Date: 29th September 2017
Cost: $85.00 AUD
Overview: Enjoy the best that the Tweed Valley has to offer! Located in NSW about 100km south of Brisbane, the Tweed shire encompasses agriculture (sugarcane, horticulture, beef and dairy), national parks, coastline, wetland and forest, and is a significant tourist destination. Stretch your legs and look for whales at the magnificent Point Danger lookout at Coolangatta. We will visit one of the largest avocado nurseries in Australia, and inspect the banana Foc Race 1 screening and selection blocks. At Tropical Fruit World we will tour the vast collection of hundreds of species of tropical fruit from all over the world and enjoy a fruit tasting session and lunch. We will return to Brisbane at approximately 15:30.
Key Destinations/Stops:
Bring booties.
Bring garbage bags
Date: 29th September 2017
Location: Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park
Cost: $400 per attendee or $600 per attendee for both workshops I and II
Max. no of participants: 16
Summary: The linear mixed model is a powerful tool for the analysis of agricultural research experiments. In this 1-day workshop, participants will be introduced to the linear mixed model framework, with a focus on applications that commonly arise in plant pathology research. This framework is progressively developed from a simple linear model, through the addition of more complex treatment and blocking terms. The workshop also introduces the fitting of complex variance structures in a linear mixed model framework using Residual Maximum Likelihood (REML) estimation. Hands-on practical sessions will provide participants with the opportunity to develop skills to analyse their own research experiments using the ASReml-R statistical software package.
Presenters:
Dr Alison Kelly
Clayton Forknall
Date: Friday, 29th Sept. 2017
Location: USQ, Toowoomba
Cost: $300 (for registration only) or $400 (for registration and return transport to USQ from Brisbane on Friday 29th Sept.)
Max. no. of participants: 20
Summary: The Erysiphales (powdery mildew fungi) is a group of ubiquitous obligate biotrophic plant pathogens infecting more than 10,000 dicot and monocot species worldwide. Important crops, including cereals, grapevine, and a number of vegetables and ornamentals, are among the major targets of powdery mildew fungi. Despite extensive research on their pathogenesis, epidemiology and control, powdery mildew infections remain among the most important crop health problems worldwide. This workshop will consist of lectures on the biology, phylogeny, and host range expansions of powdery mildews, as well as hands-on laboratory exercises to identify several important species using microscopy, and to learn quick and efficient DNA extraction methods from powdery mildew samples for genetic analyses.
Presenters: Prof. Levente Kiss (University of Southern Queensland), Dr. Kalman Zoltan Vaczy (Eszterhazy Karoly University, Hungary) and Prof. Susumu Takamatsu (Mie University, Japan). The presenters have run the International Powdery Mildew Summer Schools annually since 2014. This workshop is a condensed version of the 1-week long
Date: 29th September 2017
Location: Toowoomba
Cost: $300 per attendee (does not include accommodation in Toowoomba on Thursday night)
Max. no of participants: 20
Summary: Plant-parasitic nematodes are important constraints to crop production worldwide. This workshop will feature the research of the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ), Centre for Crop Health, Crop Nematology team on rootlesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) in cereal and legume crops. Participants will be transferred by bus from Brisbane to Toowoomba after the closing session of SCIPLANT2017 on 28th September 2017 and returned to Brisbane in the afternoon of 29th September 2017 following the workshop.
The workshop will begin at the Crop Nematology team’s field research site at Formartin (70 km west of Toowoomba) and participants will inspect experiments on pre-breeding, field resistance and yield loss in wheat, chickpea, faba bean and field pea and National Variety Trials for wheat and barley. After lunch, workshop participants will return to Toowoomba for a series of seminars. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to present new developments in the field of nematology and exchange ideas. Nematology students are encouraged to present outlines and results of their projects. The workshop will conclude with afternoon tea and a tour of the USQ Crop Nematology glasshouse experiments.
Presenters: The workshop is organised by Dr Rebecca Zwart and Dr Kirsty Owen from the USQ Centre for Crop Health, Crop Nematology team. The Crop Nematology team, led by Professor John Thompson, is experienced in researching integrated nematode management options that sustainably reduce root-lesion nematode populations and improve crop yields.
Date: 29th September 2017
Location: Rydges, Brisbane Australia
Cost: Free to invited delegates
Max. no of participants: Limited spaces
Summary: The one day symposium will provide an overview of the management of risks posed by pathogens carried by vegetable seed focussing on international regulation, current requirements for seed testing, the effectiveness of diagnostics and alternative systems for assuring clean seed supply. The aims are to consider the pros and cons of the arrangements for safe seed trade and to facilitate discussion among a small group of regulators, scientists, and seed company and grower representatives.
Currently Australia has a testing regime in place to detect viroids in tomato and capsicum seed and to detect Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) in cucurbit seeds. National seed associations are promoting alternatives to testing. The regulation and detection of viroids and CGMMV will be presented at the symposium, as examples of the risks and the processes that are in place to deal with the risks presented by seed-borne pathogens.
This symposium is sponsored by the Plant Biosecurity Co-operative Research Centre and the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. A small group of experts in the area will be invited including representatives of NPPOs of key countries, diagnostic scientists and virologists, representatives of the major seed companies and representatives of the Australian vegetable industry.
Program summary:
Date: 29th September 2017. 9.00am - 12.30pm
Location: Mantra, South Bank Brisbane
Cost: No Cost
Max. no of participants: 30
Summary: A team of Australian and New Zealand indigenous researchers have developed an Indigenous Engagement model, using the analogy of removing the toxins from the Cycad nut (Australia) and the Karaka berry (New Zealand). Targeting agencies and government organisations tasked with responding to new biosecurity incursions, this model provides guidance for a process that can bring about improved outcomes when engaging indigenous and rural communities.
This half day workshop will be a deeper dive into the Aboriginal and Māori engagement models to gain an in-depth understanding of the process and why it is important not to cut the engagement process short.
Attendees will workshop each step in the model to develop an appreciation of its place and purpose and how it relates to the guiding principles and values of indigenous people in both Australia and New Zealand. Key to the workshop will be the opportunities to discuss and understand all aspects of the framework, from the analogy of detoxifying the Cycad nut so it is safe to consume, to the guiding principles and values.
Presenters: Alby Marsh, Plant & Food Research New Zealand, Ruth Wallace and Linda Ford, Charles Darwin University Australia.