Priorities for Research,
Education, and Extension in Plant and Pest Biology
CSREES sponsored a stakeholders’ workshop
for Plant and Pest Biology on November 16,
2005, in Alexandria, VA. The American Society
for Plant Biology (ASPB) organized the event.
Approximately 50 members of scientific societies,
groups representing growers and producers,
and federal program managers participated.
The American Phytopathological Society, the
American Society for Microbiology, the Tri-Societies
(Crop, Agronomy and Soil Science), the American
Society for Horticultural Science, the Weed
Science Society, ASPB, and other scientific
societies made presentations. Representatives
for growers and producers of corn, apples,
sorghum, wheat, cotton, almonds, potatoes,
and other plants of economic importance also
made presentations.
The agenda included a question and answer
session with a panel of federal program managers
including CSREES, USDA’s Agricultural
Research Service, the National Science Foundation,
and the Department of Energy. Stakeholders
emphasized the importance of multi-disciplinary,
long term research and were particularly
interested in translational research that
will solve real world problems and enhance
our economic competitiveness in world markets.
Research on biomass for energy, resistance
of plants to drought and disease, and development
of a project to sequence the wheat genome
were also of special interest. A publication
is being prepared in collaboration with the ASPB;
it will be available both in print form and
on the CSREES and ASPB Web sites this spring.
Contact Gail
McLean, CSREES national program leader
for more information.
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