International Day of Plant Health – May 12, 2023

The United Nations has declared 12 May International Day of Plant Health (IDPH). In this context, we all need to raise awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment and promote economic development.

The Mediterranean Phytopathological Union is dedicated to promoting phytosanitary research in Mediterranean crops and wants to collaborate in promoting the VIDEO CONTEST launched to give visibility to phytosanitary research activities conducted by MSc and PhD students and early career researchers by the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies of Bari (CIHEAM Bari), the Plant Biosecurity Research Initiative (PBRI-Australia) and the Euphresco Network for phytosanitary research coordination and funding (Euphresco).

Please watch the 'Plant Health TV: Promoting the Importance of Plant Health Research' initiative.

Eleven videos have been submitted to the contest by the CIHEAM Bari’s Alumni Network and the PBRI-Plant Health Student Network. They are available in the following list. By liking your favourite video on You Tube, you will give the video-maker the chance to win a travel grant to participate in a scientific exchange at CIHEAM Bari, Italy!

The videos can be voted until May 31, 2023. The winner will be announced on June 21 in a dedicated event that will be hosted at CIHEAM Bari. 

Authors Thematic YouTube link
Sylvia Aluvanze, Busia, Kenya Plant Health knowledge transfer in rural communities - cassava viruses in Kenya
Wesam Atawneh, Palestine Understanding the abundance of Xylella insect vectors in Palestine
Nacima Deghiche Diab, Biskra, Algeria Understanding insect biodiversity for plant health protection
Darryl Herron, New Zealand Beyond baiting for plant health protection - Phytophthora diagnostics using environmental RNA to identify genetic footprints in the soil
Mohga Khater, Cairo, Egypt Towards in field diagnostics - rapid on-site diagnostics for early disease detection
Hamza Mghari, Elvas, Portugal Research on harmonising diagnostics for Tomato brown rugose fruit virus
Evgenia Sarakatsani, Palermo, Italy Boosting the success of flower diversification within the agricultural landscapes, supports resilience of agroecosystems against pests attacking our crops
Wael Sultan, Netherlands Characterisation and genetic diversity of Phytophthora palmivora from cocoa in Malaysia
Zeinab Sweidan, Piacenza, Italy RTP3-Forecasting models for efficient pest/disease surveillance, risk analysis, and their management
Maryam Usman Fall armyworm damage on maize growth stages
Dorsaf Yahiaoui, Montreal, Canada Quality control, biosafety and biosecurity standards in regulatory lab testing