About the Workshop
Registration opens on the 16 October, 12.00, 2023.
The 19th Euroblight workshop will be held at the conference centre “de Werelt” in Lunteren, the Netherlands. De Werelt is located on the edge of the most beautiful nature reserve in the Netherlands, “de Veluwe”! Let the biggest forest area in the Netherlands inspire you to share, discuss, connect and innovate!
Scope of the workshop
Recommendations resulting from the 2022 Euroblight workshop in Ascona were:
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Continue and renew efforts to develop and expand IPM components.
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Progressively shift perspectives from disease control to Crop Health Management.
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Foster cooperation, capacity building, and shared infrastructure.
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Strengthen communication, dissemination and outreach of EuroBlight goals, activities and achievements.
The European Green Deal is the EU’s roadmap towards a sustainable economy. With respect to agriculture, Green Deal components such as the Farm to Fork (F2F) and Biodiversity Strategy build the framework for agricultural development and innovation. One goal is a 50% reduction in the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030 as well. In addition, the Commission aims for 25 % of the EU’s arable land to be under organic production by 2030. However, 2030 is approaching fast! Where are we now? what challenges are we facing? what possibilities does the future bring? and what are the primary obstacles? EuroBlight accepts the challenge to initiate, develop, test and analyse innovative solutions for the sustainable control of potato late blight and early blight in Europe. The 2024 workshop challenges you to contribute to this goal through new insights, new initiatives, cooperation, capacity building and shared (data) infrastructures!
Emphasized by the rampant late blight epidemics experienced during the 2023 growing season, important themes for the workshop in the Netherlands will be:
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Integrated (IPM/ICM) control strategies exploiting knowledge of the host, the pathogens, and their interactions, for improved control strategies meeting the F2F requirements.
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Breeding for host resistance: status, goals, current and future possibilities, obstacles and outlook.
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Fungicide efficacy: resistance avoidance strategies and use of alternative products to sustainably control late blight and early blight.
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Precision agriculture, monitoring and decision support - success stories, available tools, outlook, obstacles and how to tackle them.
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Global issues:
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Short reports from Euroblight’s sister networks.
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How can a global view of host and pathogen information help to develop and promote IPM/ICM solutions for individual farmers?
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Outline of the 2024 workshop
For the 19th Euroblight workshop there will be a maximum of 100 participants. Participants offering an oral or poster presentation will be prioritized. Early career scientists are especially encouraged to participate!
The workshop will start on the evening of Monday 13th May with our traditional welcome drinks and appetisers at the venue in Lunteren.
Presentations will be grouped in five plenary sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and the workshop will split into three subgroups on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Subgroup sessions will include short presentations but will also discuss new research questions, protocols, trials plans, communication activities and new initiatives or research proposals.
Registration will open on the EuroBlight website on 16 October, 12,00, 2023.
Local host
local host is Wageningen Research (WR). WR is part of Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
Organising committee
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Jens G. Hansen, Aarhus University (DK) (web master, scientific programme)
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Alison Lees, The James Hutton Institute (UK) (scientific programme)
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Geert Kessel, Wageningen Research (NL) (sponsors)
Sponsors
We would like to thank all our sponsors for making this possible
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Venue
Located 16 km north of Wageningen and within easy reach from Schiphol airport (1 hr), de Werelt is one of the oldest conference centres in the Netherlands. At de Werelt you will find yourself at the geographical heart of the Netherlands and on the edge of nature reserve “de Veluwe”.
The story of de Werelt begins during the First World War. As a neutral country, the Netherlands received large groups of Belgians, fleeing from the war. Some of them ended up in a refugee camp in the woods at Lunteren. After the war, a Christian organization decided to build a conference centre at this site. For the convenience of the guests, a purpose built bicycle path from Lunteren railway station to the conference centre was constructed, a true (and typical Dutch) novelty at that time.
In 1986, a devastating fire destroyed the entire main building. A full year of reconstruction followed and guests returned to De Blije Werelt, following the grand reopening by Princess Margriet (van Oranje-Nassau).
The name is a bit of a mystery. The 't' in De Werelt is not a spelling mistake; it's a remnant of a time when the word “wereld” (Dutch for “world”) was often spelled with a 't'. In 2001, 'blije' (happy) is removed from the name to also appeal to a non-Christian audience. During that period, the complex received another facelift
In those years, the conference centre was owned by the Dutch Protestant Church who sold it “Next Venue” who saw the potential of de Werelt, with the vast Veluwe as its backyard and, in 2017, became the proud new owner. Immediately, a 3 year renovation period begins to make De Werelt more sustainable and to remodel and restyle it. The 125 hotel rooms receive a luxurious facelift and an à-la-carte restaurant and bistro are added. Wellness and relaxation can be found in the new swimming pool, sauna, steam bath and hotel cinema. As a result, de Werelt now is the perfect place for professional meetings and recreational visits alike.
Conference centre De Werelt
Westhofflaan 2
6741 KH Lunteren
info@dewerelt.nl
+31 088 000 1581