NEWS

The 43rd European-wide seminar of the series supported by the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) and aimed at the Plant Science community and its stakeholders.

TTT: The seminar will be held online each third Thursday of the month at three (CEST).

 On 22nd May 2025 at 15:00 (CEST) we will present three talks exploring “Breakthroughs in horticultural species”

  Dr. Cristina Zepeda Cabrera, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands  

“Using Plants as A Buffer for Climate Fluctuations in the Greenhouse”

  Dr Giovanna Frugis, National Research Council of Italy, Rome, Italy  

“Decoding Hormonal Regulatory Networks: Strategies for Enhancing Resilience in Horticultural Species”

Dr Giuseppe Carlo Modarelli, Leibniz Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops IGZ, Germany

“Sustainable strategies to improve resource use efficiency in controlled environment agriculture”

The seminars will be hosted on Zoom and last approximately 1.5 hours. Numbers will be limited to 300 attendees and therefore please register early if you would like to join. There will be ample opportunities to ask questions and join the debate. So please join us to support this new and exciting initiative for European Plant Science by following this link just prior to the start of the seminar.

EPSO members register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/INZGvrItTBq3MaZZYFq8Mw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

In the coming months we will be on the lookout for talented plant scientists among the EPSO membership to present their findings and perspectives to the EPSO seminar series. If we approach you to talk, we hope you will be happy to support the initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity for both eminent world leaders and talented up-and-coming early career researchers to present their research to an international audience and to network with potential collaborators. If you wish to suggest a theme for one of the autumn seminars and / or nominate yourself or one of your colleagues to give a seminar, we most welcome your suggestions. Please contact Tim George ([email protected]) to provide your name and potential talk title.

We look forward to seeing you all for the 43rd EPSO seminar on the 22nd May 2025

 Tim George, Alan Schulman and Marie-Theres Hauser

Click here to read: Full EPSO news item

Contacts:

Tim George, Hutton / UK & EPSO Board

Alan Schulman, LUKE / FI & Advisor EPSO Board

Marie-Theres Hauser BOKU / AT & EPSO Board

EPSO is pleased to announce the publication of its 61st newsletter. The shorter public version of the Newsletter is available here. EPSO members can log in and read the full version available in the Members’ Only section. The next edition of the EPSO newsletter will be in autumn 2025. Please send us your articles by mid-October.

Happy reading!

Click here for the content of the full version:

Contacts:
Karin Metzlaff, EPSO
Maija Malnaca, EPSO

41 organisations from civil society, academia, and industry have sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, calling for a strong and independent Research and Innovation Framework Programme 10 (FP10) with a dedicated budget.

The signatories express concern over political narratives that would effectively dissolve FP10 into a broader European Competitiveness Fund, cautioning that this could jeopardise its important mission, strategic focus, and legal basis under Article 182 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

“Science must serve as a unifying force, not a source of division. It is a cornerstone of Europe’s prosperity, resilience, and the long-term sustainability of its economic and social model. It is also a means to strengthen global collaboration, enhance social cohesion, and ensure human security,” the letter states.

The call echoes recent positions adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in favour of an independent and well-funded FP10. The signatories stress that research and innovation are essential not only to EU competitiveness, but importantly also to democratic resilience, strategic autonomy, and the long-term sustainability of Europe’s economy and society, to improve food and energy sustainability and global health while delivering on the green and digital transitions.

The full letter is available here: https://docs.sciencescitoyennes.ovh/s/YPt9M3irWELqcPt

See as well here the ISE main recommendations for FP10 calling for a stronger stand-alone R&I Framework Programme with a ringfenced budget, 27.2.2025. This was led by Karin Metzlaff in her role as ISE Vice-President & chair Working Group FP10.

Contacts:

Karin Metzlaff, EPSO Executive Director

Lisa Goerlitz, DSW [email protected]

Glen Millot, Sciences Citoyennes [email protected]

Today we are delighted to publish our Fascination of Plants Day 2024 Success Stories which provide an insight into the wide range of inspiring events about plants held across the world last year.

The seventh biennial international Fascination of Plants Day was a huge global success with over 670 interactive events across 65 countries engaging thousands of people around plant science and the manyfold uses of plants.

People took to social media and shared their photos and event stories using the hashtag #PlantDay. This increased the @PlantDay18May X/twitter account following to over 4,600 followers and Instagram to over 1000 followers. Some events featured in outside publications and media, broadcasted on tv and radio, and reported in local and national newspapers.

Many thanks to the over 65 National Coordinators and thousands of enthusiastic event organisers across the globe for engaging people from their local area, city, region and even the entire country in exciting events! We also thank the many partners and contributors who helped EPSO engage its broad audience by providing resources to make this success possible.

We invite you to join us in preparing for an even bigger and better Fascination of Plants Day in 2026! Start planning events in your country and keep posting about plants. We look forward to seeing you all and your fascinating interactive events in 2026!

Karin Metzlaff, Max Moser, Maija Malnaca, Przemyslaw Wojtaszek and Trine Hvoslef-Eide – the Global FoPD coordinators

Click here to read: Full FoDP Press Release and Success Stories

Contacts
Maija Malnaca, EPSO Publications Officer
Karin Metzlaff, EPSO Executive Director

The 42nd European-wide seminar of the series supported by the European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) and aimed at the Plant Science community and its stakeholders.

TTT: The seminar will be held online each third Thursday of the month at three (CET).

On 17th April 2025 at 15:00 (CET) we will present one talk exploring “Plant Science Engaging with EU Soil Missions”

  Asst. Prof. Cristina Carlos UTAD, Portugal

The seminars will be hosted on Zoom and last approximately 45 minutes. Numbers will be limited to 300 attendees and therefore please register early if you would like to join. There will be ample opportunities to ask questions and join the debate. So please join us to support this new and exciting initiative for European Plant Science by following this link just prior to the start of the seminar.

EPSO members register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LZmFhcpiTnGZKnI5EJn_OA

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

In the coming months we will be on the lookout for talented plant scientists among the EPSO membership to present their findings and perspectives to the EPSO seminar series. If we approach you to talk, we hope you will be happy to support the initiative. This is a fantastic opportunity for both eminent world leaders and talented up-and-coming early career researchers to present their research to an international audience and to network with potential collaborators. If you wish to suggest a theme for one of the autumn seminars and / or nominate yourself or one of your colleagues to give a seminar, we most welcome your suggestions. Please contact Tim George ([email protected]) to provide your name and potential talk title.

We look forward to seeing you all for the 42nd EPSO seminar on the 17th April 2025

Tim George, Alan Schulman and Marie-Theres Hauser

EPSO Plant Science Seminar Series Organising Committee

Click here to read: Full EPSO news item

Contacts:

Tim George, Hutton / UK & EPSO Board

Alan Schulman, LUKE / FI & Advisor EPSO Board

Marie-Theres Hauser BOKU / AT & EPSO Board

EPSO welcomes the decision by the EU Council to move forward and start negotiations with the EU Parliament and Commission on the legislative proposal for regulation of New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) in plants.

These NGTs, when regulated like other breeding methods under current standards, will provide additional tools for breeding environmentally sustainable, future-climate-ready, healthful, and more diverse crops and foods, contributing to Food and Nutritional Security, helping to fulfil the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Consumer surveys in various European countries have found increasingly positive attitudes towards NGT use to deliver e.g. improved nutritional qualities and environmental benefits.

EPSO notes that standards for evaluating the equivalence between NGT plants and conventional crops as defined in Annex I may need to be clarified further and broadened based on scientific evidence as crop genomes in the breeders’ pool are much more dynamic than understood at the time the proposal was developed, so the number and size of sequence changes that are considered equivalent to those of conventional plants must be re-evaluated and broadened.

EPSO looks forward to engaging as a major stakeholder with Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission to achieve a well-balanced regulation. EPSO will continue providing scientific input in the course of the discussions with policy makers and other stakeholders.

Read the full EPSO first reaction to the EU council decision to move forward the proposal regarding the regulation of New Genomic Techniques, 24.3.2025

Contacts:

Jens Sundström, SLU Uppsala, EPSO Chair WG Agricultural Technologies

Alan Schulman, LUKE / FI, EPSO Chair WG Agricultural Technologies

Odd Arne Rognli, NMBU / NO, EPSO President

Kari Metzlaff, EPSO, Executive Director