FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2006

Contact: Candace J. Semien
Communications Coordinator
(225)771-2242 ext. 303
www.suagcenter.com

Collins chairs symposium on plant disease, environmental stress in urban communities

BATON ROUGE--Daniel Collins, Ph.D., plant pathology professor at the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center chaired a symposium on urban forestry health management during the joint meeting of The American Phytopathological Society (APS), Canadian Phytopathological Society, and the Mycological Society of America.

According to APS, plant pathologists plant diseases and environmental stresses are impacting the health of trees growing in urban communities.

In fact, a number of well-known plant diseases, such as Dutch elm disease, dogwood anthracnose, powdery mildew, oak wilt, and emerging diseases, such as sudden oak death, continue to threaten the health and vitality of urban trees in the U.S. and Canada, said Collins. Environmental stresses such as flooding, wind damage, drought, pollution, and insect pests including the Asian longhorned beetle also harm the health of urban trees.

"The urban forest is vital to a community’s economic, ecological, and social well-being," said Collins. "Urban trees improve air and water quality, protect watersheds, and provide a habitat for wildlife. We need to be aware of the wide range of issues that are affecting the health of urban forests in the U.S. and Canada and how we can manage them."

The symposium included presentations from scientists on the latest research, education, extension, and outreach activities in the United States and Canada addressing urban forestry health management issues. This was the first health management symposium to be held at an APS meeting.

Along with Collins, Kamran Abdollahi, Ph.D., Andra Johnson, Ph.D., Zhu Ning, Ph.D., and former graduate student Greg Tarver made the following presentations during the symposium:
Introduction and overview of urban forestry health management.
Urban forest ecosystem assessment for Gulfport, Mississippi, prior to Hurricane Katrina’s landfall.
Utilizing urban wood waste to improve urban forest health.


The joint meeting was held at the Centre des Congrès de Québec, Québec City, Québec, Canada, this summer.

Southern University Ag Center is a statewide campus of the Southern University System. The Center conducts basic and applied research to disseminate information to Louisiana citizens. APS is a non-profit professional scientific organization. The research of APS 5,000 members worldwide advances the understanding of the science of plant pathology and its application to plant health.

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