What’s Growing On in Plant Science? October 31, 2022; Volume 21

News

Dilantha Fernando was made a Fellow of the Asian Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Society (APGPR) in Malaysia in August 2022. Dilantha also delivered a plenary lecture at the international conference. The title of the presentation was, "Artificial Intelligence: a promising technique to design synthetic microbial communities". The authors are Dilantha Fernando and his post doc Dr. Liang Zhao. Dilantha Fernando was invited by Monash University, Malaysia branch to give an invited talk. His presentation was titled, "Hijacking and playing hide and seek: are plant pathogens outsmarting us to harm the crops that feed the world". He also visited University of Nottingham, Malaysia Branch. Dilantha Fernando has been appointed as the Senior Editor (Editor in Chief) of Plant Pathology, the flagship journal of the British Society of Plant Pathology (BSPP). This is the very first time a non-British scientist has been appointed to this role in the journal's 82-year existence. Dilantha was invited to attend the BSPP Board meeting held in Sept 2022 in New Castle, UK. Dilantha Fernando was invited by the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK to give an invited talk. His presentation was titled, "Hijacking and playing hide and seek are plant pathogens outsmarting us to harm the crops that feed the world". Dilantha Fernando was invited to visit the Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia. Dilantha discussed opportunities for broader partnerships between the institute and the faculty of agricultural and food sciences at the University of Manitoba. Dilantha Fernando is spending his sabbatical leave with University of Melbourne, and Federation University. Dilantha visited the canola-blackleg program of the University of Melbourne in Horsham, Victoria. Dilantha visited the Berwick campus of Federation University in Melbourne, as well as Mt. Helen campus of Federation University in Ballarat, Victoria for developing research collaborations and partnerships. Dilantha will be giving an invited talk at the Federation University on the 26th of October. His presentation is titled, "Getting to grips with lifestyles of microbes to manage invasive and herbicide resistant weeds: use of old knowledge and new technologies".

News from the Point

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The Point welcomes a new addition to the shop... a Power Jet hot water pressure washer!

It’s the same make and model as the system at Carman. This new equipment, courtesy of the WGRF field equipment research grant, will allow us to more easily follow our current biosecurity protocol, as well as the mantra to "arrive clean" at each work site. Please contact Mel Kaufman or a technician in your lab group for training on how to safely operate this equipment. Our thanks to Mel for getting this new unit up and running at the Point!

News from Carman

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· Each year soil samples are taken to determine nutrient status of the soil and to make plans on nutrient management in future.

· There’s another aspect in soil sampling - bulk density, which is usually assessed to characterize the state of soil compactness in response to land use and soil management practices. That is part of what Sarah Wilcott (pictured) is trying to achieve.

Graduate Student News​​​

· The PSGSA is very excited to be back on campus and is planning some great events to bring graduate students and faculty together. We’d love to see you out at our weekly Monday morning coffee breaks at 10:30 to ease those Monday blues.

· Keep an eye on the PSGSA Instagram (um_psgsa) and website (https://www.uofmpsgsa.com) for more details on upcoming events.

· We’re very excited to announce that the Plant Science Symposium will be held at North Dakota State University in 2023 and we’d like to encourage everyone to participate. Keep an eye out for further emails and please gather all required travel documents in advance. Please reach out to psgsa.website@gmail.commailto:psgsa.website@gmail.com with any questions.

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Upcoming Event

The Plant Science Climate Action Committee presents Climate Action Forum

When: November 30, 2022; 4:30 to 6:30 pm Where: Ag Auditorium and Ag Atrium What: Guest speaker (TBA) and discussion about future actions Who’s invited? Grad students, faculty and staff

FREE PIZZA SUPPER

Save the date – more information to follow

Something interesting

Martin Entz has been researching the Métis as part of honouring Truth and Reconciliation Day. Martin learned about a past Métis community near Carman. They produced sugar there! Here’s an excerpt from the document.

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