Wow!
2 days after the first announcement, we already have
190 registered participants
from 120 different institutions/companies
from 32 countries!!

@epponews.bsky.social @efsa-plants.bsky.social
@iufro.bsky.social @fao.org @ipsn-bgci.bsky.social
@biodiversa.eu @bspp.bsky.social @wwf.eu @greenpeace.eu

#PlantPathogens
#PlantBiosecurity
#Oomycetes

#NatureRestoration
#Forestry
#Horticulture
#PlantNurseries

Participation is free!

🌱 SPIN-FERT + Electronic Nose = Real-time soil diagnostics without invasive sampling 👃🔬

Faster insights, smarter decisions, sustainable farming.

🔗 www.spinfert.eu 🎬 @artscience-node.com

#SPINFERT #ElectronicNose #SoilHealth #AgTech #SustainableAgriculture #EUProject #ScienceForGood

Troublesome Pine Wilt Disease... On-Site Detection Possible Within One Hour - The Asia Business Daily In the near future, it will be possible to determine whether a pine tree is infected with pine wilt nematode within just one hour. The Jeollanam-do For...

Depending on its accuracy, this approach represents a major advance in the rapid detection of the pinewood #nematode.

www.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2...

🌱 PurPest was at the world’s leading horticulture trade fair!

Missed us? Take a look back at our booth at #IPMEssen2026 👇
www.purpest.eu/news/ipm-ess...

🎧 A new podcast episode dedicated to PurPest is out!

👇 Tune in to the episode released by our partners at NIBIO
www.purpest.eu/news/podcast...

🟢 Webinar - Let’s Talk About Planted Forests

📅 Join online to discuss maritime pine and pine wood nematode in South-West Europe: status and challenge.

🕑 27 February 2026 at 2:00 PM CET (Paris Time)

📢 Registration: www.plantedforests.org/webinar-lets...

#forest #plantedforest #ForestScience

🤝 The @purpest-eu.bsky.social consortium met online on Feb 5–6, 2026, to review progress on VOC analysis, sensor development, impact & outreach, and to align next steps ahead of demo campaigns 🚀

Find out more 👉 www.purpest.eu/news/meeting...

PurPest - VOC detection technology YouTube video by PurPest EU

📡 Dive into the future of sensing with our VOC detection technology in action 🎥!

👇 Watch our newest video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSvv...

🌱 We're starting 2026 by taking lab science into the field, supporting crop, forest, and ecosystem protection across Europe.

📄 Catch up on the latest PurPest activities in our January newsletter: www.purpest.eu/news/newslet...

PurPest - the cotton bollworm YouTube video by PurPest EU

▶️ New video produced by @nibiolandskap.bsky.social covering the #cottonbollworm pest and how @purpest-eu.bsky.social is streamlining detection methods!

youtu.be/qb44FOW18yA?...

Reflections on the past, present, and future of quantitative plant disease epidemiology #LarryMadden doi.org/10.1146/annu...

Sarah Wurzel nous parle d’oomycetes en Antarctique: « Uncovering Diversity in the Antarctic- an international collaboration on an
unreported marine oomycete infecting green algae in Antarctica »

🔍 @purpest-eu.bsky.social got an incredible reception at the VIII National Meeting of Forest Health Inspectors! 🌲

Find out more at www.purpest.eu/news/viii-nm...

#Biosecurity #Forestry #PurPest

Phytophthora ramorum is an invasive generalist plant pathogen introduced to North America and Europe in the mid-1990s and is now established in forests and the nursery industry. It causes sudden oak death in the western US and sudden larch death in Western Europe, leading to extensive forest decline and mortality. While well studied in California and Oregon, no quantitative assessment exists for its potential economic impact on European forestry. We assessed the potential direct economic impact of P. ramorum on larch and beech in Europe under a “no-control” scenario. Climatically optimal areas for disease expression were derived using the CLIMEX niche model with refined parameter values, updated climate data, and P. ramorum occurrence records from symptomatic forest trees. These areas were overlaid with host distribution data to identify assets at risk. We then applied a radial range expansion model and a partial budgeting method to quantify annualized average damage costs. Our results indicate that 10 % of the study area is climatically optimal for disease expression. Within that area, 4 223 km² of larch and 2 577 km² of beech are at risk. Under worst-case spread and mortality assumptions, annual direct damage costs could exceed €117 million for larch and €130 million for beech. Countries such as the UK, Italy, Austria, and Germany face the highest risks, while potential impacts in Southern Europe are negligible. This study provides an updated risk assessment of the current post-invasion state of P. ramorum in Europe, facilitating informed decision-making and the development of appropriate management strategies.

Work of Stelios Kartakis on the framework of @purpest-eu.bsky.social project:

"Modeling disease expression of #Phytophthora ramorum to estimate potential #EconomicImpacts in #EuropeanForests"

doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

#ForestPathogen
#PlantBiosecurity
#InvasivePlantPathogen
#Oomycete

"Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another."

-Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Multiple factors associated with forest decline in the context of control measures for the pinewood nematode Forest decline is a complex process rarely attributable to a single cause. Nevertheless, when widespread tree mortality occurs, management responses often focus on one primary agent. Our recent study ...

🌲 New 'Behind the Paper' post: go.nature.com/4qdUiLb 🌲

🔍 Forest decline is rarely caused by a single factor, and our latest study reveals why adopting a holistic perspective is key to managing pine wilt disease effectively. 🪱

👉 doi.org/10.1007/s106...

#PineWiltDisease #PinewoodNematode

🔬 The University of Neuchâtel has started a new measurement campaign to test the improved Sensor System Prototype developed by Chromatotec.

Another step forward in developing innovative tools to detect plant stress and pest attacks!

👉 Read more: www.purpest.eu/news/ssp-eva...

PurPest at WTO - Science for safe trade YouTube video by PurPest EU

📰 @cerealpath.bsky.social recently participated in the WTO Committee Thematic Session on Science-Based Import Controls to Facilitate Safe Trade to talk about VOC-based early detection technologies. Read the news at www.purpest.eu/news/wto-sps...
▶️ Watch the video www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljsv...

"The lack is not in intelligence, which is in plentiful supply; rather, the scarce commodity is systematic training in critical thinking."

-Carl Sagan, Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science

🔬 New educational material available! 🌿

📘 Learn how Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy is transforming precision agriculture and supporting @purpest-eu.bsky.social's mission to develop innovative, real-time field diagnostic tools.

👉 Download the full material here: www.purpest.eu/reports-publ...

🚨 First detection of the pinewood nematode in France

👉 Learn more about how @purpest-eu.bsky.social aims to streamline detection through technological innovations: www.purpest.eu

The Stockholm Declaration | sciii-it.org The Stockholm Declaration

... and sign the Declaration here: sciii-it.org/stockholm-de...

A male pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) under the microscope (©EPPO).

Bad news for the French Pine forests! 😩

First outbreak of the #Pinewood #Nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on Maritime #Pine (Pinus pinaster) in the Landes de Gascogne Forest (Southwest France).

#PWN #ForestHealth #ForestPathology

agriculture.gouv.fr/sante-des-ve...

🌲 Our brand new paper, Multiple factors associated with forest decline in the context of control measures for the pinewood #nematode, has been published today in the 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺

🔓 Read in open access at doi.org/10.1007/s106...

🌲 At a workshop cohosted by Centro PINUS, Maria L. Inácio & Luís Bonifácio highlighted challenges in maritime pine forests and showed how PurPest can help detect the pinewood nematode early, crucial for sustainable forest management.

🔎 Find out more at www.purpest.eu/news/technic...

🌍🌱 Abstract submissions are OPEN!

Join the 12th IUFRO WP 7.02.09 Meeting: Phytophthora in Forests & Natural Ecosystems

📍 Grabouw, South Africa
📅 13–18 Sept 2026

⏳Submit your abstract by 24 March 2026

👉 iufro-sa2026.carlamani.com

#Phytophthora #Forests #ForestScience #ForestResearch

🌍 INIAV showcased the PurPest project at the European Researchers' Night.

🤝 The event also highlighted our collaboration with the @forsaid.eu project, joining forces to advance eco-friendly agroforestry and plant health strategies.

✨ Find out more at purpest.eu/news/ern-2025

Join us today, at 16h00 in the Plenary - RED ROOM:
Thomas Jung (Mendel University in Brno) "Urgent need for EU regulation and nursery accreditation schemes to prevent spread of introduced #InvasivePlantPathogens via #RestorationActivities."

#EuroGard2025 #EuroGard10

#Oomycetes #PlantBiosecurity

Ongoing
10° European Botanic Gardens Congress
Botanic Gardens in the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration
www.eurogard10.org
@fao.org
Botanic Gardens Conservation International
www.bgci.org
International Plant Sentinel Network
@ipsn-bgci.bsky.social
#EuroGard2025 #Biosecurity #PlantHealthMonitoring