Working towards a world of healthy plants
Gareth Thomas (BAC-STOP) reports from the 2023 International Plant Health Conference in London.
From 21-23 September 2023, I attended the first International Plant Health Conference (IPHC) in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, London. The conference was coordinated by Defra and the IPPC of the FAO of the United Nations. It brought together an international team to discuss global scientific, technical, and regulatory issues related to plant health.
Over the three days, delegates discussed different themes which all relate to plant health. Day 1 focussed on food security, day 2 on environmental protection, and day 3 on safe trade. There was a broad range of talks on offer from policy makers, stakeholders, and scientific researchers. It was particularly interesting to hear from the European Food Safety Authority, who discussed horizon scanning for identifying potential pest threats. Problematic pests are then categorised based on their threat to plant health. I also enjoyed hearing from policymakers across different countries. It was great to hear how they implement plant health policies, and to listen to panel discussions. Many of the talks highlighted future priorities in plant health research, which provided inspiration for what direction our research could take us. One important theme was the impact of climate change on plant health, and what it could mean for the spread of pests and pathogens.
There were plenty of opportunities to network between sessions. A particular highlight was the evening trip to Kew Gardens. We had the opportunity to explore the gardens for a few hours, before a drinks reception in one of the historic buildings.
Alongside the presentations, posters showcased research from around the world addressing challenges in plant health – from Xanthomonas threats to strawberry, to the management of grey squirrels. This also gave us an opportunity to present work from the BAC-STOP project. We presented a poster entitled ‘Using the odour of bacteria to tackle acute oak decline’ (more information here). We were thrilled to discover that we won a prize for the best poster on day 2, as well as the best overall poster. Read more about this here.
Overall, the conference was a great way to meet a broad range of people with an interest in plant health. It was also inspiring to learn about how our research could be used to guide policy to improve tree health. I would thoroughly recommend this conference to anyone with an interest in plant health.
Gareth Thomas, Researcher, BAC STOP and Rothamsted Research