Professors Brett Hurley, Irene Barnes, Bernard Slippers and Dr Michelle Schröder attended the IUFRO Working Parties 07.02.13 and 07.02.03 joint meeting “Novel and classical strategies to manage forest health in plantations” in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, between 18 to 21 September. They were joined by Dr Ilaria Germishuizen from the ICFR who participates in a number of research projects with FABIans.

The conference started on the Monday with a workshop on the Sirex woodwasp. Presentations were made from all countries in the Southern Hemisphere currently managing this pest, to get an overview of the current state of management and research.

Prof. Irene Barnes, deputy co-ordinator of WP 07.02.03, served on the organising committee for the meeting and gave a presentation on IUFRO during the opening address of the meeting.

The formal meeting started on Tuesday with fantastic sessions with the following topics: rusts in a changing climate, biological control of Eucalyptus pests, forest biosecurity, climate change impacts on forest pests and pathogens, forest protection cooperative programs, the resurgence of Glycaspis brimblecombei in Brazil, emerging plantation diseases around the world, plant breeding and resistance, and the potential for using genetically modified or gene edited organisms in forest health.

Wednesday included a field visit, hosted in the Eucalyptus plantations of Bracell and Suzano. The delegates were shown, and provided with details, on the impact and management of Ceratocystis and Glycaspis brimblecombei in Eucalyptus urophylla and E. grandis x urophylla clones. Damage due to Austropuccinia psidii was also evident. We also spent time learning about the incredible damage and management of leaf cutting ants, as well as the implementation of their comprehensive surveillance, monitoring and Integrated Pest Management programs. There was also a very impressive demonstration of the highly- efficient use of drones to apply biological and chemical control measures across thousands of hectares. 

The participation from the TPCP group at the meeting was very evident with eight posters and seven talks.

Talks:

Sirex management in South Africa – Bernard Slippers

The biological control of Gonipterus sp. n. 2 in South Africa: challenges and opportunities – Brett Hurley

Thermal tolerance in two Eucalyptus invasive insect pests and how this might affect biological control – Michelle Schröder

Development and implementation of a national forest health surveillance strategy in South Africa – Brett Hurley

The Tree Protection Co-operative Programme: Past, present and future directions – Bernard Slippers / Irene Barnes

Emerging diseases of Forest plantations in South Africa – Irene Barnes

Possibilities and constraints of GMO and gene editing in forest health – Bernard Slippers

Posters:

Reproductive ecology affects invasion: Sirex noctilio as a case study – Josephine Queffelec and co-authors

Reproductive rate and interbreeding of Lineage B and D nematode strains and the implications for Sirex management – Katrin Fitza and co-authors

The effect of different culturing conditions on the gene expression of Deladenus siricidicola – Sumari Venter and co-authors

The fungal pathogen Ceratocystis manginecans is dispersed in Indonesian plantations by woodboring beetles, their frass – Kira Lynn and co-authors

Detecting Gonipterus sp. n.2 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) defoliation levels using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imagery – Phumlani Nzuza and co-authors

Genome and transcriptome resources for Sirex noctilio, Amylostereum areolatum and Deladenus siricidicola – Alisa Postma and co-authors

Population genetics of Sirex noctilio and Amylostereum areolatum in Australasia: Unravelling 120 years of invasion history – Firehiwot Eshetu and co-authors

Visual and chemical ecology of the European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio – Quentin Guignard and co-authors