UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
This is the last call to find PhD students to attend the second western branch SASPP PhD symposium on Wednesday, the 2nd April 2025, in Stellenbosch (Agrohub).
If you are a PhD student, please email us your name and the title of your presentation to juliam@sun.ac.za (asap). We only have five spaces left. So far, we have an exciting programme with our keynote speaker Dr Lindy Rose on ‘Managing the mycotoxin risk in South African grain crops’ followed by 14 PhD students from the ARC, UWC, and SU, that will tell us about their projects on topics ranging from pathogen detection and imaging, biocontrol, biotechnology, fungicide resistance to postharvest technology. We look forward to lively discussions and don’t miss out on meeting your peers.
The Africa Agri Tech Conference and Exhibition serves as the meeting point for agricultural industry leaders, industry associations, companies, innovators, farmers, scientists, researchers, and policymakers from across Southern Africa.
World-renowned speakers from across the globe will be leading the conversations at AAT:
Brett StClair, The Rebel Technologist
Pieter Geldenhuys, director, Institute for Technology Strategy and Innovation
Mushambi Mutuma, author and leadership and digital transformation expert
Alan Hardacre, strategic leader in global advocacy and public affairs
Mark Brooks, managing director, FMC Ventures
Prof Nick Binedell, founder, GIBS Business School
John Sanei, acclaimed future strategist
Day 1: Animal AgTech: Innovations in precision livestock farming, genetics, and animal health.
Day 2: Plant AgTech: The latest in crop technology, biotech solutions, and precision farming.
Day 3: AgBusiness: How artificial intelligence, digital tools, and financial innovations are shaping the business of agriculture.
Cost:
R 2 950.00 VAT inclusive per person, per single day
or
R 8 500.00 VAT inclusive per person for all three days
FABI-SASPP Joint Special Seminar by Prof. Bart Thomma
Please join us for a joint FABI-SASPP event hosting Prof. Bart Thomma, Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Evolutionary Microbiology, Institute for Plant Sciences, Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), University of Cologne.
When: Tuesday 11 March, 15:30 (followed by a reception and light refreshments)
Where: FABI Auditorium, Hatfield Campus, University of Pretoria (Seminar will be available online via Zoom)
Title: How fungal pathogens manipulate host microbiota to establish infection.
Biography of Prof. Thomma:
After studying Plant Pathology at Wageningen University in the Netherland, Bart Thomma received a PhD from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium on immune signalling pathways in Arabidopsis for a thesis describing that, besides salicylic acid, also jasmonate and ethylene play major roles in defence against pathogens. From 2003 onwards he has established a career at Wageningen University in The Netherlands, starting as postdoc, through assistant and associate professor to become full professor and head of department in 2013. This is where he started to develop his work on the vascular wilt pathogen Verticillium dahliae. In 2020, Bart Thomma was awarded a Humboldt Professorship to become professor of Evolutionary Microbiology at the University of Cologne in Germany and at the “Centre of Excellence on Plant Science” (CEPLAS), where he moved his research group. Bart Thomma received the first RKS Wood Prize, awarded by the British Society for Plant Pathology, and acts as section editor for the journal PLoS Pathogens and as co-editor-in-chief of FEMS Microbiology Reviews.
The next SASPP Western Cape branch seminar will be jointly hosted with the Faculty of AgriScience, Stellenbosch University (SU) “Faculty light bulb talk series”. Dr Diane Mostert from the Department of Plant Pathology, SU, will give a talk titled “Combating a globally important plant biosecurity threat: The banana Fusarium wilt case study”.
The seminar will take place on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, at the JH Neethling Building, Lecture room 1027, Stellenbosch University, from 13:00-14:00. SASPP members can join in-person or online (Teams Meeting ID: 343 804 076 906; Passcode: oM2jh2Vx).
Agriculture can be a driving force to mitigate climate change by adopting carbon farming practices. Following the success of last year’s conference, which paved way for discussions and debates that achieved multitude of outcomes and strategies around how to manage soil through low carbon practices and technologies ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. More and more farmers are keen to practice carbon farming which links to maximising returns from carbon credits.
This year the 2nd annual Carbon Farming Soil Conservation conference will bring in fresh and innovative content with the aim to update the industry on:
- Solutions on enhancing Biodiversity.
- Practices transitioning to Regenerative Agriculture Farming Systems, Niche Crops, Soil Preservation and Managing Energy Costs – A step closer to Carbon Neutral.
- Latest research on how farmers can play a preeminent role in addressing Climate Change and ensuring food security by stewarding working landscapes to sequester Carbon.
Growing agriculture requires a fresh look at Carbon Emissions…
The conference will feature renowned experts discussing key issues surrounding carbon farming, an exhibition, and demonstrations of the latest innovations in Agri-tech.
THESSALONIKI, GREECE
The closely related Botrytis, Sclerotinia and Monilinia fungal genera represent major threats of several important crops worldwide. Botry Sclero Moni 2025 is a joint symposium organized by the Botrytis, Sclerotinia and Monilinia communities that aims to bring together scientists from all over the world with different expertise and research interests related to plant pathogenic Sclerotiniaceae.
The BotryScleroMoni 2025 symposium will be based on invited key lectures, oral presentations and posters inspiring to offer a scientific program of high quality that will cover all the most relevant aspects of Botrytis, Sclerotinia and Monilinia research, including detection and identification, genetics, biology, omics, post-genomics and host-pathogen interactions, ecology and epidemiology, and modern disease management approaches.
The joint “ΧΙΧ International Botrytis Symposium”, “XVII International Sclerotinia Workshop” and “II International Monilinia Workshop” will be a great scientific and social experience for everyone. In addition to a high quality scientific program We aspire to offer an attractive cultural and social program for all the participants. We are waiting for you to join this symposium and share your studies with participants.
Early Bird Registration: 2 September 2024 (Monday) – 14 February 2025 (Friday)
Standard Registration: 15 February 2025 (Saturday) – 25 May 2025 (Sunday)
Abstract Submission Deadline: 14 February 2025 (Friday)
APPS is dedicated to the advancement and promotion of plant pathology and its practice in the Australasian and Indo Pacific Regions. Our work is of international significance and our conference draws in delegates from across the globe.
The 2025 theme “From Field to Future, Scientific Collections and Plant Pathology” aims to put the spotlight on collections, highlighting their role in research and biosecurity and how they can be used, and improved.
Pantoea 2025: The 1st International Scientific Conference for Pantoea Research
Pantoea is a diverse and cosmopolitan bacterial genus in the order Enterobacterales. Pantoea species colonize diverse environments and form diverse ecological interactions with bacteria, plants, and other hosts. Pantoea strains include important plant pathogens, biocontrol agents, and have applications in biotechnology. In association with The Southern African Society for Plant Pathology, Pantoea 2025 will bring the international Pantoea research community together in beautiful Kruger National Park for a three-day scientific program to build and support scientific collaborations, celebrate and share historical and current research on this fascinating group of organisms, and bolster the scientific community of Pantoea researchers
The 54th SASPP Biennial Congress, with the theme: “Ukuqinisekisa Ikusasa Elisimeme Ngempilo Yezitshalo” (English translation “Ensuring a Sustainable Future through Plant Health”), will be hosted at the Premier Hotel Umhlanga from 18 – 21 January 2026.
Keydates:
Abstract submissions open – 7 January 2025
Online registration opens – 2 April 2025
Abstract submission deadline – 30 June 2025
Early bird registration close – 30 September 2025
Online registration close – 11 December 2025
