest Pathology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Wojciech J. Janisiewicz, wjanisie@afrs.ars.usda.gov

Immediate Past Chair: William S. Conway, ConwayW@ba.ars.usda.gov

Vice Chair: James L. McEvoy, McEvoyJ@ba.ars.usda.gov

 

Members: William S. Conway (2003), James E. Adaskaveg (2003), Edwin M. Imai (2003), Peter G. Sanderson (2003), Wojciech J. Janisiewicz (2005), James L. McEvoy (2007), Themis J. Michailides (2004), Dov B. Prusky (2004), Joseph L. Smilanick (2004), David Sugar (2004), John Zhang (2004), Jerry A. Bartz (2005), Benny D. Bruton (2005), Gerald J. Holmes (2005), Peter Sholberg (2005), David C. Thompson (2005), Chang-Lin Xiao (2005)

 

Outgoing Members: David Kendra

 

Annual Report: Once again this year, the Committee sponsored the Postharvest Pathology Discussion Group, which met just prior to our Committee Meeting. It was decided that the Committee would continue to sponsor this Discussion Group as it is an excellent way to keep abreast of the latest research in the area of postharvest pathology. The Discussion Group would continue to meet just prior to the Committee Meeting to help increase attendance at the Committee Meeting. A Postharvest Pathology Committee Splash Page was established this year. The Committee also discussed various potential topics for a Special Session to be presented during the APS Annual Meeting in Charlotte. The title of the chosen topic was Micro environmental Effects on Gene Regulation of Pathogen Virulence in Diseases of Fruits and Vegetables; Wojciech Janisiewicz, Vice-Chair, and I attended the APS 2003 Annual Meeting Program Planning meeting and presented our proposed Special Session under the Section Epidemiology/Ecology/Environmental Biology. We are awaiting notification of its acceptance as a part of the 2003 APS program. The Committee also proposed a Special Session topic; Resistance Management in Pre and Postharvest Disease Control; for the 2004 APS program. The Special Session entitled; Detection and Management of Food borne Human Pathogens on Fruits and Vegetables; which was presented at the APS Meeting this year was very well received. The members of our committee would like to thank the speakers, Arthur J. Miller, Jeri D. Barak, Britta Leverentz, Jerry A. Bartz, and Karl R. Matthews for their excellent presentations. The Postharvest Pathology Committee adopted a two-year rotation for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman positions. William S. Conway became the Immediate Past after the Milwaukee APS Meeting. Wojciech J. Janisiewicz will become the Chair for the Charlotte APS Meeting and James L. McEvoy was elected the new Vice-Chair.

 

Self-Evaluation: The Postharvest Pathology Committee continues to be very active. At the 1999 APS Annual Meeting in Montreal, we sponsored the Special Session entitled A Food Safety-Meeting the Challenge;. At the 2001 Meeting in Salt Lake City the Committee sponsored the very well attended Special Session entitled Enhancing Microbial Biocontrol of Postharvest Fruit Pathogens, and this year we sponsored the Special Session entitled Detection and Management of Food borne Human Pathogens on Fruits and Vegetables. We proposed the Special Session entitled; Microenvironmental Effects on Gene Regulation of Pathogen Virulence in Diseases of Fruits and Vegetables; for the APS Annual Meeting next year in Charlotte, NC. The Committee will continue to sponsor the Postharvest Pathology Discussion Group and will hold its business meeting following the presentation of annual research reports by this Group. The Committee is also investigating the possibility of developing a webpage to allow those interested in the postharvest pathology area to exchange and acquire information. Due to the continued accomplishments of this Committee, we recommend that it be continued as an active subject matter committee.

Submitted By: William S. Conway at ConwayW@ba.ars.usda.gov

 

 

 

Seed Pathology

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: Lisa Shepherd, leese@iastate.edu

Immediate Past Chair: Chester Kurowski, c.kurowski@harrismoran.com

Vice Chair: Betsy Randall-Schadel, Charles Block, betsy.randallschadel@ncmail.net, ccblock@iastate.edu

 

Members: Lisa Shepherd (05), Patrick Fenn (03), Charles Block (04), Susan Koehler (04), Tom Kucharek (04), Mike Meadows (04), Betsy Randall-Schadel (06), Phyllis Himmel (05), Stephanie Autry (05), Kimberly Gwinn (05)

 

Outgoing Members: Alyson Thornton, Wayne Wiebe, Mike Tiffany, Ron Walcott, Chester Kurowski

 

Annual Report: Denis McGee, Ron Walcott and Karen Arthur were nominated to a 3-year term beginning with the 2003 meeting. The committee is looking for a few more members to help keep the committee active within APS.

This past year the committee was beginning to plan a seed pathology workshop to be held at this years meeting in Milwaukee. Due to circumstances beyond our control the workshop was cancelled and is planned to be held at Charlotte in 2003. Betsy Randall-Schadel will be the workshop leader supported by others on the committee. The focus will be on novel technologies (i.e. immuno-PCR, Realtime PCR). A website has been created by Charlie Block and now the committee will work together in how this website can be utilized by its members and others within APS. A large discussion was around the revision of the 1989 manual "Detection of Bacteria in Seed" edited by Saettler, Schaad, and Roth. Thus far, it appears that Wesley Chun and Ron Gitaitis will share the lead editing job for this project. The committee is now looking for people who would like to contribute towards this project.

 

Self Evaluation: The move of having our chairman serve two consecutive terms has helped. We now see momentum building within the committee as members are slowly becoming more active. Positive feedback was commented from existing members and participants outside of the committee regarding the change we made in trying to improve continuity within the committee.

Submitted By: Chester Kurowski at c.kurowski@harrismoran.com

 

 

Soil Microbiology and Root Diseases

2002 Annual Report

 

Chair: John Bowers, bowersjo@ba.ars.usda.gov

Immediate Past Chair: Margaret Smither-Kopperl, mlsk55@aol.com

Vice Chair: Jennifer Parke, jennifer.parke@orst.edu

 

Members: John Bowers (2004), John C. Bienapfl (2005), Russ Bulluck (2004), Craig Canaday (2003), Cynthia Eayre (2004), Wade Elmer (2003), Linda E. Hanson (2005), Matthew Krause (2004), James Kurle (2004), Phillipe Lemanceau (2003), Robert McGovern (2004), Jennifer Parke (2004), M. S. Reddy (2004), Brantlee Spakes Richter (2005), Margaret Smither Kopperl (2003), David M. Weller (2005)

 

Outgoing Members: Deborah Fravel, Susan Meyer, Alexandra Stone, Kateel Shetty

 

Annual Report: The Soil Microbiology and Root Diseases Committee is an active committee. In 2002, the committee co-sponsored a symposium with the Biological Control Committee entitled “Creating the Right Environment for Biological Control” which was organized by and presented by Bryon Duffy in at the annual APS Meeting in Milwaukee.

 

The Committee had input during the year to the Microbial Genomic Sequencing Perspectives of APS. The importance of including organisms with biocontrol activities was pointed out. At our annual meeting in 2002, Brantlee Richter (and others) noted that the list of microorganisms listed for priority study of their genomes did not include any beneficial organisms. Burkholderia was suggested as a possible candidate because if certain species in the genera are both clinical and plant associated. Jennifer Parke noted that a group of researchers were attempting to procure DOE funding to sequence the genome of B. cepacia. The committee felt that if funding is not secured, then B. cepacia should be on the list. Craig Canaday also suggested that Pseudomonas solancearum be included as this is an important bacterial plant pathogen, of which none is currently listed. Deborah Fravel had responsibility for the committee web page during the past year; she has now stepped down due to increased pressures on her time. Wade Elmer has agreed to take over the web-page duties for the committee. Wade attended a meeting regarding the splash page for the committee, and will consult with John Bowers (incoming chair) to get it done. The discussion and decision as to whether the committee should have a public web page, and the content to be placed there were put off until the committee meeting next year in Charlotte.

 

The following proposals have been made for next year’s meeting. 1) John Bowers will submit a proposal for an I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium to the Scientific Programs Board entitled “Graduate Student Research in Soil Microbiology and Rhizosphere Ecology.” The Biological Control Committee agreed to co-sponsor the symposium. If not selected, the committee would resubmit the proposal for the following year. 2) Linda Hanson and Brantlee Richter will organize the session entitled “Impact of Herbicide-Resistant Crops and Altered Herbicide Use on Soil Microbes and Root Diseases” if selected by the APS program committee. The Biotechnology Impact Assessment Committee agreed to co-sponsor the session. 3) Matthew Krause presented a proposal from the Biological Control Committee to co-sponsor a series of three sessions (organized by Brian McSpadden-Gardener) over the next three years focusing on specific genera of biocontrol organisms: Bacillus, Trichoderma, and Pseudomonas. The committee agreed to co-sponsor these sessions for all three years. 4) A session was suggested for the 2004 annual meeting, and tentatively entitled “Active Management of Soil Microbes for Root Disease Control”. Brantlee Spakes Richter agreed to take the lead as organizer.

 

Self-Evaluation: The committee voted to remain an active committee. The subject area is now, and will continue to be, of major importance to Plant Pathology. It is recommended that the committee be continued as a separate committee with the same research focus.

Submitted By: Margaret Smither-Kopperl at mlsk55@aol.com

 

 

Tropical Plant Pathology

2002 Annual Report