The OIV Secretariat attended the “International Plant Biosecurity Platform Grand Challenge Workshop” which was held this week in Montpellier, France.
The international meeting was organised by the European Biological Control Laboratory (EBCL) of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), to share the latest advances on the insect transmitted plant vascular bacterial diseases and to discuss the development of a biosecurity platform.
Scientists, international specialists, government representatives, agritech and biotech companies from many countries concerned by the major plant vascular bacterial diseases participated in the workshop. They discussed how to obtain more rapid and effective results while dealing with exotic invasive crop pests and diseases.
In this framework, the Head of Unit Viticulture, Enrico Battiston, was invited to present the actions in progress at the OIV on the current grapevine epidemic diseases, such as Pierce’s Disease and the Flavescence dorée. “Big challenges require big actions and in this sense, the OIV is working to update and to adopt new harmonised guidelines for the management of these threatening epidemics”, said the Head of Unit. He also highlighted the crucial role of the OIV to encourage the implementation of collective strategies to prevent and control the spread of the grapevine epidemic diseases in the vitivinicultural sector.
