IPP-CAAS and Professional Committee of Grape Diseases and Pests Management of China Society of Plant Protection, jointly organized the 12th National Symposium on the Technologies and Experiences of Grape Diseases and Pests Management in Kaifeng City, Henan Province, on 10-11 December, 2016. This Symposium focused on the theme of grape diseases and pests management and producing high quality grape and exchanged deeply. Mr. ZHANG Bujian, the Deputy Director General of IPP, and Mr. ZHAO Yulin, the Deputy Director General of Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute, CAAS, were present at the Symposium and delivered opening speeches.

In the opening speech, ZHANG Bujiang recalled the history of grape cultivation and modern achievement developed in China, and analyzed the impacts of the diseases and insect pests on grape production. ZHANG hoped that the research institutions and universities could take the opportunity of the national strategy on reducing application of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, research and develop more green technologies so as to support sustainable development of the grape industry, ensure the safety of agro-products, and improve the quality and farmer’s income.

The Symposium invited Academician QIAN Xuhong, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Prof. SHAO Zhenrun from National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, Prof. WANG Zhongyue, IPP-CAAS, Prof. MU Weisong, China Agricultural University, to make keynote presentations. Academician QIAN Xuhong briefly recalled the history of pesticides, introduced the background of green pesticide and the improvement and contribution of his team to nicotinic insecticides and activator of plant immunity. He demonstrated the contribution that pesticide had made to humans, expounded the relationship of pesticide with residue and food safety, explained the extreme complexity of pesticide innovation mechanism, illustrated the roadmap of China’s walking towards the international center of pesticide innovation, and demonstrated the idea of R&D and the achievement of new generation of green pesticide.

Prof. SHAO Zhenrun dissected the problems existed in the use of pesticides in China and put forward the suggestions of reducing the amount of pesticide applications and increasing the efficacy simultaneously. Prof. WANG Zhongyue classified and analyzed the R&D on grape diseases and pests management worldwide, introduced the control improvements and techniques researched and developed during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), and analyzed the challenges we were facing in near future and outline a framework about how to deal with and overcome these challenges. Prof. MU Weisong introduced the results of the survey on the status quo by her team and the analysis results by the survey about the trend of table grape and wine market. The results and the analysis provided the basic data and the evidence for smoothly docking of grape production with the market.

There were 26 special reports, technical reports and experience exchanges. There were also two parallel sessions in this Symposium. The two sessions were, respectively, Symposium of improvement & technologies on grape pest management and technologies for reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers in orchards and Technologies for grape production and varieties of table grape. Apart from these sessions, the Symposium organized four expert forums. The forums discussed issues in technologies on grape diseases and pests management and technologies for reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers in orchards, technologies for Production of high quality, Varieties of table grape, and Practice and experience for selling high quality grape. The issues discussed in the Forums were from a survey, in which the questionnaires reflected the technical problems arisen in the grape industry in 2016. The experts and the technicians shared their ideas and experiences with the participants, and the participants could approach the solutions about the technical problems from the ideas and the experiences.

Over 760 participants, including 99 experts from related research institutes and universities, 267 technicians from companies or farms for grape production in 26 provinces, and technicians from local technical service departments or farmer associations countrywide, attended the Symposium.