^New PCR Workshop, Kentucky 1/31/06 – 2/2/06

A three-day, hands-on workshop on detection of plant-associated microorganisms using real-time PCR will be held at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, in January or February (dates to be determined).  This workshop provides an opportunity to enhance molecular diagnostic skills of plant diagnostic laboratories.  Topics covered will include: basics of real-time PCR, advantages and limitations of the principal DNA detection technologies in real-time PCR, experimental controls, recognizing and dealing with PCR inhibition, use of PCR kits, PCR licensing, minimizing risks of sample contamination, and interpreting and troubleshooting real-time PCR experiments.  Enrollment is limited in order to maintain a high-quality learning experience for participants, and the workshop is nearly full.  Personnel associated with SPDN laboratories who are interested in attending should contact Paul Vincelli (pvincell@uky.edu) as soon as possible to reserve a space.

2005 NPDN Symposium at ESA  Are you planning to attend the Entomological Society of America's annual meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL? Plan to attend the symposium "The Role of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and Land Grant University Cooperative Extension Services in Promoting the Early Detection of Exotic Pests" organized by Susan Ratcliffe, Steve Toth, Kenneth Sorensen, and Amanda Hodges. Also, don't forget to visit the NPDN booth in the exhibit hall at the meeting. Please contact Amanda Hodges at achodges@ifas.ufl.edu for more information.

Training & Education Reminder  If you have scheduled an NPDN training & education session, please remember to register your training session and participant information at http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/instructional_materials.htm . More information on NPDN training & education, including the official NPDN First Detector Educator manual is available at this site. Please contact Amanda Hodges at achodges@ifas.ufl.edu for more information or questions.

^New A new pest alert on an exotic pest of concern, chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is now available on the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry pest alert page at: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi/enpp/ento/chillithrips.html

^New USDA expands the national soybean rust risk management tool

^New New Soybean Rust finds across the Southeast  More information can be found at http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/soybean_rust.htm, the SPDN Soybean Rust page, and http://www.sbrusa.net/. 

APS Soybean Rust Symposium November 15-16, 2005 in Nashville, TN  Registration is closed and full, but abstracts, posters, and information will be publicly posted after the meeting.  For more information, click here.  This will be a national forum of leaders in state and federal government, grower organizations, researchers, educators, crop consultants, agribusiness, food industry and others to review the U.S. soybean rust strategic plan and coordinated framework in light of knowledge acquired during the first crop season with Asian soybean rust in North America. 

State Pest Management Newsletters, listed by individual southern state by the Southern Region IPM Center can be found at http://www.sripmc.org/Public/news.cfm?USDARegion=Southern&site=NewsAlerts.