THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO

SUSTAIN AND IMPROVE PLANT PRODUCTION

UNDER DROUGHT STRESS

September 26 to 30, 2005ROME, ITALY

THE 2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON

INTEGRATED APPROACHES TO

SUSTAIN AND IMPROVE PLANT PRODUCTION

UNDER DROUGHT STRESS

CONFERENCE BROCHURE

AND FIRST CALLBologna - Italywww.avenuemedia.it

Avenue media®

Organizing Secretariat

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INTERDROUGHT-II: COPING WITH DROUGHTSeptember 26 to 30, 2005 - ROME, ITALY

under drought-prone farming by linking progress made at the molecular level to

that at the whole plant and crop levels in the field. This conference will provide

recommendations on the research needed to achieve better crop productivity

under drought conditions as well as the most effective approaches to move

forward in this direction. INTERDROUGHT-II is especially concerned with the

poorer developing countries that confront an increasing problem of food

production with less water. These problems will be appropriately addressed with

the participation of experts and students from such countries.

We are making every effort to create a comfortable and hospitable environment

for you at this meeting. We cordially extend our invitation to you.

Sincerely,

Abraham Blum (Chair), Roberto Tuberosa (Vice Chair)

and the INTERDROUGHT-II Steering Committee.

Dear Colleague,

INTERDROUGHT-II follows the first INTERDROUGHT

symposium held in 1995 in Montpellier, France, which

provided an excellent platform for presenting, discussing and

integrating results of both basic and applied research towards the development

of solutions to crop production under drought-prone conditions. Despite the

importance of drought as a major constraint in food production world-wide, no

other major international symposium has brought together such a wide range of

world-class experts since that first INTERDROUGHT meeting.

The objective of INTERDROUGHT-II is to serve as a platform for presenting and

debating key issues and strategies relevant for increasing the yield and stability

of crops under drought conditions by genetic and crop management approaches.

Great advances were made in recent years in understanding the molecular basis

of plant response and plant tolerance to drought stress. Hundreds of drought-

responsive genes were identified and the function of some has been resolved at

the cellular level. Despite this, a huge gap remains between the findings at the

molecular level and the application of this knowledge at the whole plant level in

the field. Excellent meetings have been dedicated to the cellular and molecular

aspects of drought stress. However, there is now an increasing demand in both

public and private research sectors for crosstalk between disciplines involved with

the molecular sciences and those seeking practical solutions to improve crop

performance under drought conditions. We believe INTERDROUGHT-II offers a

unique and timely platform for this purpose.

Henceforth, the main mission of INTERDROUGHT-II is to explore the possibilities

of science and technology applications to crop improvement and management

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EARLY SPONSORS

THE GENERATION CHALLENGE PROGRAMCultivating Plant Diversity for the Resource-Poor

THE CHALLENGE PROGRAM ON WATER AND FOOD

ENEA/BIOTEC

September 26 to 30, 2005 - ROME, ITALY INTERDROUGHT-II: COPING WITH DROUGHT

INTERNATIONAL STEERING COMMITTEE

JOSÈ LUIS ARAUS-ORTEGA University of Barcelona, SpainRANGANATHAN CHANDRA BABU Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, IndiaDOROTHEA BARTELS University of Bonn, GermanyJOHN BENNETT IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines ABRAHAM BLUM Plantstress.com, Tel Aviv, IsraelHANS BOHNERT University of Illinois, Urbana, USAJOHN BOYER University of Delaware, Newark, USASALVATORE CECCARELLI ICARDA, Aleppo, SyriaMANUELA CHAVES Technical University of Lisbon, PortugalTIM CLOSE University of California-Riverside, USABILL DAVIES University of Lancaster, UKGREG EDMEADES Pioneer-DuPont, Johnston, USABRIAN FORSTER Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, UKTOM HASH ICRISAT, Hyderabad, IndiaHOAN LE FAO, Rome, ItalyZHIKANG LI Chinese Academy of Agric. Science, Beijing, ChinaLIJUN LUO Academy of Agric. Science, Shanghai, ChinaSAGADEVAN MUNDREE University of Cape Town, South AfricaHENRY NGUYEN University of Missouri, Columbia, USAMARTIN PARRY Rothamsted Research, Rothamsted, UKJOHN PASSIOURA CSIRO, Canberra, AustraliaSTEVE QUARRIE University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia and UKARJULA REDDY University of Hyderabad, IndiaJEAN MARCEL RIBAUT CIMMYT, El Batan, MexicoRICHARD RICHARDS CSIRO, Canberra, AustraliaRACHID SERRAJ IAEA, Wien, AustriaROBERT SHARP University of Missouri, Columbia, USAKAZUO SHINOZAKI RIKEN Institute, Tsukuba, JapanFRANCOIS TARDIEU INRA, Montpellier, FranceROBERTO TUBEROSA University of Bologna, ItalyNEIL TURNER CSIRO, Perth, AustraliaLEN WADE University of Western Australia, Perth, AustraliaQIFA ZHANG Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

GIOVANNA ATTENE University of SassariFRANCESCO BASSO University of Basilicata, PotenzaANTONIO BLANCO University of BariANGELO CALIANDRO University of BariIMMACOLATA CORAGGIO CNR, MilanNATALE DI FONZO Institute of Cereal Production, MiPAF, FoggiaZINA FLAGELLA University of FoggiaCARLA FROVA University of MilanSTEFANIA GRILLO CNR, NaplesMASSIMO IANNETTA RIADE, Enea, RomeCOSIMO LACIRIGNOLA CIHEAM, Valenzano, BariPIERANGELO LANDI University of BolognaANTONELLA LEONE University of SalernoGIUSEPPE MANDOLINO Institute of Industrial Crops, MiPAF, BolognaPAOLO MANNINI CER, BolognaBRUNO MARANGONI University of BolognaNELSON MARMIROLI University of ParmaGIANFRANCO MARRAS University of SassariLUIGI MONTI University of NaplesGIULIANO MOSCA University of PadovaMARIO MOTTO Institute of Cereal Production, MiPAF, BergamoENRICO PORCEDDU University of Tuscia, ViterboMILVIA LUISA RACCHI University of FlorenceLUIGI RICCIARDI University of BariLUIGI ROSSI ENEA, RomePAOLA ROSSI University of BolognaFRANCESCO SALAMINI University of MilanMARIA CORINNA SANGUINETI University of BolognaMIRELLA SARI GORLA University of MilanRICCARDO SARNO University of PalermoG.T. SCARASCIA MUGNOZZA Italian Academy of Sciences, RomeMICHELE STANCA Institute of Cereal Production, MiPAF, Fiorenzuola D’ArdaEMANUELE TARANTINO University of FoggiaMARIA ELISA VENEZIAN Italian Committee Int. Commission on Irrig. and Drainage, Rome

NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

September 26 to 30, 2005 - ROME, ITALY INTERDROUGHT-II: COPING WITH DROUGHT

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

Topics will be addressed by internationally acclaimed invited speakers. The final listof chairpersons and speakers will be included in the second announcement.Volunteered oral papers and posters to sessions 2-3-4-5-6-7-8 will be considered bythe program committee based on merit and relevance.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

MORNING: SESSION 1. INTRODUCTION AND SETTING THE SCENE.

• Opening comments: why are we here?• The climatic, economic and social analysis of drought and drought

stress in agriculture.• A global perspective on drought tolerance research.• Defining the drought environment – Physical and biological perspectives.• Monitoring plant and soil water status – Established and novel methods.• The historical perspective of dryland agriculture: lessons learned from

10,000 years.

AFTERNOON: SESSION 2.IMPROVING YIELD UNDER WATER-LIMITED CONDITIONS – SOIL AND CROP

MANAGEMENT.

• Lessons from field research under water-limited conditions.- Deficit (supplemental) irrigation, managed stress environments

and experimental design.- Non-drought factors reducing yield in dry-land environments.- Assessing crop simulation models as a research and a dry-land

farming tool.

POSTER VIEWING.

ORGANIZING SECRETARIAT

Via Riva Reno, 61 - 40122 Bologna - ItalyCongress Office: Tel. +39 051 6564311 - Fax +39 051 6564350

E-mail: congressi@avenuemedia.it • www.avenuemedia.it

Avenue media®

CHAIR

A. BLUMPO Box 16246Tel Aviv61162 - Israelablum@plantstress.com

TREASURER

M. PARRY

VICE CHAIR

R. TUBEROSADepartment of AgroenvironmentalScience and TechnologyViale Fanin 44 - 40127 Bologna, Italyroberto.tuberosa@unibo.it

FUND RAISING

J.L. ARAUS-ORTEGA

PUBBLICATION OF VOLUME OF PROCEEDINGS

A. BLUM

H. NGUYEN (CHAIR)W. DAVIES

G. EDMEADES

S. QUARRIE

R. SERRAJ

L. WADE

Q. ZHANG

PROGRAM COMMITTEE

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

September 26 to 30, 2005 - ROME, ITALY INTERDROUGHT-II: COPING WITH DROUGHT

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

MORNING: SESSION 3.IMPROVING YIELD AND SUSTAINABILITY UNDER WATER-LIMITED AGRICULTURE.

• Sustainable cropping systems. • Present and future options for farmers in drought-prone environments.

- Commercial farming. - Subsistence farming in developing countries.

POSTER VIEWING.

AFTERNOON: SESSION 4. MOLECULAR AND PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES OF PLANT ADAPTATION TO DROUGHT – 1.

• Perception and signalling of plant water status.• Cellular bases of adaptation to drought and changes in the transcriptome

under drought.• Monitoring changes in the proteome and metabolome under drought.POSTER VIEWING.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

MORNING: SESSION 5.

MOLECULAR AND PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES OF PLANT ADAPTATION TO DROUGHT – 2.

• Whole plant responses, key processes and adaptation to drought stress.• Root growth and root-to-shoot signaling.• Seed set and seed development under stress.

POSTER VIEWING.

AFTERNOON: SESSION 6. GENES TO SUPPORT PLANT PERFORMANCE UNDER WATER-LIMITED CONDITIONS.

• Molecular mapping of drought tolerance traits – New and future developments.

• Isolation of genes controlling the responses to drought-stress.• In silico gene discovery and “high-throughput” functional analysis.

POSTER VIEWING.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29

AFTERNOON: SESSION 7.

INTEGRATING WHOLE PLANT AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES TO IMPROVE

DROUGHT TOLERANCE – 1.

• Conventional breeding approaches for drought-prone environments – An overview.

• Breeding by phenotypic selection for yield and secondary traits. • Participatory breeding in water-limited environments.

POSTER VIEWING.

AFTERNOON: SESSION 8.

INTEGRATING WHOLE PLANT AND MOLECULAR APPROACHES TO IMPROVE

DROUGHT TOLERANCE – 2.

• Marker-assisted selection for drought tolerance. • Candidate genes and genetic engineering for drought tolerance.• Interfacing plant breeding with molecular biology and genomics.

POSTER VIEWING.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

MORNING: SESSION 9.

FUTURE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.

• Chairpersons reports and comments.• General discussion.

- Future priorities and initiatives.- Research funding opportunities. - Networking within InterDrought and with other relevant international

initiatives.• Wrap-up and farewell.

GENERAL INFORMATION

REGISTRATION FEES

The registration fee will cover conference attendance, book of abstracts and coffee-breaks.

before 30/4 after 30/4

Regular Fee 7 300,00 7 400,00Student Fee 7 200,00 7 250,00

VENUE AND LODGING

A number of alternative venues have been identified in Rome, Italy. Further details will beincluded in the second circular, to be circulated in December 2004. The second circular willprovide the details for the hotels and for the reservation.

CONTRIBUTING AN ORAL OR POSTER PRESENTATION

Those willing to contribute an oral or poster presentation are kindly requested to sendbefore October 31, 2004 (by email or by fax) to Avenue media the pre-registration form.The final program will include invited presentations (30 minutes each), contributed oralpresentations (20 minutes each) and contributed posters. All oral presentations (invitedand contributed) must be presented as manuscripts to be included in the Volume ofProceedings. All contributed presentations are subject to acceptance by the programcommittee.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Second circular with details of invited speakers and abstract form: December 31, 2004.Abstract deadline: February 28, 2005.Notice of acceptance sent to authors of volunteered oral presentations: March 31, 2005.Registration and hotel reservation: April 30, 2005.Manuscripts: August 31, 2005.

Online updates are available at: www.plantstress.com/id2

September 26 to 30, 2005 - ROME, ITALY INTERDROUGHT-II: COPING WITH DROUGHT

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Preferred presentation format: (mark with an X)

❏ Oral ❏ Poster

Suggested session(s): (mark with an X)

❏ Session 2 ❏ Session 3 ❏ Session 4 ❏ Session 5❏ Session 6 ❏ Session 7 ❏ Session 8

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