AVRDC

CORNUCOPIA8AVRDC: Nice at ICERamasamy was invited to give atalk on “How the use of integratedpest management for vegetablescontributes to food and nutritionalsecurity in Asia” in a symposiumorganized by Prof. ChristianBorgemeister, Director Generalof the International Centre of InsectPhysiology and Ecology (icipe –African Insect Science for Food andHealth). Srini also spoke on the“Effects of Maruca vitrata multiplenucleopolyhedrovirus on nontargetinsect pests and naturalenemies” in another symposium.(r to l): Srini Ramasamy, AVRDC Entomologist, Prof. Christian Borgemeister, DirectorGeneral of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe – African InsectScience for Food and Health) and Sopana Yule, Research Assistant (Entomology), AVRDC Eastand Southeast Asia.The XXIV International Congressof Entomology (ICE 2012) was heldAugust 19-25, 2012 in Daegu, SouthKorea, with more than 2500 paperspresented in several symposia.AVRDC Entomologist SrinivasanSopana Yule, Research Assistant(Entomology), AVRDC East andSoutheast Asia, also attended thecongress and delivered an oralpresentation on “Phanerotomaphilippinensis, a potentialparasitoid for managing legumepod borer, Maruca vitrata.” Thelatter two presentations were partof the vegetable legumes projectfunded by Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit(GIZ).Research scholar receives travel grantMalini Periasamy, a doctoralresearch scholar in AVRDC’sBiotechnology and MolecularBreeding group, was awarded atravel grant from the KirkhouseTrust, UK to attend theInternational Organization forBiological and Integrated Control ofNoxious Animals and Plants/WestPalaearctic Regional Section(IOBC/WPRS) conference on"Semio-chemicals: the Essence ofGreen Pest Control" in Bursa,Turkey from 1-5 October 2012.Malini is studying the populationdiversity and pheromone bindingproteins in legume pod borer,Maruca vitrata. She gave a talk onthe molecular-phylogeneticcharacterization of legume podborer populations and theimplications for pheromoneperception. The presentation waspart of the vegetable legumesproject funded by DeutscheGesellschaft für InternationaleZusammenarbeit (GIZ).