The 3rd Annual Meeting of the COST Action FA 1405 was held in Malta between 24 and 26 January. The meeting, which focussed on 'Three-way interactions between plants, microbes and arthropods: impacts, mechanisms and utilisation' was organised in collaboration with the Institute of Earth Systems. Professor David Mifsud from the University of Malta and Professor Bruno Biavati from the University of Bologna were the conveners.
During the meeting, 25 papers were presented and 22 posters were submitted and accepted by scientific committee. Discussions focussed on how crop plants interact with both arthropods and micro-organisms, including pests that reduce yields (in Europe up to 20% annually) and mutualists that promote yield.
Other topics dealt with were how direct and indirect interactions between micro-organisms and arthropods on crops can strongly modify their impacts on yield. For instance, herbivores and pathogens can facilitate each other, causing additional yield loss. On the other hand, beneficial micro-organisms can induce defenses that protect plants against herbivores. During the meeting it was also emphasized that there is potential to enhance crop production and reduce pesticide use if we can better predict and manage Crop-Arthropod-Microorganism (CAMo) interactions to our advantage.
Full details about the Meeting can be found at:
