PPATH2024 Parallel Session: Surveillance and Decision Support in Action – jointly organised with the AAB.

This is a PPATH2024 Parallel Session
click this link to view information on the conference and book tickets to this event.

Session organisers – Jonathan West and Geraint Parry

Kelvin Hughes (Head of APHA Inspectorate Programme at Animal and Plant Health Agency), other keynote speakers TBA.

This session, organised jointly with the AAB Applied Plant Pathology committee, aims to bring plant pathologists an opportunity to learn about new perspectives on surveillance and decision support schemes for control of plant diseases. Covering new diagnostic methods, sampling methods, integration of disease control with in-field/rapid pathogen detection, weather-based disease forecast models, expert systems, monitoring pathogen populations for changes in traits such as fungicide resistance, arrival of exotic or sporadic pathogens, new disease threats.

Keynote speakers;

Kelvin Hughes – “From detection to destruction, action of the Plant Health & Seeds Inspectorate”.

Kelvin Hughes is Defra’s Chief Plant Health and Seeds Inspector for England and Wales, based within Defra’s Animal and Plant Health Agency. As Chief inspector Kelvin oversees the work of Defra’s Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate who are responsible for monitoring and enforcing GB plant health controls at points of entry and inland. Kelvin has over 30 years plant health experience as an inspector, diagnostician and researcher. His talk “From detection to destruction, action of the Plant Health & Seeds Inspectorate”, will present recent examples of how UK agriculture and the wider environment is monitored for regulated and new plant threats and what action is taken when found.

Fiona Highet – “Utilising predictive models and forecasting to improve management of aphid-vectored viruses in potatoes”

Fiona Highet leads the entomology team at SASA. The team provide diagnoses and advice to SG plant and animal health policy/inspectors and the industry on a range of issues including aphid/virus epidemiology, quarantine insect pests and all aspects of honey bee health. We are involved in a number of research collaborations focussing on honey bee health and quarantine plant pests of concern to Scottish agriculture.”