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APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Office of International Programs (OIP)
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Protecting crop production from plant diseases to better ensure food security is a global issue. The relevance of "food security" becomes of increasing concern as the world's population grows and as issues such a climate change and political instability further disrupt farming and the lives of farmers, often in some of the most economically-challenged regions on Earth. With the external stress affecting agriculture comes greater need to protect crops from diseases. In this session, speakers who have first-hand experience with the threat of uncertainty on crop production in regions across the world will provide information on how such challenges are met. This session is not only for those interested in global affairs, but for all who wish to understand how our work in plant disease management becomes increasingly vital for future food security.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session unifies how global stresses, to include climate change, civil unrest, political instability, and emerging pest problems all affect food security and the need for improved strategies in disease management. The speakers, all from diverse backgrounds and heritage, are united in their message that collaboration is and will be key to meeting the issues faced by farmers and in agriculture.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Office of International Programs (OIP)
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Protecting crop production from plant diseases to better ensure food security is a global issue. The relevance of "food security" becomes of increasing concern as the world's population grows and as issues such a climate change and political instability further disrupt farming and the lives of farmers, often in some of the most economically-challenged regions on Earth. With the external stress affecting agriculture comes greater need to protect crops from diseases. In this session, speakers who have first-hand experience with the threat of uncertainty on crop production in regions across the world will provide information on how such challenges are met. This session is not only for those interested in global affairs, but for all who wish to understand how our work in plant disease management becomes increasingly vital for future food security.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session unifies how global stresses, to include climate change, civil unrest, political instability, and emerging pest problems all affect food security and the need for improved strategies in disease management. The speakers, all from diverse backgrounds and heritage, are united in their message that collaboration is and will be key to meeting the issues faced by farmers and in agriculture.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: None
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Extension specialists and agents seek to serve the stakeholder community by translating the results of both basic and applied research into actionable recommendations for optimizing crop production. This is done through providing resources focused on best agronomic practices and pest and disease management. They interact with community members and stakeholders and are often the most accessible and present members of a land-grant university. For a variety of reasons many states face high rates of turnover in Extension programs, particularly among Extension agents. This session seeks to present an Extension career as a viable option at the Bachelors, Masters, and PhD level to both undergraduate and graduate students, and to provide helpful insights into creating stable and successful Extension programs.
The session organizers will briefly explain the mission, purpose, and history of land-grant institutions. Invited professionals with significant Extension appointments will then describe the process of establishing Extension-centered outreach and research programs (including information on how to form productive relationships with other Extension personnel and leveraging the power of an Extension network), developing stakeholder relationships, and funding opportunities available for Extension research and education. The session will conclude with an open forum for discussion and questions moderated by the panel of invited speakers. Additionally, speakers will provide insight into mentoring graduate students and postdocs and managing laboratory personnel.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: Agricultural trade has become a global enterprise. The world's food system is heavily intertwined. Extension personnel are the boots on the ground helping to maximize food production through education and applied research. Growers are the foundation of the global food supply and Extension personnel are the bridge to translating basic and applied research into actionable recommendations, thus making them an integral part in addressing risk to food production systems. Additionally, a global food system inherently shares the good and the bad. Pests and pathogens are disseminated through global trade. Extension personnel are able to rapidly focus in on an emergent problem in order to provide timely recommendations to growers to manage novel pathogens and slow disease spread.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: None
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Extension specialists and agents seek to serve the stakeholder community by translating the results of both basic and applied research into actionable recommendations for optimizing crop production. This is done through providing resources focused on best agronomic practices and pest and disease management. They interact with community members and stakeholders and are often the most accessible and present members of a land-grant university. For a variety of reasons many states face high rates of turnover in Extension programs, particularly among Extension agents. This session seeks to present an Extension career as a viable option at the Bachelors, Masters, and PhD level to both undergraduate and graduate students, and to provide helpful insights into creating stable and successful Extension programs.
The session organizers will briefly explain the mission, purpose, and history of land-grant institutions. Invited professionals with significant Extension appointments will then describe the process of establishing Extension-centered outreach and research programs (including information on how to form productive relationships with other Extension personnel and leveraging the power of an Extension network), developing stakeholder relationships, and funding opportunities available for Extension research and education. The session will conclude with an open forum for discussion and questions moderated by the panel of invited speakers. Additionally, speakers will provide insight into mentoring graduate students and postdocs and managing laboratory personnel.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: Agricultural trade has become a global enterprise. The world's food system is heavily intertwined. Extension personnel are the boots on the ground helping to maximize food production through education and applied research. Growers are the foundation of the global food supply and Extension personnel are the bridge to translating basic and applied research into actionable recommendations, thus making them an integral part in addressing risk to food production systems. Additionally, a global food system inherently shares the good and the bad. Pests and pathogens are disseminated through global trade. Extension personnel are able to rapidly focus in on an emergent problem in order to provide timely recommendations to growers to manage novel pathogens and slow disease spread.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Virology Committee
Vector-Pathogen Complexes Committee
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Cross-kingdom viruses, despite their compact genomes, exhibit a remarkable ability to infect hosts across different biological kingdoms. They achieve this through mechanisms such as hijacking conserved cellular receptors and machinery, mutations in key proteins, and forming specific molecular interactions. These adaptations allow them to overcome plant defenses, enhance the fitness and efficiency of insect vectors, and exploit alternative or transient hosts. Their rapid emergence in recent years has highlighted the urgent need for innovative strategies—including advanced diagnostic tools and sustainable agricultural practices—to curb their spread and address the multi-billion-dollar crop losses that jeopardize global food and nutritional security.
This session, co-chaired by Drs Kiran Gadhave (Texas A&M University) and Daniel Hasegawa (USDA-ARS), will captivate a diverse audience by presenting cutting-edge research on plant pandemics caused by cross-kingdom viruses transmitted by insect vectors. It will comprehensively address major plant viruses spanning different genera—Orthotospovirus, Rhabdovirus, Begomovirus, Ketavirus and Dichorhaviruses—which are transmitted by various insect vectors such as thrips, leafhoppers, whiteflies and mites, affecting a wide range of hosts, from monocots to specialty crops. Featuring speakers from the US, India, and Brazil, the session emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary global collaborations to unravel the complex interactions between these viruses, their hosts, and vectors. The session will conclude with a 15-minute panel discussion led by the co-chairs, providing an opportunity to address audience questions and foster engaging conversations on how insights from various pathosystems can be leveraged to understand the rise of cross-kingdom viruses and their profound impacts on global agriculture and the economy.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session invites a diverse group of plant virologists and insect vector biologists to share their fundamental, applied, and translational research on cross-kingdom vector-borne viruses. The goal is to stimulate discussions that foster interdisciplinary collaborations around the theme “Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risk” of Plant Health 2025.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Virology Committee
Vector-Pathogen Complexes Committee
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Cross-kingdom viruses, despite their compact genomes, exhibit a remarkable ability to infect hosts across different biological kingdoms. They achieve this through mechanisms such as hijacking conserved cellular receptors and machinery, mutations in key proteins, and forming specific molecular interactions. These adaptations allow them to overcome plant defenses, enhance the fitness and efficiency of insect vectors, and exploit alternative or transient hosts. Their rapid emergence in recent years has highlighted the urgent need for innovative strategies—including advanced diagnostic tools and sustainable agricultural practices—to curb their spread and address the multi-billion-dollar crop losses that jeopardize global food and nutritional security.
This session, co-chaired by Drs Kiran Gadhave (Texas A&M University) and Daniel Hasegawa (USDA-ARS), will captivate a diverse audience by presenting cutting-edge research on plant pandemics caused by cross-kingdom viruses transmitted by insect vectors. It will comprehensively address major plant viruses spanning different genera—Orthotospovirus, Rhabdovirus, Begomovirus, Ketavirus and Dichorhaviruses—which are transmitted by various insect vectors such as thrips, leafhoppers, whiteflies and mites, affecting a wide range of hosts, from monocots to specialty crops. Featuring speakers from the US, India, and Brazil, the session emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary global collaborations to unravel the complex interactions between these viruses, their hosts, and vectors. The session will conclude with a 15-minute panel discussion led by the co-chairs, providing an opportunity to address audience questions and foster engaging conversations on how insights from various pathosystems can be leveraged to understand the rise of cross-kingdom viruses and their profound impacts on global agriculture and the economy.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session invites a diverse group of plant virologists and insect vector biologists to share their fundamental, applied, and translational research on cross-kingdom vector-borne viruses. The goal is to stimulate discussions that foster interdisciplinary collaborations around the theme “Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risk” of Plant Health 2025.
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Organizer: Gayan Abeysinghe, PhD – Texas AandM University
Moderator: Gayan Abeysinghe, PhD – Texas AandM University
Moderator: Sanjay Antony-Babu – Texas A&M University
Plant health is traditionally viewed through the lens of pathogens. However, microbial interactions influencing plant health extend beyond pathogens, encompassing the complex roles played by associated microbial communities. Leveraging Leveau’s Plant Health Triangle Paradigm (Leveau, 2024), this Idea Café explores the often-overlooked microbial components; those that contribute to plant health deterioration and non-infectious. These include microbes that aid pathogen survival, delay symptom onset, compete for essential nutrients (e.g., nitrifiers), or are lost due to compromised plant function. Such dynamics often reflect a state of microbial dysbiosis, where the disruption of a balanced microbiome undermines plant vigor and resilience without directly causing disease.Target Audience:•Plant microbiologists and pathologists seeking to understand complex host-microbe & microbe-microbe interactions. •Microbial ecologists investigating functional community dynamics in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere. •Computational biologists and data scientists interested in applying AI/ML to multi-omics and ecological datasets. •Agricultural scientists and biocontrol researchers exploring microbiome-informed strategies for crop protection. •Graduate students and early-career researchers eager to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue on emerging paradigms in plant-microbe ecology. •Program managers, funding officers and industry personnel evaluating future directions in sustainable agriculture, microbiome research, and AI applications.
Organizer: Ronald D. French-Monar – USDA APHIS PPQ FO Plant Germplasm Quarantine Program
Moderator: Ronald D. French-Monar – USDA APHIS PPQ FO Plant Germplasm Quarantine Program
Promoting the plant health at the international level can be challenging. It involves disseminating plant health through Research, Teaching, and Extension and Outreach. With countries and their federal governments, state governments, agricultural universities and institutions, as well as private industry, international research centers, and non-governmental organizations also facing challenges, how to better reach plant pathologists and the global plant health community, has always been a challenge. This Idea Café will serve as a brainstorming session of how to better disseminate plant pathology and plant health at a time when we have social media, Artificial Intelligence, the internet, webinars, and other forms of communication that should make it possible to promoting plant health globally but yet needs to find a way to reach a larger scale. We will discuss conduits for disseminating plant health and the role of plant pathological societies, plant health societies, international agricultural research centers, non-profit organizations and foundations, and each one of us as ambassadors to our discipline. With participants giving ideas, their personal experience, and suggestions, the APS audience will familiarize themselves with international plant pathology efforts worldwide as well as institutions that are preventing the spread of pathogens and pests that could severely affect the agricultural production of a country and their ability to produce and sell certain crops.Target Audience:The audience should be interested in protecting the agriculture and natural resources of their country. All should have an interest or experience in working in international plant pathology and plant health.
Organizer: Dalvir Dhadly, MS – University of Georgia
Moderator: Dalvir Dhadly, MS – University of Georgia
Organizer: Carlton Fitz-Patrick Collins, n/a – University of Georgia
Moderator: Carlton Fitz-Patrick Collins, n/a – University of Georgia
Graduate school involves much more than research and classes; there is an entire set of unspoken skills and expectations that students are often left to figure out on their own. This session will create a space for graduate students and early-career researchers to talk about the “hidden curriculum” of academia, including things like managing advisor relationships, navigating departmental culture, building a professional network, handling rejection, and advocating for themselves. To guide the discussion and ensure a balanced perspective, the session will also include faculty members and professionals who have successfully mentored graduate students. Their insights will help connect student concerns with practical, institutional responses. While the discussion is geared toward graduate students, it will also be valuable for faculty, postdocs, and mentors interested in better understanding and supporting the student experience. By sharing experiences and advice, the session aims to build community, normalize common struggles, and help participants gain tools for navigating the less-visible parts of academic life.Target Audience:While the discussion is geared toward graduate students, it will also be valuable for faculty, postdocs, and mentors interested in better understanding and supporting the student experience.
Speaker: Jan Kreuze – International Potato Center
Join our Plenary Session on Tuesday afternoon and engage in important APS Society updates, and recognition of our outgoing and incoming Council members. You will then hear from plenary speaker Jan Kreuze. Jan Kreuze received his MSc in plant breeding at Wageningen Agricultural University in 1997, after which he spent half a year as a researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology at Helsinki University, working on the characterization of potato-infecting Streptomyces species and viruses of sweetpotato. He subsequently did his PhD degree in virology at the Institute of Plant Biology of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), characterizing synergistic interactions between viruses of sweetpotato, which he finalized in 2002. In 2003 he moved to the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru, for a postdoc on generating transgenic resistance to sweet potato virus diseases and has been there ever since in various roles performing research on host-pathogen interactions, transgenic plants (both artificial and natural) and in more recent years viral diagnostics and metagenomics. Currently, he is heading the department for Regenerative Agriculture at CIP, the plant health and mycotoxin management area of work in the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Science Program, is an adjunct professor at the University of Helsinki, is an editor at the Journal Plant Pathology and member of the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses. He has published over 100 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and numerous book chapters.
Moderator: Javier Delgado
Speaker: Krystel Navarro – Corteva Agriscience
Speaker: Layton Peddicord – Corteva Agriscience
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Epidemiology Committee (Sponsoring )
Disease Surveillance and Pathogen Detection Methods (Co-Sponsoring )
Crop Loss Assessment and Risk Evaluation (Co-Sponsoring )
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Global trade and shifting climate patterns are accelerating the spread of invasive plant diseases, presenting significant threats to agriculture, ecosystems, and global food security. This session explores advanced modeling techniques, including AI-driven analytics, network modeling, and remote sensing, that enable accurate predictions of disease emergence and cross-border movement. Attendees will learn how spatial models integrate international trade data, climate suitability factors, and host plant distributions to effectively forecast outbreaks under uncertainty.
Through real-world case studies, the session will highlight user-friendly platforms and communication strategies that engage decision-makers ranging from policy officials to agricultural producers. Presenters will demonstrate tools designed to guide proactive surveillance efforts and optimal intervention strategies, illustrating the tangible benefits of interdisciplinary and international collaboration. With a strong focus on practical application, global data sharing, and stakeholder involvement, the session provides actionable knowledge valuable to professionals involved in plant disease monitoring, policymaking, and management.
Participants will leave with a clear, forward-looking perspective on utilizing state-of-the-art modeling approaches to promote plant health in our increasingly interconnected world.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session is intrinsically aligned with the Plant Health 2025 theme, "Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risks," by emphasizing the critical role of international collaboration in predicting and managing the spread of invasive plant diseases, an urgent global risk exacerbated by international trade and climate change.
By bringing together experts from various countries and disciplines—including plant pathologists, epidemiologists, and data scientists—we foster a collaborative environment where insights, data, and strategies are shared across borders. The session highlights the importance of open, globally available databases and international trade data in facilitating cross-border data sharing and analysis. By showcasing how international scientific collaboration and data sharing can enhance our collective capacity to promote plant health, we emphasize the critical importance of building bridges between research communities, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders to develop more effective, coordinated responses to emerging plant health threats.
Addressing global risks through innovative strategies is at the core of this session. We demonstrate how innovative models like PoPS Global and Webidemics can forecast disease spread, optimize control strategies, and inform global surveillance efforts. Leveraging network analysis, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and aerosol transport modeling, we present state-of-the-art approaches to assessing global disease susceptibility and managing risks on a global scale. These advanced techniques improve predictive capabilities and support proactive responses to emerging threats.
The session contributes to enhancing global plant health by focusing on strategies to prevent and control the spread of invasive pests and pathogens, thereby safeguarding agriculture, ecosystems, and food security. By providing tools and models that inform policy decisions and management strategies, we aid countries in implementing effective biosecurity measures. Sharing user-friendly interfaces and communication strategies empowers stakeholders worldwide to understand and act upon complex epidemiological information, fostering capacity building and education.
Finally, the session fosters a global community committed to plant health by encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration among different fields, enhancing the development of comprehensive solutions to plant health challenges. By addressing the needs of policymakers, regulators, growers, and researchers, we promote a unified effort to tackle global risks. Aligning with the meeting's goal, the session is part of a worldwide movement dedicated to safeguarding plant health through shared knowledge and collaborative action.
In summary, by integrating advanced modeling techniques with international cooperation and effective communication, this session exemplifies how global communities can work together to address and mitigate the risks posed by invasive plant diseases. It supports the Plant Health 2025 theme by fostering collaboration, promoting innovative strategies, and contributing to a worldwide movement dedicated to enhancing global plant health.
APS Committee Sponsoring the Proposed Session: Epidemiology Committee (Sponsoring )
Disease Surveillance and Pathogen Detection Methods (Co-Sponsoring )
Crop Loss Assessment and Risk Evaluation (Co-Sponsoring )
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Global trade and shifting climate patterns are accelerating the spread of invasive plant diseases, presenting significant threats to agriculture, ecosystems, and global food security. This session explores advanced modeling techniques, including AI-driven analytics, network modeling, and remote sensing, that enable accurate predictions of disease emergence and cross-border movement. Attendees will learn how spatial models integrate international trade data, climate suitability factors, and host plant distributions to effectively forecast outbreaks under uncertainty.
Through real-world case studies, the session will highlight user-friendly platforms and communication strategies that engage decision-makers ranging from policy officials to agricultural producers. Presenters will demonstrate tools designed to guide proactive surveillance efforts and optimal intervention strategies, illustrating the tangible benefits of interdisciplinary and international collaboration. With a strong focus on practical application, global data sharing, and stakeholder involvement, the session provides actionable knowledge valuable to professionals involved in plant disease monitoring, policymaking, and management.
Participants will leave with a clear, forward-looking perspective on utilizing state-of-the-art modeling approaches to promote plant health in our increasingly interconnected world.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: This session is intrinsically aligned with the Plant Health 2025 theme, "Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risks," by emphasizing the critical role of international collaboration in predicting and managing the spread of invasive plant diseases, an urgent global risk exacerbated by international trade and climate change.
By bringing together experts from various countries and disciplines—including plant pathologists, epidemiologists, and data scientists—we foster a collaborative environment where insights, data, and strategies are shared across borders. The session highlights the importance of open, globally available databases and international trade data in facilitating cross-border data sharing and analysis. By showcasing how international scientific collaboration and data sharing can enhance our collective capacity to promote plant health, we emphasize the critical importance of building bridges between research communities, regulatory agencies, and stakeholders to develop more effective, coordinated responses to emerging plant health threats.
Addressing global risks through innovative strategies is at the core of this session. We demonstrate how innovative models like PoPS Global and Webidemics can forecast disease spread, optimize control strategies, and inform global surveillance efforts. Leveraging network analysis, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and aerosol transport modeling, we present state-of-the-art approaches to assessing global disease susceptibility and managing risks on a global scale. These advanced techniques improve predictive capabilities and support proactive responses to emerging threats.
The session contributes to enhancing global plant health by focusing on strategies to prevent and control the spread of invasive pests and pathogens, thereby safeguarding agriculture, ecosystems, and food security. By providing tools and models that inform policy decisions and management strategies, we aid countries in implementing effective biosecurity measures. Sharing user-friendly interfaces and communication strategies empowers stakeholders worldwide to understand and act upon complex epidemiological information, fostering capacity building and education.
Finally, the session fosters a global community committed to plant health by encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration among different fields, enhancing the development of comprehensive solutions to plant health challenges. By addressing the needs of policymakers, regulators, growers, and researchers, we promote a unified effort to tackle global risks. Aligning with the meeting's goal, the session is part of a worldwide movement dedicated to safeguarding plant health through shared knowledge and collaborative action.
In summary, by integrating advanced modeling techniques with international cooperation and effective communication, this session exemplifies how global communities can work together to address and mitigate the risks posed by invasive plant diseases. It supports the Plant Health 2025 theme by fostering collaboration, promoting innovative strategies, and contributing to a worldwide movement dedicated to enhancing global plant health.
APS Sponsoring Committee: Mycotoxicology Committee
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Our present world is marked by rapid and often polarizing technological advancements, environmental changes, and societal shifts. As climate change and globalization drive the global spread of plant pathogens and diseases, maintaining food and feed safety, security, and quality is increasingly challenging yet critical to support the demands of our growing world. Fortunately, rapid advances in technologies can mitigate these threats. However, adoption of new technologies is often hampered by a lack of knowledge and/or cultural acceptance. Mycotoxins are a food safety threat worldwide, posing acute risks to human and livestock health and agricultural economics. Regions with limited resources and/or knowledge of mycotoxins are at a greater risk for harm. In our ever-changing world, managing mycotoxins presents a unique challenge. However, we also have a unique opportunity to leverage global connections to integrate cutting edge research with cultural knowledge and precise communication strategies, allowing us to develop sustainable methods to mitigate mycotoxin contamination. This Special Session will explore translational research in mycotoxin management, including breeding for host resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin accumulation, novel food storage practices, advanced decontamination techniques, and sustainable biocontrols. Further, this Session will examine effective communication strategies to increase mycotoxin knowledge and risk management globally, across pipelines from farmers to policy makers. This section will discuss the socio-economic challenges of mycotoxin management, particularly in developing countries. Together, we will explore how precise communication-based strategies can be used to increase (1) governmental knowledge and support, (2) education/training for key target audiences (e.g., educators, health professionals, producers), and (3) public awareness. Together, this Session will highlight the need for global cooperation and capacity building to ensure equitable and effective mycotoxin control measures.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: Our Special Session, “Leveraging Diverse Knowledge to Address Socio-Economic Disparities in Mycotoxin Management Worldwide” directly aligns with the Plant Health 2025 theme of “Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risks”. We focus on sustainable and equitable mycotoxin management, emphasizing innovative technologies, global collaboration, cultural knowledge, and communication. This includes:
1. Breeding and host resistance: Breeding for host resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin accumulation. Showcasing cutting-edge, translational research that bridges the gap from identifying sources of host resistance (genetic and metabolomic) with selecting, deploying, and applying more resistant cultivars. This section will also highlight the challenges for breeding against mycotoxin contamination.
2. Global spread of disease: Highlighting advanced mycotoxin control and decontamination techniques designed to cope with increased mycotoxin contamination risks due to climate change (e.g., Europe).
3. Culture, communications, and global connections: Addressing the socio-economic challenges of mycotoxin management, particularly in developing countries. Exemplifying community-based research, citizen science, and context-sensitive interventions to address socio-economic disparities in mycotoxin management and mitigate mycotoxin exposure (e.g., Africa, Southeast Asia). Emphasizing how culturally appropriate and strategic communication can be used to increase government support, target audience education (e.g., educators, health professionals, producers), and public awareness to improve food and feed safety and public health outcomes (e.g., Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America).
Our Session’s focus on innovative, culturally appropriate, communication-based strategies for mycotoxin management, and its emphasis on global collaboration for sustainable outcomes, exemplifies the vision of the Plant Health 2025 theme. By exploring these groundbreaking approaches, we aim to significantly contribute to enhancing and safeguarding global plant health for a more sustainable tomorrow.
APS Sponsoring Committee: Mycotoxicology Committee
External Group Support/Co-Organization: None
Description: Our present world is marked by rapid and often polarizing technological advancements, environmental changes, and societal shifts. As climate change and globalization drive the global spread of plant pathogens and diseases, maintaining food and feed safety, security, and quality is increasingly challenging yet critical to support the demands of our growing world. Fortunately, rapid advances in technologies can mitigate these threats. However, adoption of new technologies is often hampered by a lack of knowledge and/or cultural acceptance. Mycotoxins are a food safety threat worldwide, posing acute risks to human and livestock health and agricultural economics. Regions with limited resources and/or knowledge of mycotoxins are at a greater risk for harm. In our ever-changing world, managing mycotoxins presents a unique challenge. However, we also have a unique opportunity to leverage global connections to integrate cutting edge research with cultural knowledge and precise communication strategies, allowing us to develop sustainable methods to mitigate mycotoxin contamination. This Special Session will explore translational research in mycotoxin management, including breeding for host resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin accumulation, novel food storage practices, advanced decontamination techniques, and sustainable biocontrols. Further, this Session will examine effective communication strategies to increase mycotoxin knowledge and risk management globally, across pipelines from farmers to policy makers. This section will discuss the socio-economic challenges of mycotoxin management, particularly in developing countries. Together, we will explore how precise communication-based strategies can be used to increase (1) governmental knowledge and support, (2) education/training for key target audiences (e.g., educators, health professionals, producers), and (3) public awareness. Together, this Session will highlight the need for global cooperation and capacity building to ensure equitable and effective mycotoxin control measures.
Plant Health 2025 Theme: Our Special Session, “Leveraging Diverse Knowledge to Address Socio-Economic Disparities in Mycotoxin Management Worldwide” directly aligns with the Plant Health 2025 theme of “Global Communities Collaborating to Address Global Risks”. We focus on sustainable and equitable mycotoxin management, emphasizing innovative technologies, global collaboration, cultural knowledge, and communication. This includes:
1. Breeding and host resistance: Breeding for host resistance to mycotoxigenic fungi and mycotoxin accumulation. Showcasing cutting-edge, translational research that bridges the gap from identifying sources of host resistance (genetic and metabolomic) with selecting, deploying, and applying more resistant cultivars. This section will also highlight the challenges for breeding against mycotoxin contamination.
2. Global spread of disease: Highlighting advanced mycotoxin control and decontamination techniques designed to cope with increased mycotoxin contamination risks due to climate change (e.g., Europe).
3. Culture, communications, and global connections: Addressing the socio-economic challenges of mycotoxin management, particularly in developing countries. Exemplifying community-based research, citizen science, and context-sensitive interventions to address socio-economic disparities in mycotoxin management and mitigate mycotoxin exposure (e.g., Africa, Southeast Asia). Emphasizing how culturally appropriate and strategic communication can be used to increase government support, target audience education (e.g., educators, health professionals, producers), and public awareness to improve food and feed safety and public health outcomes (e.g., Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America).
Our Session’s focus on innovative, culturally appropriate, communication-based strategies for mycotoxin management, and its emphasis on global collaboration for sustainable outcomes, exemplifies the vision of the Plant Health 2025 theme. By exploring these groundbreaking approaches, we aim to significantly contribute to enhancing and safeguarding global plant health for a more sustainable tomorrow.
Sponsored By:
Sponsored By:
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