NZPPS Conference 2009

The 2009 conference will be held in Dunedin on 11-13 August 2009.

Cost: full conference = $240, day registration = $90 (see registration form).

The venue is the Hutton Theatre of the Otago Museum Conference Centre, on Great King St (map).

Please have alook at the proposed journal redesign and be ready to vote at the AGM.

Conference programme

The call for papers is now closed.

A draft programme is now available, and includes the following sessions:

Microbes that Control Weeds, Pests and Diseases
Insect Behaviour
Biosecurity – from Prediction to Damage Control
Biocontrol and Beneficial Insects
Pests and Weeds of Pasture
Plant Diseases
Insect Pests of Kiwifruit
Pests on Horticultural Crops
Pesticide Usage and Efficacy
Weeds of the Natural Environment

Annual dinner

The annual dinner on Wednesday 12 August will held at the historic Larnach Castle, and will have a Scottish theme 'Tartan Up'. Prizes will be awarded for those who embrace the theme wholeheartedly. Transport will be available from Dunedin city to the castle and return.

Pre-conference symposium

A pre-conference symposium: Microbial Products: Exploiting Microbial Diversity for Sustainable Plant Production will be held on the day before the NZPPS Conference, Monday 10 August 2009, at the same venue.

View the symposium flyer or the draft programme.

Microbes and their metabolites are poised to play an increasingly important role in agricultural systems as plant protection and growth promotion agents. The impetus for change has been driven by consumer and market demands for products with "no-detectable" chemical residues that are produced with minimal environmental impacts. Microbes contain an enormous diversity of genes with a broad range of functional attributes that are of potential value to agriculture. The symposium will be based around the development of microbial products relating to plant protection and plant growth promotion. Microbial products developed for human or animal health may be included where these have lessons applicable to plant protection. The symposium will highlight opportunities to tap in to this renewable resource and outline steps towards their commercialization, including sessions on:

Identification of opportunities
Screening and proof-of-concept
Production of microbes
Formulation and delivery/application
Commercial investment and uptake by end-users

Submissions of original research, case studies or reviews covering any of the areas described above are welcome. Oral presentations will range from 10-20 minutes and a hard-copy symposium proceedings in the form of a book will be published. The closing date for abstracts of presentations being offered to the symposium is 15 February 2009. Please submit these to the NZPPS editor using the authorship guidelines for New Zealand Plant Protection papers.

Organising committee: Sue Zydenbos, Trevor Jackson, Alison Stewart, Mike Brownbridge and Craig Bunt. For further information, contact: Sue Zydenbos or Trevor Jackson.

Presenters

Those planning to contribute to the conference or symposium should read the guide for authors. Note that the deadline for submission of paper abstracts closed on 15 February 2009.

Each conference presentation will be published as a full, peer-reviewed scientific paper in New Zealand Plant Protection volume 62. NZPPS members will receive a copy of this prior to the 2009 conference.

Session chairs should read the guide for chairing conference sessions.

Registration

Please use the registration form to register for the New Zealand Plant Protection Society Conference and/or Symposium.

Accommodation

Discounted accommodation has been secured at the Scenic Circle Southern Cross Hotel and the Scenic Circle Dunedin City Hotel:

Room only: $149.00 /night
Bed and breakfast, single: $169.00 /night
Bed and breakfast, twin share: $189.00 /night

Please note that these rates are GST inclusive. You must specify that you are attending the NZPPS Conference on booking in order to recieve the discounted rates.

These hotels are a block apart and a similar distance from the conference venue.

A range of other accommodation is available in Dunedin, including back-packer hostels, bed & breakfasts, motels, and hotels. More information can be found at www.dunedin.co.nz.

Transport

For those members arriving in Dunedin by plane, please allow yourselves at least 60 minutes to get from Dunedin airport to the Conference Venue.

Because of the distance to cover, travel by Airport Shuttle for a single passenger into the city costs $33. We can minimise this expense for the majority if we are prepared to consolidate and share shuttles with other delegates (i.e. additional passengers $8 each).

Toni Withers will co-ordinate with Super Shuttle, so once confirmed send her your Dunedin flight arrival details by July 31st (to her email) and she will ensure Super Shuttle offers each of you the best conference rate possible (you will pay the driver directly).

Post-conference Tours

Some post-conference tours have been planned for afternoon of Thursday 14 August. So don't rush to the airport to be home at 5 pm, stay a bit longer and enjoy a better look at Dunedin!

Tours include:

Guided walk through Dunedin's 'Old Town'. "You get the inside word on Dunedin's colourful history and magnificent buildings."
Guided Tour through the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame (takes 90 mins).
"Walk the Talk" fashion shopping spree by foot, personalised guided walk around Dunedin's inner city fashion designers stores (2.5 hours approx) with discounts for goods purchased valid for that week. Need to reach minimum of 4 shoppers together, price from $60 each.

Follow this link to register your interest.