miCROPe Logo

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
MICROBE-ASSISTED CROP PRODUCTION-
OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES & NEEDS

NOV. 23 – 25, 2015
SCHLOSS SCHÖNBRUNN TAGUNGSZENTRUM
APOTHEKERTRAKT | VIENNA, AUSTRIA

This is the archived site of a previous miCROPE symposium! You can access the current/upcoming symposium here

THIS WAS MICROPE 2015

Micrope 2015 from Biofaction on Vimeo.

ABOUT

Angela SessitschDear colleagues,

The global demographic development and climate change pose a threat on crop production in many areas. There is a need to intensify agricultural production in a sustainable manner and to find solutions to combat abiotic stress, pathogens and pests. Plants are associated with complex microbiomes, which are known to promote plant growth and stress tolerance, support plant nutrition and antagonize plant pathogens. The integration of beneficial plant-microbe and microbiome interactions might represent a promising solution to improve agricultural production.

The symposium “Microbe-assisted crop production – opportunities, challenges and needs” (miCROPe 2015) with more than 250 participants from 47 countries addressed basic and applied aspects of applying beneficial microorganisms in crop production. This symposium, which  was the final conference of the COST Action FA1103 (Endophytes for Biotechnology and Agriculture), covered mechanistic understanding of beneficial plant-microbe interactions, microbiome interactions, transfer of microbial applications from lab to field, formulations and registration issues. In addition,  a roundtable discussion, with stakeholders from different sectors, was held to discuss registration and farmer-relevant issues.

The “miCROPe 2015” symposium successfully combined basis and applied aspects of beneficial plant-microbe interactions, which was highly appreciated by participants from academia and industry. We hope that this event further advanced the application of microorganisms in crop production.

Angela Sessitsch
on behalf of the Organizing Committee

PARTICIPANT TESTIMONIALS

Ben Lugtenberg, Leiden University, NLBen Lugtenberg

miCROPe 2015 was the best symposium I ever attended. In many fields one sees that fundamental and applied research are split fields. However, in Vienna the organizers brought together both research fields as well as a large number of people from industry. The talks were very stimulating, with good discussions. I met many inspiring colleagues. The atmosphere was very friendly and the venue was marvelous. It would be a great support for the field if such a meeting could be held every year.

Giulia Molinatto, Fondazione Mach, ITGiulia Molinatto

It was a pleasure to attend this very well organized symposium. For me it has been a great opportunity to get in touch with researchers that work on topics related to my PhD project. Also, it was interesting to have a more practical approach to the issue, through the sessions "from lab to field", "application" and "registration".

Olaf Tyc, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), NLOlaf Tyc

The Micrope 2015 conference was first of all a great opportunity to present my work at a great venue and to have discussions with colleagues from all over the world. The size of the conference was ideal for fruitful interactions. Moreover the conference offered a wide diversity of attendees and presenters representing a wide cross-section of research topics. All sessions were very informative and provided insight in top research in the field of microbe assisted crop production.

John Caradus, Grasslanz Technology Ltd, NZJohn Caradus

The MiCROPe Symposium was an excellent opportunity to gain an overview of research and commercialisation activity that uses microbial endophytes with a range of beneficial traits to improve crop performance and reduce the need for synthetic chemistry. The meeting provided networking opportunities with representatives of the research, commercialisation and regulatory communities.  One note of concern that was expressed more than once was that the regulatory systems and processes in Europe will constrain releases of new biocontrol agents using biocides – despite the drive for sustainable agriculture. The value created by this meeting must encourage the organisers to consider future meetings that will provide an ongoing forum for the exchange of ideas, concepts and technologies between the research and commercial sectors.

Christian Gangl, Agrotrader Agrarhandel, AT Christian Gangl

A very successful event which showed me as a farmer what today is already possible, where are the potentials, and where are the challenges for a successful field application.
It showed that there is still a lot of potential for a more ecological production, which is waiting to be successfully used in practice. Research and development should continue to focus more on practical solutions for agricultural production.

Falko Feldmann, Julius Kühn Institute Berlin, DEHarald Mikkelsen

The international symposium miCROPe 2015 highlighted the need of inter- and transdisciplinary interactions. The great interest of more than 230 participants in the registration session was impressive and pointed out that besides all scientific breakthrough findings of the delegates their results should be brought to practice by developing safe, registered products.

Harald Mikkelsen, Koppert Biological Systems, NL Harald Mikkelsen

Endophytes are a promising as a tool in order to bring microbial traits to plants. From an industry perspective the symposium was relevant, refreshing and bringing lots of different parties together. Personally for me it was motivating by seeing the reality of bringing more sustainability towards agriculture. Which is already happening by using endophytes.

MAIN TOPICS

Successful microbial products


Need for microbial solutions


Colonization and mechanisms of beneficial plant–microbe interactions


Involvement of multitrophic and microbiome interactions

Microbial applications from lab to field


Application technologies and formulations


Benefits and potential concerns for consumers and farmers


Registration requirements of microbial products

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Ilaria Pertot
Fondazione Mach, IT

Linda Johnson
AgResearch, NZ

Stephan Declerck
Universite catholique de Louvain, BE

Marc Ongena
Walloon Center of Industrial Biology, BE

Choong-Min Ryu
KRIBB, KR

Gabriele Berg
Graz University of Technology, AT

Stéphane Compant
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, AT

Jos Raaijmakers
Wageningen University, NL

Chris Franco
Flinders University, AU

Kornelia Smalla
Julius Kühn Institute Braunschweig, DE

Yoav Bashan
University of Arizona, US

Sebastian Håkansson
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences / Captigel, SE

Carolin Schneider
Institut für Pflanzenkultur e. K., DE

Angela Sessitsch
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, AT

Organizing Committee

Angela Sessitsch
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, AT

Alexandra Khassidov
ÖGMBT Austrian Association of Molecular Life Sciences and Biotechnology, AT

Stéphane Compant
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, AT

Carolin Schneider
Institut für Pflanzenkultur e. K., DE

Zlata Kovacevic
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, AT