NEWS
Stay updated on the latest developments in plant science policy and EPSO activities!
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
Gene editing is a technology at a stage that it is being used to generate disease resistant crops is the main message from the Workshop on 15.10.2024 discussing the contribution of gene editing to improve disease and pest resistance and provide solutions for sustainable agricultural production and reduction of pesticide use.
Main recommendations from the workshop are:
- Plant genome editing requires further improvements of the technology.
- Efficient virus-based gene editing needs to be established for a variety of crop species.
- Plant gene targets for gene editing must be identified at larger scale.
- The function of target genes-for-editing must be understood in detail for successful outcomes.
- Target susceptibility genes must be examined for growth-defence trade-offs.
- Public appreciation of the gene editing technologies and strategies is key to success.
The next WG meeting will be held online on 21st October 2025.
More information will be available in a few weeks.
We look forward to meeting you in October.
Andreas, Mariana, Beat, Maria and Karin.
Beat Keller, Maria Pozo, Andreas Voloudakis and Mariana Schuster (Plant Health WG chairs)
Karin Metzlaff (EPSO Executive Director)
Click here to read: The Report and recommendations of the 2nd workshop on Plant Health
Contacts:
Andreas Voloudakis (AUA, GR), Beat Keller (Uni Zurich, CH), Maria Pozo (CSIC, ES),
Mariana Schuster (IPB Halle, DE) – EPSO Plant Health WG chairs
Karin Metzlaff (EPSO)
EPSO initiated the YPSA awards to encourage the development of ideas and imaginative thinking in the plant sciences.
EPSO is happy to announce the two winners of the 6th EPSO Young Plant Scientist Award: Himanshu Chhillar was selected for his fundamental plant research and Javier Belinchon-Moreno for his applied plant research.
Himanshu and Javier will have the opportunity to present their research during the Science Day of the EPSO General Assembly to be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia on the 18.06.2025. In addition, each awardee will receive 200 € and EPSO will cover their travel to the meeting.
We would like to thank the distinguished jury members Alan Schulman (chair), Marie-Theres Hauser, Angelo Santino, Timothy George and Odd Arne Rognli. The two winners were selected from among 22 PhD students who submitted from 15 different entities and 12 countries across Europe and New Zealand to the EPSO YPSA call.
Click here to read the full winner announcement.
Contact: Karin Metzlaff, EPSO
ISE calls for a stronger stand-alone R&I Framework Programme with a ringfenced budget, boosting collaborative basic research to create an upward Research & Innovation spiral in the collaboration pillar, and shielding the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council.
ISE 6 main recommendations for FP10 are:
- Ensure a stronger stand-alone R&I Framework Programme with a ringfenced budget.
- Boost collaborative basic research to create an upward Research & Innovation spiral in the collaboration pillar.
- Shield Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and the European Research Council
- Policymakers should define the goals but leave the pathways to reach them open
- Increase trust and flexibility for beneficiaries – researchers and innovators
- Consult both, European science associations and European industry associations, on R&I strategy and policy.
The ISE FP10 Task Force has been conducting a long reflection on the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, with a focus on the areas it deems of highly strategic importance to the development of the European R&I system. It took into account recent strategic reports and communications like the Heitor report, Draghi report and the EU Competitiveness Compass.
ISE provided advise to national ministries, the European Commission and members of the European Parliament and is looking forward to continuing this constructive collaboration with advice towards pilot initiatives in Horizon Europe and the development of Framework Programme 10.
Read the full 2 pages recommendations here.
The Annex on Boost collaborative basic research in HE and FP10 here.
Contacts:
Karin Metzlaff – ISE Vice-President & chair Working Group HE / FP10 & Executive Director EPSO
Monica Dietl – ISE Executive Director, [email protected]