Institute of Genetics,
Physiology and Plant Protection

The ”Fire Blight Workshop: With Special Reference to Ecological aspect and control measures“, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan together with International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) and Kazakh Research Institute for Plant Protection and Quarantine named after Zh. Zhiembayev, took place in Almaty during 24-27 August 2016.

(photo from http://www.istc.int/en/article/19846)

Specialists from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA, and Uzbekistan took part in the Workshop.

There were four Sections at the Workshop:

1. Phytosanitary control strategy.
2. Epidemiology of the fire blight.
3. Etiology and diagnostic methods of the pathogen.
4. Resistance of fruit crops to the fire blight.

The following scientists presented their reports at the plenary session: Sagitov Abai Orazuly, General Director of the Kazakh Research Institute for Plant Protection and Quarantine named after Zh. Zhiembayev, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan - “Current phytosanitary situation with Fire Blight in Kazakhstan and its solutions”; George William Bird from Michigan State University, USA – “Orchard soil health”; Babadoost-Kondri Mohammad from the University of Illinois, USA – “Fire Blight of Apple: occurrence and management”; Sumer Horus from the Ege University, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey – “Past, present and future status of Fire Blight disease in Turkey”;  Kenneth Bjorn Johnson from the Oregon State University, USA – “System approach to control Fire Blight”; George Wilfred Sundin from the Michigan State University, USA – “Management of Fire Blight in humid climates in the USA”; Svetoslav Ganchev Bobev from the University of Agriculture, Plovdiv, Republic of Bulgaria – “Fire Blight Spread in Bulgaria and characteristics of the pathogen. Integrated approach to Fire Blight control in Bulgaria”; Herbert Sanders Aldwinckle from the Cornell University, USA – “Fire Blight infection of the apple rootstock: the development of resistant rootstocks” and Larry Gut from the Michigan State University, USA – “Role of insects in Fire Blight transmission”.

Then the Workshop continued by reports in the sections. Representatives from different countries informed participants about the isolation and identification of the fire blight causative agent and control measures which are elaborated for the suppression of the pathogen. The Workshop’s participants marked the wide spread of the fire blight, discussed the main points of the disease control and emphasized the need of the elaboration of the integrated approach to the fire blight control.

Republic of Moldova was represented at the Workshop by researchers from the Institute of Genetics, Physiology and Plant Protection Anna Samoilova with report “Bacteriophages of Erwinia amylovora in Fire blight control” and Dina Elisovetskaya with report “Application of bioelisitors as stimulants of the resistance and growth in the integrated system of apple diseases”.

The Workshop’s participants visited the dendrarium "Forest nursery", the farms in Enbekshikazakh area of Almaty region, the apple orchard with fire blight infection, and the natural habitat of Malus seiversii (Ledeb.) M Roem. in Ile Alatau.

The organizers of the Workshop successfully created the atmosphere of the fruitful collaboration of the scientists from different countries.

The resolution according to the results of the work of the seminar was adopted. It was marked that the common efforts of the specialists in the field of the Fire Blight study: breeders, phytopathologists, microbiologists and fruit growers with strong support of the responsible state institutions was needed for the effective suppression of the Fire Blight spread.