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SLU researchers discussed the future of plant protection in Umeå
Published: 07 October 2024
To increase cooperation between SLU's researchers in the field of forest damage and plant protection, the SLU Plant Protection Network and the SLU Forest Damage Centre arranged a network meeting in Umeå. "It has been a great opportunity to meet people and network, the schedule included inspiring lectures, an excursion and more opportunities for mingling and discussion so there has been plenty of time to talk to each other about research," said one of the participants.
On 2–3 October, the SLU Plant Protection Network and the SLU Forest Damage Centre arranged a networking symposium for researchers at SLU who are active in the areas of agriculture, forestry or horticulture.
– It is important to connect the researchers at SLU's locations in this way. This has been a perfect opportunity to see what is happening in plant protection in Umeå. Climate change means we will have to grow more crops in the northern parts of Sweden in the future. It is important to learn from each other about how different systems are studied and managed, said Anna Berlin from Uppsala.
Katja Fedrowitz, who coordinates the network and the centre, welcomed the participants. After that Jonas Rönnberg , the Director of the SLU Forest Damage Centre informed the participants abot seed money. The researchers at the meeting could apply for seed money for collaborations involving more than one faculty and that included the Forestry Faculty. Last year two projects was supported with money for meetings and proposal development. One was led by Vahidehalsadat Rafieebanadaki on monitoring fungi that cause Fusarium head blight in crops and the other was led by Mukesh Dubey on new technologies to manage fungal diseases in forest nurseries.
Plant protection for dummies
Next, David Parsons spoke about the benefits to agricultural systems, ecosystem services and plant health of agricultural grasslands. Malin Elfstrand continued with the lecture "Plant breeding for dummies." Here, she talked about the differences between breeding trees and crops and discussed what researchers in the different disciplines can learn from each other.
After the inspirational lectures, the participants had coffee and fika and mingled among the posters.
– It has been a great opportunity to meet people and network, the schedule included inspiring lectures, an excursion and more opportunities for mingling and discussion so there has been plenty of time to talk to each other about research. I especially liked the poster session, it's fun to see what people are working on and talk to them about it, said Paul Becher from Alnarp.
During the next session, Xiao-Ru Wang from Umeå University talked about genetic diversity and its partitioning over space in Scots pine. Giulia Vico discussed how a changing climate affects crops and what potential approaches we can use to protect our crops. Peter Marhavý talked about molecular mechanisms of cell-to-cell communication in response to wound stress in plant roots.
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Jonas Rönnberg, director for the SLU Forest Damage Centre informed participants about seed money. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Participants taking part of poster presentations during "fika and mingle". Photo: Theres Svensson.
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Participants mingling and taking parts of poster presentations. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Presentations in PO Bäckström hall during the network symposium. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Presentation during excursion at Skogforsk in Sävar. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Participants got to visit the greenhouse at Skogforsk and learn more about their work on breeding. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Participants in the greenhouse at Skogforsk in Sävar. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Fika during the excursion at Skogforsk. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Audience during presentations. Photo: Theres Svensson
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Group picture during the network symposium 2024. (The picture is partly corrected with AI where some items like projector and clothes on chairs have been removed). Photo and editing: Theres Svensson
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Excursion to Skogforsk in Sävar
After lunch, the symposium participants travelled by bus to Skogforsk in Sävar.
– We were divided into groups and walked around four different stations in greenhouses, out in forest plantations and indoors. It was exciting to hear about Skogsforsk's work with breeding for more resistant trees. We were also told about research on Scots pine blister rust and other plant pests, about the work to produce good plants and about Föryngringskollen, which is a research project on forest regeneration, said Anneli Lundkvist, chairman of the SLU Plant Protection Network.
– It was nice to hear the different talks and see all the connection points between the research that is being done. Everyone is kind of focused on their own thing, but this meeting really showed that everything is connected. It was also great to meet people that I have only seen in online meetings and put faces to names to people I haven’t met before, said Brooke Micke from Umeå.
Major plant protection initiatives
During the second day of the meeting, Riccardo Bommarco talked about SLU’s work with the European Research Alliance PESTICIDE FREE AGRICULTURE, where 20 European countries collaborate, and Magnus Karlsson about how SLU and the Swedish Agency for Agriculture's Joint Action Plant Health initiative is progressing.
– I thought it was particularly interesting to hear Riccardo Bommarco's presentation about the European alliance around pesticide-free agriculture. It was exciting to hear how many researchers think it's time now to try to get by completely without pesticides, said Cecilia Palmborg from Umeå.
Orienteering and exiting resources
Before coffee, the participants of the symposium were sent out on an indoor orienteering where questions were scattered across SLU’s premises in Umeå.
In order for everyone to find out what facilities are available in Umeå and surroundings, Brooke Micke spoke about Röbäcksdalen and SITES and Charlotta Erefur about the Unit for Field-based Forest Research and Vindeln's experimental forests. Then Jonas Bohlin and Langning Huo talked about research opportunities with drones at Ljungberg's Lab and finally Totte Niittylä presented the Umeå Plant Science Centre, UPSC.
- It was very interesting to find out what kind of facilities exist in Umeå for forest research and the openings that exist for collaboration with other faculties, says Åke Olson, deputy director and responsible for the research school at the SLU Forest Damage Centre.
The participants then divided themselves into different discussion groups where new research projects could be initiated. There was also an area for doctoral student mingling where younger researchers could make new contacts.
Awards for posters, orienteering and insect hunting
The symposium ended with the award ceremony for the orienteering, where the team "Weed Watchers" won. They got the most questions right and also wrote a poem about plant protection that Ke Zhang read for the participants. Prizes for the best poster and the best PhD student poster were also awarded. Before that, participants received tips and advice for designing posters from Theres Svensson, communicator at SLU Forest Damage Centre. The main message was to create posters with a clear message and not being afraid to simplify the content.
The PhD student Desirée Guidobaldi Stenbacka was awarded the prize for the best poster, voted by all participants. Together with Sara Gore, she also received the prize for the best PhD student poster, which was chosen by a jury of three senior researchers and a communicator.
– It was a lively and inspiring meeting with many discussions and new thoughts from happy and energetic participants. It was fun to gather over 70 researchers from all three campuses with many who came to Umeå from other cities! It has been two intense days and I hope for many applications for the seed money, says Katja Fedrowitz, who was the main organizer of the meeting.