News Published: 16 December 2024

Each year, the IPSN UK-based members and partners meet in-person locally to discuss activity progress, introduce new initiatives, and present updated information and new resources related to plant health monitoring and biosecurity best practices.

This year’s IPSN UK network meeting took place last month (18th November) at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). The meeting focused on various updates and discussions related to the IPSN activities aimed at facilitating plant health monitoring and biosecurity in botanic gardens/arboreta. Topics ranged from ongoing research initiatives, and emerging pest risks, to upcoming projects and future work.

With a combination of presentations and group discussion, the event fostered collaboration, knowledge sharing, and strategic planning within the wider UK plant health community.

Highlights included a detailed presentation from FERA on ‘new and emerging pests and diseases’ that covered amongst others the following pest species:
• Holm oak bark scale (Nidularia pulvinate)
• Plane lace bug (Corythucha ciliata): IPSN’s alert poster on this species can be found HERE 
• Oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuate):
• Chrysanthemum lace bug (Corythuca marmorata)
• Brown-winged planthopper (Pochazia shantungensis)

More information on these and other plant pest can also be found on the UK Forest Research Tree Alert website. More info can also be found about the citizen science project Observatree, which has been helping expand data about Plane lace bug.

The session also discussed the first pilot activity of the recently launched UK Garden Sentinel Network (UKGSN), highlighting the valuable contributions citizen science initiatives can have on plant health monitoring. By leveraging efforts of volunteer and horticultural students based at Botanic Gardens/arboreta, this initiative plays a crucial role in awareness raising and safeguarding plant health.

Participants also took part in two tours facilitated by members of the RBGE and relevant to the topic of the meeting. The first one was a tour of RBGE’s grounds, with a focus on their tree collections and active pest issues being managed.

The second tour, to close the day, focused on the various biosecurity facilities at RBG Edinburgh, including plant quarantining, plant waste management and other biosecurity systems in place.

The agenda from the meeting can viewed HERE and all the presentations are available to IPSN members (if you need help with access please contact dylan.fuller@bgci.org or itxaso.quintana@bgci.org).

If you want to join the IPSN network for free, join our project and initiatives, get access to valuable plant health monitoring and biosecurity information, and/or have the opportunity to network with our organisation worldwide, please e-mail: lara.salido@bgci.org or itxaso.quintana@bgci.org.