This year’s Southwestern Ontario Regional Association of the Canadian Phytopathological Society (SORA-CPS) meeting to be held in Simcoe, ON on Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. Students attend for free. If you have not yet registered and/or you wish to submit an abstract for CJPP, please fill in and submit the registration form by Friday, October 29.

Time: Friday November 2, 2018 from 9:45-3:30

Place: Simcoe Resource Centre Auditorium, 1283 Blueline Road, Simcoe ON (just north of the corner of Hwy 3 and Blueline Road), Simcoe, ON N3Y 4K3.
Click here for map and directions.

The Agenda for the 2018 Annual Meeting is available here.

See you at the SORA-CPS meeting in Simcoe ON, on November 2nd, 2018!

Thanks and regards,

Sean Westerveld, Ph.D. (Chair, LAC SORA-CPS)
and
Ken Conn (Chair, SORA-CPS)

Report on the 2017 Annual Meeting of
Southwestern Ontario Regional Association of the CPS

The Southwestern Ontario Regional Association of the CPS (SORA-CPS) held its annual meeting from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm on November 3, 2017. The meeting was held at Rittenhouse Hall, Vineland Station, in the Niagara region of Ontario. The meeting was attended by over 43 attendees including students,, researchers, technicians, extension specialists and industry representatives. The program for the meeting included five invited talks and 15 poster presentations on a wide range of phytopathological topics.

Registration with coffee and cookies started at 9:30 am. Dr. Ken Conn, Regional Representative of SORA-CPS and CPS Treasurer (2012- ) presented opening remarks, welcomed the participants to SORA-CPS annual meeting and acknowledged the generous sponsors of this meeting. Dr. Denis Gaudet (CPS President) could not attend the meeting but sent in greetings from the CPS Board of Directors and CPS membership to CPS-SORA. The letter provided an update on national topics. Student members were encouraged to join CPS and some of the benefits include a free membership in 2018, the student travel awards and video competition, etc.

There were five invited talks which provided updates on diseases during the 2016 growing season and possible solutions for control of some of the diseases.

There were four invited talks which provided vegetable pathology, protocols for detection of plant pathogenic viruses, updates on diseases in field crops during the 2017 growing season and possible solutions for control of some of the diseases and international plant science initiatives.

“Vegetable plant pathology and more – research results from the Holland Marsh.”. Guest Speaker: Mary Ruth McDonald, University Of Guelph, Guelph, ON

“A to Z; a comprehensive protocol for Grape Red Blotch virus and Grapevine leafroll associated virus (GLRaV-3) detection.” Guest speaker: Won-Sik Kim, Norgen Biotek, Thorold, ON

“Challenging Diseases in Field Crops during the 2017 Season.” Guest Speaker: Albert Tenuta, OMAFRA, Ridgetown, ON

“Global Plant Council Initiatives.” Guest Speaker: Deena Errampalli, AAFC, Vineland, ON

This year there were six student poster presentations:

Fungicide resistance in the turfgrass pathogen Microdochium nivale. R. GOURLIE AND T. HSIANG. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

In search of chemicals for the control of stem and bulb nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci) in the Canadian garlic (Allium sativum) industry. L. IVES, M. CELETTI, K. JORDAN AND M. R. MCDONALD. Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada; and (M.C.) Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Effect of Ginsenosides on the growth of Clonostachys rosea and Fusarium oxysporum. J. L. MARTIN, G. E. M. TANABE, K. I. SCHNEIDER AND D. ERRAMPALLI. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 4902 Victoria Ave. N., Vineland Station, ON L0R 2E0, Canada

Host specificity and survival of Colletotrichum species on celery and common weeds. S. REYNOLDS, M. J. CELETTI, K. S. JORDAN AND M. R. MCDONALD. Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON NIG 2W1, Canada; and (M.C.) Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Guelph, ON NIG 2W1, Canada

Effects of solarization, anaerobic soil disinfestation and mustard biofumigation on ginseng replant disease. A. F. SHI AND S. WESTERVELD. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph and Ontario Ginseng Growers Association, 1283 Blueline Road, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5, Canada; and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 1283 Blueline Road, Simcoe ON N3Y 4N5,Canada

Efficacy testing of low risk products against turfgrass diseases in Ontario. K. STONE AND T. HSIANG. Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada

Student Awards Presentation
Genevieve Marchand and Owen Wally participated as judges for the student poster presentation competition. Dr. Ken Conn announced the four cash prizes to Student poster competition winners. The first prize ($100) for the best student poster presentation was awarded to Stephen Reynolds (supervisor: M.R. McDonald), second prize ($75) went to Amy Fang Shi (supervisor: S. Westerveld), third prize ($50) went to Lilieth Ives (supervisor: M.R. McDonald), and fourth prize ($25) went to Katherine Stone (supervisor: T. Hsiang).

Drs. Deena Errampalli (left) and Ken Conn (right) with 2017 SORA CPS student poster presentation award winners; from left: Lilieth Ives, Stephen Reynolds, Amy Fang Shi, Katharine Stone.

Business meeting
Dr. Ken Conn conducted the business meeting following the formal talks and poster presentations. Regional funds are in good shape.

Ken and Deena led the discussion on a proposal for a joint Ontario plant protection societies (Pathology, Entomology and weeds) + Ontario Pest Management Conference (OPMC) meeting that was proposed to be held in the fall of 2019. Just to give some background, during the 2016 annual meeting of the SORA-CPS, the group had agreed in principle to meet jointly in 2018. However, earlier in 2017, the organizing committee
of the joint Ontario pest management conference announced that the joint meeting was to be held in 2019 instead of 2018. Changing of the year from 2018 to 2019 presents a conflict for SORA-CPS. The Canadian Pathological Society (CPS), the national society of SORA-CPS, will be meeting with Plant Canada from July 7-11, 2019 in Guelph and it is a tradition for the regional societies, in this case the SORA-CPS, to host the national meeting in their region. As a result SORA-CPS will not be able to participate at the joint OPMC, ESC and OWC 2019 meeting. However, SORA-CPS believes in the joint meeting of the Ontario groups and we will be happy to meet jointly with the Ontario groups in 2020. Deena and Ken took this information to the OPMC organizing committee later in November 2017. We are happy to report that the joint meeting of the pest management groups will be held in 2020.

Group photo of the attendees at SORA CPS 2017 annual meeting in Vineland, ON.

Thanks to the 2017 judges of the student poster competition, and to the local arrangements committee, Deena Errampalli, Karin Schneider, Jody Rae and Jenna Martin, putting together a one day program and the Italian themed menu with meat and vegetarian lasagna, salads, dessert squares, fruit was delicious and memorable. The SORA-CPS regional meeting for 2018 is planned to be held in November 2018 in Simcoe, ON.

Respectfully submitted by:

Deena Errampalli
Chair, SORA-CPS Local Arrangements Committee and President, Plant Canada

Ken Conn,
Regional Representative of SORA-CPS and CPS Treasurer

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2017

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2016

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2015

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2014

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2013

Southwestern Ontario Regional Group of the CPS (SORA-CPS): Annual Meeting Report 2012