From 23 to 27 September, the city of Valencia in Spain became the hub for Vegetable Seed Health as the International Seed Health Initiative (ISHI) gathered a record number of 74 members and observers for its annual Technical Meeting, where participants exchanged insights about the latest developments and progress in the initiative.
This year, a refreshed meeting format was introduced to give more emphasis to the 28 ongoing projects. Extended discussions helped the project leads of the four International Technical Groups (ITGs) address the challenges in their work to ensure further progress and reach set milestones. The technical meeting was also an opportunity for project groups to brainstorm and discuss their respective projects.
This meeting was also a time to celebrate major milestones achieved over the past year, such as the publication of the PCR assay Technical Guidelines on the ISF website.
The Comparative test Technical Guidelines will also be published by the end of the year. Both guidelines are valuable not only to ISHI members but also to scientists worldwide who are developing new assays. The PCR assay technical guidelines focus specifically on molecular methods for the detection of seed-transmitted pathogens, while the Comparative Test Guidelines will help project leads in preparing and performing comparative tests, which are crucial steps for assessing the reproducibility of a method or an assay among laboratories.
New members and observers were also given the opportunity to network and meet with ISHI members through the now traditional Buddy System. By pairing newcomers with experienced ISHI members, they quickly discover more about the initiative and expand their network. Such networking and collaboration opportunities ensure that ISHI continues to drive innovation in seed health.
