Day: May 16, 2024

XX International Plant Protection Congress,
Athens, Greece, 10-15 June 2023
XX IPPC ATHENS 2023

The Hellenic Society of Phytiatry (HSP) is very pleased and honored to announce that the International Association for the Plant Protection Societies (IAPPS) has accepted the Greek bid proposal for the organization of the XX International Plant Protection Congress in Athens, Greece. The congress is under the aegis of the Agricultural University of Athens and is going to take place at the MEGARON Convention Center in Athens 10-15 June, 2023.

Please note that most of the members of the local organizing and scientific committee are world-known scientists with experience in research, teaching and application in plant protection with profound scientific achievements either in Greece or  abroad.

As for the venue of the Congress, natural and cultural beauty of Greece and its cosmopolitan capital, the world famous city of Athens, the history, the tradition and the hospitality, are significant reasons justifying broad international participation. Apparently Athens, has a great organizational advantage since it is easily accessible from Europe, Africa and several countries of Asia, while several American countries have direct flights to Athens.

Greece, as a Mediterranean and South European country, covers a vast diversity of agricultural temperate, subtropical and even tropical cultivations with highly specialized scientists on plant protection sciences working in Universities, Research Centers and in the Private Sector.  Thus, Greece is one of the few countries where scientists can meet a very broad diversity of cultivations and plant protection problems.

It is certain that participants of the XX IPPC ATHENS 2023 beyond science will enjoy long-standing history, the ancient and modern city of Athens, the birth place of democracy, the fantastic environment and finally Greek tradition, special Mediterranean food and legendary hospitality.   The organizers are looking forward to the successful organization and realization of the congress at all stages till the final day of the congress.

On behalf of the Local organizing committee

Professor Eleftherios (Eris) Tjamos,
President of the Hellenic Society of Phytiatry
Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece,
Department of Plant Pathology,
75 Iera Odos str., 18855 ATHENS, GREECE
e-mail: tjamatika@gmail.com  and or  e-mail: ect@aua.gr
mobile phone 0030 6932 365566

Sunday, 21 April 2024 08:16:00

Grahame Jackson posted a new submission ‘STUNT DISEASE, MAIZE – ARGENTINA’

Submission

STUNT DISEASE, MAIZE – ARGENTINA

ProMED
http://www.promedmail.org

Source: Reuters [summ. Mod.DHA, edited]
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/argentina-corn-harvest-faces-more-deep-cuts-stunt-disease-spread-2024-04-17/
Argentina’s maize harvest faces deep cuts due to a stunt disease spread by leafhoppers. The crop has been hit by an unprecedented outbreak of the insects that carry the harmful spiroplasma. Leafhopper populations tend to increase in hot and dry conditions. They have badly dented the 2023/24 maize crop, which is very badly affected.

In the worst-hit northern provinces the losses caused by the disease range between 40% and 50%, when normally the figure reached only 5% at worst. Severe cases of leafhoppers were also being seen in regions where they usually do not appear. The unusually damaging outbreak this year has reached areas where it never reached before.

In response, the government announced it was accelerating approval procedures for 2 insecticides recommended to combat the spiroplasma disease, although that comes largely too late for the current harvest. Another factor that will determine how the outbreak progresses is the arrival of low temperatures, as the insect cannot resist temperatures below 4 degrees Celsius. However, scientists at the University of Buenos Aires said that a rapid decrease in temperatures was not expected in northern Argentina, the location of the worst outbreaks.

[Byline: Maximilian Heath]
—
Communicated by:
ProMED

[_Spiroplasma kunkelii_ causes maize stunt disease on _Zea_ species in the Americas. The maize leafhopper _Dalbulus maidis_ is the main vector. Some crop hybrids resistant to the vector have been identified which potentially may be helpful in disease control (see links below).

Spiroplasmas are plant cell parasitic bacteria without a cell wall and, like phytoplasmas, belong to the mollicutes. The name is derived from their helical morphology. Spiroplasmas can be cultured on artificial media, unlike phytoplasmas, which cannot be cultured in vitro. Mixed infections with phytoplasmas have been reported to occur.

The pathogens are transmitted by leafhopper species. Disease management for spiroplasmas mainly relies on exclusion by use of certified clean planting material, but may also include phytosanitation to remove inoculum and prevent spread within plantings. Vector control has not shown to be effective due to the very rapid transmission.

The related _S. citri_ causes citrus stubborn disease (CSD, also called little leaf); yield losses may be severe (ProMED post 20200710.7559217). The pathogen is also known to affect other crops causing, for example, carrot purple leaf (ProMED post 20110916.2824) and horseradish brittle root diseases.

Pictures
Maize stunt symptoms:
https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/768×512/1235015.jpg,
https://live.staticflickr.com/4095/4927676830_083918e066_b.jpg,
https://bugwoodcloud.org/images/768×512/1524072.jpg
https://agribrasilis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Hibrido-suscetivel-777×437.jpg (ears) and
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pablo-Carpane/publication/280309801/figure/fig1/AS:934279647354880@1599761034390/Figura-1-Corn-stunt-spiroplasma-en-maiz.png
Citrus stubborn disease symptoms:
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0004/597370/reduced-size-fruit.jpg,
https://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/symposium/melhus/8/stubborn/image/stubborn4sm.jpg and
https://content.peat-cloud.com/w600/citrus-stubborn-disease-citrus-1.jpg
_S. citri_ microscopy:
https://iant.toulouse.inra.fr//bacteria/annotation/web/img/spiroplasma.jpg

Links
Information on maize stunt disease:
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9060747,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234454,
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259481,
https://agribrasilis.com/2023/02/27/corn-stunt2/,
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/corn/treating-stunt-disease-in-corn.htm,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40858-023-00598-1 and via
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/molecular-plant-pathology-laboratory/docs/spiroplasma-kunkelli-genome-sequencing-project/corn-stunt-disease/
Citrus stubborn disease:
https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.50977,
https://www.planthealthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Citrus-stubborn-disease-FS.pdf,
https://plantix.net/en/library/plant-diseases/300017/citrus-stubborn-disease and
http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/symposium/melhus/8/stubborn/
Spiroplasma taxonomy via:
https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/2132
Information on leafhopper vectors via:
https://bugguide.net/node/view/63
– Mod.DHA