25th-27th September 2024, Bengaluru
ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research organised the International Conference on Plant Protection in Horticulture: Advances and Challenges, from 25th-27th September 2024. The conference was organized by the Association for Advancement of Pest Management in Horticultural Ecosystems (AAPMHE) on its 30th Anniversary in collaboration with ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru.
The Chief Guest Dr R. Muniappan, Director, IPM Innovation lab, Virginia Tech University, USA, delivered a keynote address on the current and emerging threats to horticultural crops in the tropics.
Dr N. K. Krishnakumar, Former Deputy Director General, Horticultural Sciences, ICAR, Dr S. N. Sushil, Director, ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru, and Dr R Selvarajan, Director, ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Trichy were the guests of honor.
Dr Krishna Kumar stressed the ecosystem services and using wild crop relatives in breeding programmes.
Dr Sushil emphasised the importance of plant protection in the safe production of horticultural crops and urged the scientists to give more emphasis on Integrated Pest Management besides keeping vigil on the invasive pests.
Dr Selvarajan mentioned that in India, Horticulture production has reached 350 million tonnes ensuring nutritional security and also being exported for the generation of higher income to farmers. Horticultural pests are both persistent and challenging to manage. In this context, the recent initiative by the Government of India to promote clean planting material will significantly aid in preventing these harmful pests, he added.
Dr Tusar Kanti Behera, Director, ICAR-IIHR, highlighted the advancements at the institute in plant protection within horticulture. He also discussed the recent initiatives focused on using genome editing tools to create climate-resilient horticultural crops and expressed optimism for improved management strategies in the near future.
The conference, comprising eight technical sessions, focused on critical emerging issues in plant protection, including biosystematics, taxonomy, and innovative pest management strategies. A special session was dedicated to outlining pest management goals aligned with the Government of India’s vision for ‘Vikasit Bharath @2047.’ To support this effort, a stakeholders meeting was convened, bringing together farmers, industry representatives, and researchers.
The Plenary session held on 26th September 2024, was chaired by Dr Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Hort. Sci.), ICAR.
Dr P.K. Chakrabarty, Former member, ASRB, provided an overview of the government’s initiatives aimed at grouping various crops to streamline the labeling claims of pesticides.
Best Research presentations were awarded to various research faculty and students.
The conference was attended by 225 delegates representing 21 states in India and 7 from abroad.
(Source: ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru)
Read more: https://icar.org.in/international-conference-plant-protection-horticulture-2024
