IPPC2015, the 18th International Plant Protection Congress – under the patronage of the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS), the German Scientific Society for Plant Protection and Plant Health (DPG), the Julius Kühn-Institut (JKI) and the Agriculture Industry Association (IVA) was taking place at the Henry Ford Building in Berlin from August 24 to 27, 2015.


“The international meeting helped to address open questions on agricultural, biological and technical matters that allow us to provide proper solutions on time despite the continuously rising demand on food in the future”, said Holger B. Deising, Chair of the IPPC Programme Committee, University Halle-Wittenberg (Halle/ Saale, Germany).


Mission possible: food for all through appropriate plant protection was the headline of the IPPC. Bringing together plant protection specialists from all continents and providing the opportunity to exchange their knowledge and experiences, the congress was a great success: More than 1.200 delegates from over 95 countries were participating at the most important platform for exchanging the latest research results and innovations of plant protection, inspired by new ideas, professional contacts and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.


Renowned experts from discussed the implementation of international standards for integrated plant protection, also including organic farming. One of the basic ideas was the necessity of professional plant protection especially in countries with food shortage where often more than one third of all cultivated plants get lost because they are exposed to diseases, pests and weeds, or suffer from harmful environmental influences. International renowned keynote speakers were Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY/United States) and Myron Zalucki, University of Queensland (Brisbane, Australia). Patrick Schweizer, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (Gatersleben, Germany) presented the actual research of Genetics and Genomics: Planting future – plants resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses”.


Regarding to the mission all delegates agreed that integrated pest management plays a key role, so that an integrated approach to plant protection provides the best means of achieving effective and resilient plant protection strategies. Knowledge-based and using scientific understanding of pest population dynamics and the role of natural control mechanisms management practices could be combined in a sustainable manner. Robust varieties, crop rotation, balanced fertilization and good soil management were seen as important elements. Only as a last resort integrated pest management should include the use of synthetic plant protection products.


In spite of the pests and diseases which would gain even more importance due to global warming, as well as invasive species, the delegates were sure, all problems could be overcome if knowledge and expertise would be shared to advance science, and to network with colleagues around the world like it has been realized during the IPPC 2015. Importance of networking had been pointed out by the young scientists world café, the student reporters, the scientific societies meetings and lectures concerned with the integration of education. These excellent actions showed that scientific civil societies could be a decisive nucleus for the interaction of research, extension service, administration and industry. In conclusion, it can be said that the IPPC2015 was an important step for the successful actual work as well as in future times.

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