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About APS
Plants, like people, are subject to disease. Plant
disease epidemics can have serious consequences for
people. For example, potato late blight destroyed the
European potato crop in the 1840s, causing the Irish
potato famine. More recently, Dutch elm disease killed
millions of American elm trees, dramatically altering
city streets and landscapes. Although all plant diseases
do not result in such extreme devastation, all may have
agricultural, social, or political ramifications for
society.
The American Phytopathological Society is an association
of more than 5,000 scientists and plant disease
practitioners working to solve such plant health problems
through research, education, and treatment.
About Karnal Bunt Disease of Wheat
Previously existing in other parts of the world, Karnal
bunt of wheat has only recently appeared in the United
States. As a result, the United States Department of
Agriculture has established a quarantine. Both the
discovery of Karnal bunt and the subsequent quarantine
have made the disease an important topic of discussion,
thus this symposium.
About the original On-line Symposium
Along with its traditional research journals, books, and
meetings, the American Phytopathological Society is
developing a worldwide means of distributing information
and conducting activities on-line, through what it calls
APSnet and now this symposium project. The symposium is
the society's first attempt to sponsor an interactive
event on-line. Through the Karnal bunt symposium we hope
to gain experience and establish new models by which
future interactive symposia, discussion sessions,
committee forums, etc., may begin to occur.
The symposium is happening now because of the current
relevance of the topic and its tie to certain sessions at
this year's 1996 APS Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, IN.
While not specific to Karnal bunt, APS also offers two
books relevant to the health of wheat: Wheat Health
Management and the Compendium of Wheat Diseases.
Additionally, it offers several books on grain crops and
the whole area of plant pathology
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