Participation in the 7th International Grapevine Downy and Powdery Mildew Workshop

Abstract

Dr Tijana Petrovic attended the 7th International Workshop on Grapevine Downy and Powdery Mildew in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, 30 June - 4 July 2014. The workshop was held in the Europa Palacio de Congresos, Vitoria-Gasteiz. She presented a poster and co-presented an oral paper. New information on the epidemiology, disease detection and forecasting, plantpathogen interaction, resistance and breeding and disease management of the diseases was presented in 34 papers and 19 posters. New information on qPCR (limits of detection and quantification) and hyperspectral imaging has been incorporated into current research project. The article "International research on downy and powdery mildew" (Scott et al. 2015) has been prepared for publication in The Australian & New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker Magazine.

Summary

Downy and powdery mildew are the most threatening diseases of grapevine around the world, and better understanding of pathogens and their interactions with hosts lead to improved disease management. The International Grapevine Downy and Powdery Mildew Workshop is an opportunity for Australian researchers to exchange information on these diseases, to learn about the latest projects and the most recent international research developments. Seventy five delegates from 11 countries attended workshop, with most of them from Spain, France, Germany and Italy, one from Bulgaria, two from Israel, three from China, two from North and one from South America, and six delegates from Australia: Mrs Barbara Hall, Dr Trevor Wicks, Dr Eileen Scott, Dr Tijana Petrovic, Dr Bob Emmett and Dr Peter Magarey. Sessions at the workshop covered epidemiology, detection and forecasting, plant-pathogen interactions, disease resistance and breeding, and disease management and control. In total, two invited lectures, 32 papers and 19 posters were presented, the latter supplemented with 2 min verbal presentations. Participants visited the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development Neiker-Tecnalia (Day 2) located 6 km from Vitoria-Gasteiz, and vineyards and wineries in the Rioja Alavesa (Day 3) and Gipuzkoa (Day 4) regions. Rioja Alavesa is a hot, dry, inland region suitable for development of powdery mildew and Gipuzkoa is a cool, wet, maritime (Atlantic coast) region suitable for development of downy mildew. The workshop program, two invited lectures, slides for three oral presentations and two short talks that complemented posters can be viewed at http://gdpm2014.com/scientific-program. A report on the workshop has been prepared by Scott and co-authors for the Australian and New Zealand Grapegrower & Winemaker magazine. Information from the workshop has been shared with colleagues in the AGWA project “Objective measures for powdery mildew” (UA1202) and Dr Belinda Stummer (CSIRO). New information on qPCR (limits of detection and quantification) and hyperspectral imaging have been incorporated into the project “Objective measures for powdery mildew”. This visit was supported by funding from AGWA and Dr Tijana Petrovic. Participation in the workshop strengthened links with Italian and Israeli researchers and provided opportunities for collaboration on powdery and downy mildew. Benefits to the Australian grape and wine industry include knowledge of new research developments and findings, especially in the area of disease monitoring, forecasting and quantification of pathogen which will increase knowledge, improve training and consequently, disease management.