Southwestern Ontario Regional Group

Regional Representative:

Dr. Kenneth Conn
Assistant to CPS Treasurer/Membership Secretary
London, ON

Contact:kennethconncps@gmail.com

Canadian Phytopathological Society Southwestern Ontario Region Meetings:

2025 Annual Meeting

Information concerning the 2025 meeting will be communicated at a later date. It will be Nov 7 in Guelph.

Previous Canadian Phytopathological Society Southwestern Ontario Region Meetings:

Report on the 2024 Canadian Phytopathological Society – Southwestern Ontario Regional Meeting

The Southwestern Ontario Regional Association (SORA) of the Canadian Phytopathological Society (CPS) held its 2024 annual meeting at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute on November 1. The event brought together plant pathologists, graduate students, industry partners, and academic researchers from across the region for a day of learning, networking, and knowledge exchange.

The meeting opened with registration and refreshments, followed by an initial poster viewing session where student researchers presented their current work. Posters covered a wide range of topics, from Brassica napus–Verticillium interactions and root rot in dry beans to soybean cyst nematode virulence dynamics. Dr. Sara Stricker, CPS Membership Secretary, welcomed attendees, followed by greetings from CPS President-elect Dr. Maria Antonia.

The morning continued with two invited speakers. Dr. Barry Saville from Trent University presented a talk entitled “RNA is cool – what its investigation told us about smut fungi… so far!”, which offered a deep dive into molecular insights gained from studying RNA in fungal pathogens. Ashley Dickson of Syngenta Canada followed with a practical presentation on best practices for managing field and laboratory experiments in plant pathology.

A catered lunch provided time for networking, as well as another opportunity to review student posters. Poster presentations ranged from nutrient management in onions and clubroot diagnostics to soil health and disease suppression in diverse cropping systems.

In the afternoon, Dr. Albert Tenuta of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs delivered a timely presentation on disease challenges in field crops observed from 2020 to 2023. A final round of student poster presentations followed, showcasing work on topics such as fungicide resistance, biocontrol of clubroot, bacterial diseases in adzuki beans, and molecular responses to soilborne pathogens.

The day concluded with the annual business meeting of the SORA CPS, where student poster awards were announced, celebrating the quality of research and communication skills demonstrated by graduate presenters. Thank you to poster judges Katerina Jordan and Tasha Wright. In total, there were 42 attendees and 10 abstracts were published in CJPP. A group photo marked the close of the event, which successfully fostered collaboration and highlighted emerging talent within the plant pathology community.

We would like to send our thanks to Albert Tenuta for supporting the annual meeting, and to all who were in attendance.

Report on the 2023 Canadian Phytopathological Society – Southwestern Ontario Regional Meeting

The 2023 CPS-SORA meeting was held at the Simcoe Research Station on November 3. There were 35 people that attended. Guest speakers were Dr. Catarina Saude, Dr. Genevieve Marchand, and Dr. Melanie Filotas. The agenda for this meeting is attached. Cash prizes for best student posters were awarded to Riley McConachie (tied for First, $250), Kirsten Holy (tied for First, $250), and Emily McFaul (Third, $100).