The
American Phytopathological Society
Office of
International Programs
OIP Newsletter
VI
July 2002
Kitty F. Cardwell, Email: kcardwell@reeusda.gov, Tel: (202) 401
1790, Fax: (202) 401 6156
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2002
OIP Meeting in Milwaukee, WI
Dr. Eugene B. Smalley, Dies
Ph.D.,
Plant Pathology, University of California - Berkeley -1957
M.S., Plant Pathology, University of California -
Berkeley - 1953
B.S., Subtropical Horticulture, University of
California - Los Angeles – 1947
Gene received a plaque of appreciation from Rick
Bennett for years of service to the OIP
Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Pathology,
University of Wisconsin - Madison. He retired in 1994 after 37 years of
service. He was former Chairman, Department of Plant Pathology (1988-9) and
Associate Chairman (1990-1994). See a Eulogy by Luis Sequeira on page 5.
APS Office of International Programs
(OIP)
George S. Abawi, Director
Annual Report to Council (2001 –
2002)
Below are brief summaries of the various activities that
were addressed by OIP during the past year. A summary of these activities was
also included in the Mid-Year report submitted to the APS Council in February
2002. OIP reports and the OIP Newsletter are available on the APS–OIP website: http://www.apsnet.org/members/oip.
OIP Standing Committees
The Advisory Board and its Executive
Committee, Policy & Program Committee, and the three Standing
Committees (Education, Research and Service) plan and
conduct the various activities of OIP. It was suggested last year that the OIP
Standing Committees would become more active and function more efficiently if
they are to meet separately before reporting to the OIP Advisory Board during
the annual APS Meetings. Thus, it has been arranged that the Standing
Committees will be meeting separately in Milwaukee on Saturday, July 27 from
1:30-3:00 PM. Accordingly, the rosters of these committees will be discussed
during the OIP Board Meeting in Milwaukee in order to eliminate any overlap of
committee membership as well as to adequately staff each committee. The
Standing Committees meetings are open, thus interested colleagues are welcomed
to attend and participate in these meetings.
JANE Award
A total of 14 proposals were received for
consideration for the John and Ann Neiderhauser Endowment (JANE) Award program.
The Technical Advisory Committee of the JANE Award recommended and the APS
Foundation approved the funding of the following three proposals for 2002:
1. Development of Late Blight
Management Strategies for Resistance Potato Cultivars in Ecuador by P. J. Oyarzun, A. Taipe, and N.
Hidalgo. Instituto Autonomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIAP, PNRT-papa
(Funded for $10,000). This proposal deals with
controlling late blight through the implementation of IPM strategies. One of
its objectives is the determination of the number of fungicides needed for
effective control of late blight on recently released potato varieties with
tolerance to late blight. The proposal will also investigate the possibility of
timing fungicides applications based on accumulated rainfall as a threshold
level. Experiments will be conducted in farmer’s fields and in three production
regions.
2. Bolivian Genetic
Resources for Sustainable Management of Potato Blight by Julio L. Gabriel, et
al. Fundacion PROINPA, Av. Blanco Galindo Km 12 1/2, Calle Prado s/n, P. O. Box
4285, Cochabamba, Bolivia (Funded for $5,000). This proposal deals with
collecting and conserving native potato germplasm. It also deals with
characterizing such materials for resistance to late blight and other pests as
well as agronomic traits. The proposed research is part of an on-going,
extensive research and outreach project on native germplasm of potatoes and
other crops by the foundation.
3. Characterization of Pyhtophthora capsici
populations to improve disease management strategies by S. Fernandez-Pavia,
Instituto de Investigacions Agropecuarias y Forestales, Universidad Michoacana
de San Nicolas de Hildalgo, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico (Funded for $5,000).
This proposal deals with understanding the biology of the pathogen for possible
use in designing effective management strategies. It also combines the use of
traditional and molecular techniques in characterizing the biology of the
pathogen populations from peppers.
International Travel Award Fund
Collaborative efforts between the APS Foundation and OIP have
resulted in the establishment of the new "International Travel
Award," which was made available for the 2002 meeting. This award provides
up to $2,000 to cover travel costs of early to mid-career scientists from
developing countries to attend and participate in our annual meetings. Dr.
Albert Paulus (Plant Pathology, University of California - Riverside; apaulus@ucrac1.ucr.edu) was appointed as the
primary contact and the Chair of the committee overseeing the selection process
for this award. Only two applications were received this first year and Miss Zahra Saeed (Dept. of Crop Protection,
University of Khartoum, Sudan) was granted this travel award to attend the
Milwaukee meeting. Building-up the principal for this award continues to be a
high priority for both the APS Foundation and OIP. The Foundation has
generously agreed to match up to $12,500 in new gifts that OIP collects before
June 2002. A letter requesting contributions from
colleagues was prepared by OIP and published in Phytopathology News and
sent to department chairs. New donations received to-date have totaled only
$3,072. This effort will be continued as well as making the necessary changes
in the established guidelines and criteria for this award.
OIP Symposium – Milwaukee, 2002
The Policy & Programs Committee (Jesse
Dubin, Chair, j.dubin@cgiar.org) has organized a symposium entitled “Plant
Diseases Impacting Resource Poor Farmers in Developing Countries: Can They be
Successfully Controlled” that will be presented on Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 30)
at the APS Milwaukee meeting. The symposium is co-sponsored by OPAE and the
Tropical Disease, Losses, and IPM Committees – APS. OIP has also co-sponsored
the symposium, entitled “International Service in APS: Opportunities for
Aspiring Plant Pathologists Abroad” being presented by the Graduate Student
Committee. Presentation topics being considered for future meetings include 1)
International programs on crop protection in developing countries:
opportunities for strategic alliances, 2) Emerging diseases of international
importance, and 3) International cooperation in plant pathology post September
11.
Library Assistance Program
This is a major activity of the Service
Committee, which is coordinated by Bill Brown. The only limitation for OIP in
providing various donated journals and books to deserving institutions in
developing countries are the limited funds available for shipping. During the
past year, two shipments each consisting of > 40-year issues of Phytopathology,
Plant Disease and other donated materials were made to three
institutions in Bangladesh. These were the National Agricultural University of
Bangladesh (recently re-named as the “Bagobondu Sheik Mujibar Rahman
Agricultural University”); the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute in Nashipur
and the Haji Denesh College also in Nashipur. OIP paid for the shipping costs
of both of these donations from its own budget. In addition, contacts have been
made with pathologists at the various International Research Centers in an
attempt to facilitate international distributions of the donated current
monthly issues of pathology journals. Until recently, all the monthly-donated
journals were shipped by AAAS free of charge.
OIP and APS-CD Collaboration
In 2001, the CD requested OIP to assist in seeking
financial support for the publication of the abstracts presented at the CD
meeting in Cuba. During the OIP Board Meeting in Salt Lake City a motion was
passed to appoint a joint OIP-CD ad-hoc committee to address this issue. A
committee was appointed in late November 2001 and consisted of Ed French
(Chair), Jose Amador, Sharon Cantrell, Talo Pastor-Corrales, and Rick Bennett.
The charge of the committee was to identify a long-term solution to the
publication of abstracts of the CD meetings. The committee was also requested
to consider the identification of mutually beneficial and collaborative
activities between CD and OIP. The full report of the committee is attached.
The committee recommended that the abstracts for the Cuba and Guatemala
meetings (2001-2002) be either published in Plant Health Progress/Plant
Management Network or in Phytopathology at actual cost basis. The cost
of publishing the abstracts for the 2002 CD meeting and beyond are to be
covered by the establishment of special CD funding mechanisms (part of
registration fee, donations, OIP contributions, etc.) and to be managed by a CD
Fund Committee. The newly established “French-Monar Latin American Fund” will
undoubtedly contribute greatly in solving this problem too.
OIP Newsletter and Booth
The latest issue of the newsletter was prepared
and distributed by Kitty Cardwell (Chair, Education Committee) in late January
2002. This issue highlighted OIP actions and activities in 2001 and briefly
summarized our on-going activities in 2002. Current and past newsletters can be
found at http://www.apsnet.org/members/oip/top.asp.
The OIP booth at the up-coming APS meeting will
highlight the activities of the International Tropical Research Center in Cali,
Colombia (CIAT), especially the pathology program research and outreach
activities.
APS Group Membership
Requests for the APS Group
Membership plan is continuing. Since July 2001, there were 23 new members
signed under this plan.
Milwaukee
Symposia – Don’t miss these
Lynn Sosnoskie (chair, Graduate Student Committee) reminds
us that there will be a special symposium, cosponsored by OIP and directed
towards the graduate students. It is entitled "International Service
in APS: Opportunities for Aspiring Plant Pathologists Abroad." This
symposium will take place on Monday afternoon at
1:30 p.m. and will feature Drs. Karen Garrett, Kitty Cardwell, Rick Bennett,
Luis Sequeira, Robert Zeigler and Isi Siddiqui discussing what it is like
to live and work abroad, as well as the risks and benefits of seeking
employment outside of the United States. Our speakers are diverse in their
backgrounds and experiences, and each and every one of them has a unique story
to tell....stories that I hope you will all come to hear. Who better to discuss
international agriculture than persons who have made it such an important and
intimate portion of their lives? A question and answer session scheduled at the
end of the symposium will allow the students to interact directly with the
presenters. Please take time to look over the attached copy of abstracts and
seminar titles.
If you are particularly interested in international
agriculture, please be sure to attend the OIP symposium entitled "Plant
Diseases Impacting Resource Poor Farmers in Developing Countries: Can they be
Successfully Controlled?", which will be presented on Tuesday
afternoon.
Additional Activities or Plans
The Research Committee is involved in the
preparation of a database on international interest of APS members, a database
on new and emerging diseases restricted to developing countries, and the
development of APS Member Sponsor program. The Service Committee is involved in
preparing nominations for the various APS awards, survey of international APS
members, and possible collaboration with OPAE.
Bye, Gene
As we advance in age, we get used to
the all-too-frequent loss of friends and relatives, as we get closer to the
front line. Yet, it is difficult to reconcile what is a natural process with
the death of people like Gene Smalley who, by all measures of fairness, should
have remained with us forever. His presence was important to his family, to his
colleagues, to the University of Wisconsin, to his many friends all over the
world, and, in particular, to OIP. Even at the risk of being guilty of hyperbole,
I feel that Gene was the soul of OIP. His concern for the values of
international collaboration for APS members was evident at all the OIP meetings
he attended, and it was most of them ever since this Office came into
existence. It was the intensity of his commitment to international programs in
forest pathology, his concern for the terrible consequences of mycotoxins to
the populations of the poorest countries of the world, his indefatigable
efforts to publish articles and pictures depicting the activities of OIP for
many, many years that remain in our memories of Gene. Above all, his sardonic
sense of humor, which made many long OIP meetings bearable, will be missed for
years to come.
When Gene died on March 25, 2002, at
the age of 75 following a long and painful bout with respiratory problems, he
was in the midst of preparing a book about his experiences in China, where he
traveled extensively in search of elms resistant to Dutch Elm disease. It was a
measure of the man that in the midst of intense pain he wanted to help younger
colleagues by describing how, as one of the very few scientists allowed to
travel in the interior of China at the time, he managed to collect important
plant materials, lecture extensively, and influence reticent local colleagues
to pursue international collaborations. That death came before he was able to
finish the book is a great loss for all of us.
Much has been written about Gene’s
contributions to the science of plant pathology. After he joined the Department
of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin in 1957, he quickly became an
internationally recognized expert on Dutch elm disease. The resistant materials
that he released are now planted all over the world and serve as a wonderful
memorial to his research. His publications on mycotoxins produced by fungi in
hay and in stored corn, silage, etc. have led to significant solutions to
nutritional problems with livestock.
It was as a colleague, teacher, and
friend that Gene excelled, however. As a self-styled curmudgeon, Gene loved to
provoke reactions from liberals and conservatives alike. His sense of humor was
legendary and, in small groups, he was at his best delivering salvos against
feminist groups, diversity in the workplace, the medical profession, the insurance
industry, etc. only to watch the expressions among his audience. He didn’t
really believe most of his one-liners. The truth is that he was one of the most
caring, sensitive individuals we have ever met. He will be sorely missed.
Luis Sequeira
THE POET’S PEN STUDENTS
by Dave Sands
When the sun goes down,
And the various birds streak across the sky,
Destination bound to some safe haven,
And Venus pokes her face through the twilight,
I try to take some time,
To see if my effort made a difference.
Not compliant with the zero sum,
I want intellectual progeny,
A finer kind of question,
And portent for a finer kind of answer,
Non-dilutable by generation,
Not-reduceable to consensic trends of the day,
But true brilliance,
Outshining Venus herself,
Emerging from a cold
and windswept valley.
Meeting held:
Honorary Plant Pathologist (attended meeting) SOME PEOPLE HAVE TOO MUCH FUN! International
Workshop on Dry Bean Rust and Common Bacterial Blight occurred 4 - 8 March
2002 Game Valley, near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu - Natal South Africa. For
info contact: James R. Steadman jsteadman1@unl.edu
or Talo Pastor-Corrales pastorm@ba.ars.usda.gov.
Left to right: Mrs. De Ron, George Mahuku, Antonio De
Ron, Deidre Fourie, Jim Steadman, Mark Brick,
Talo Pastor-Corrales, Bob Gilbertson, Teresa Martinez, Marta Santalla, Jim
Kelly, Andries Liebenberg. The plant pathologists are Mahuku, Fourie,
Steadman, Pastor-Corrales, and Gilbertson.
OIP MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Who are the people that make up the
Office of International Programs and why were they interested in joining the
office in the first place? The OIP is for plant pathologists who have interest
in international development and offer their services around the world.
Norm
Schaad in Thailand
Norman W. Schaad is a Research Plant Pathologist (bacteriologist) with
the USDA/ARS Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit, Ft. Detrick, MD. Prior
to this he was head of Biotechnology, Harris Moran Seed Co. (1988-1992);
Professor of Seed Pathology, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID (1982-1988); and
Professor of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia (1971-1982). He has
authored over 100 peer-reviewed papers, four books, several book chapters and
several patents. He has organized or participated in several international
workshops on detection of bacteria. Dr. Schaad has traveled extensively
internationally and served as advisor for students from China, India, Thailand,
Korea, Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Philippines, and Morocco. He has served as
associate editor of Phytopathology and is currently an associate editor
of Seed Science & Technology and associate editor of Plant
Pathology. Research interests include molecular characterization, real-time
PCR detection, identification, and taxonomy of plant pathogenic bacteria. Dr.
Schaad received his BS (1964), MS (1966), and Ph.D. (1969) in Plant Pathology
from the University of California, Davis.