Today is International Day of Plant Health. A day to celebrate people and structures key to plant protection. Sick plants = sick people = sick planet. www.fao.org/plant-health...

Awesome aecia!

Truly scary and we all need to be alert to it.

Presented draft SEFARI Fellowship report on use of eDNA for environmental monitoring to CAMERAS board today in Edinburgh Botanics. Valuable feedback for final report plus a bonus chance to see 'good' Rhododendrons in bloom

📢Major milestone for eDNAqua-Plan! Key outcomes on standards, interoperability, workflows & policy integration of a future digital ecosystem for DNA-based biodiversity data are now available. 👉 ednaquaplan.com/results/deli... #DNA #Data #Biodiversity #eDNA #Policy @horizoneu.bsky.social

Fascinating thread on fungi & how their effectors shape not only their plant hosts but also the rest of the microbial community in the interaction. Fungi were here first and have been competing on and in plants for 100s millions of years. Wondering if oomycetes are included? Bravo

Was a pleasure to present to this group of forest stakeholders on Friday. A good discussion on Phytophthora risks and Plant Health Centre project. North Scotland Regional Meeting: 23rd April 2026 - Scottish Forest & Wood-based Industries – SFWI share.google/oDchzHl2KnFW...

In the context of #eDNA monitoring in Scotland I am just flagging this enthusiastic group who are meeting today and again in October. Connecting researchers and stakeholders to protect Scotland's freshwater Scottish Freshwater Group | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology www.ceh.ac.uk/scottish-fre...

#JohnMuirDay 21 April 2026 followed @johnmuirtrust.bsky.social advice & spent 21 minutes in Kingoodie wood/quarry listening & watching nature do its stuff. At least 15 species of birds sang around me, the sunshine the insects were active & broom flowering. Not forgetting microbes & lovely lichen

Fascinating news feature on @jlittlefair.bsky.social @profsicreer.bsky.social & many others. Insights, opportunities & challenges of air eDNA monitoring - not just spores and pollen but tigers too. The air is full of DNA — here’s what scientists are using it for www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Exciting position open @aarhusuniint.bsky.social: Professor in Epidemiology/Pathology for agricultural crop plants www.au.dk/om/stillinge...

If you manage a plant nursery or are interested in the prevention or management of devastating #Phytophthora spread then this is the seminar for you. @forestresearchuk.bsky.social @phytophthorarc.bsky.social

Nice article supporting @hutton.ac.uk #fightagainstblight Hutchinsons Morven Nimmo advice on dealing with new #Phytophthora infestans genotypes. Advice on effective late blight control in potatoes - Farmers Weekly share.google/jIybEa0DurI0...

Enjoying Wester Ross. Gairloch beach yesterday

The 2026 Crop Production in Northern Britain www.cpnb.org meeting in full flow Dundee. Two days of science on combination crops the potatoes. Many great presentations from @hutton.ac.uk Photo shows Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland David Kenyon

Yes indeed. Just watched episode three gain and laughed even more this time around. Between that and the, also cleverly written and beautifully acted, Dinosaur it has been a treat of BBC commissioned gems.

Getting close to 19 Feb abstract deadline. Expect this to a great meeting, as ever.

Thanks to Adam Clarke @farmersweeklyuk.bsky.social for reporting @hutton.ac.uk FAB first sampling of EU43 clone of #Phytophthora infestans in UK. Fungicide-resistant late blight strain detected in UK for first time - Farmers Weekly share.google/HJanHeYV5nB8...

England Wales 🏉. Comes to something when your aspirations fall to just scoring some points. Come on Wales! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Thanks to many for flagging this great study from @mfseidl.bsky.social group. Love the way they use pangenome analysis to get a grip on the messy evolution of effectors in #Peronospora effusa. Would it work with almost 3x larger #Phytophthora infestans genome? Hope so.

Snowdrops on the North Esk at Edzell plus a raging torrent that is hopefully not snow melt!

Looks a useful approach for analysis of more than one barcode PLUS an announcement of the expanded mtDNA rps10 gene database for oomycetes. Thanks @grunwald.bsky.social and team

Sounds an interesting exploration of #Phytophthora threats to Seagrass. Hope a good student applies and makes headway.

Another great Reith lecture on BBC R4 made me wonder if a moral-economic match-making of @rutgerbregman.com and @kateraworth.bsky.social would work out well? I reckon it would.

Significant new paper out from the Syngenta team. Guiding blight management. #Euroblight #Phytophthora New Mechanisms of Resistance to CAA and OSBPI Fungicides in Phytophthora infestans - Torriani - Plant Pathology - Wiley Online Library bsppjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Crossing a gloomy Forth Bridge en route to a more cheery British Potato event in Harrogate. Looking forward to speaking at Blight seminar organised by @gbpotato.bsky.social Also catching up with friends and colleagues in industry to support UK farming and 🥔 production.

Really encouraging results on management of Willow Carrot aphid on celery with Aphidius parasitoid wasps on 'banker' plants of barley that boost natural populations. Talk by Jude Bennison (ADAS, UK) at #AAB_IPPM meeting. Figure @waspwoman.bsky.social would like to hear such +ve wasp news.

Thanks for flagging this nice study by @hutton.ac.uk and other authors. Another trick up the sleeve of #Phytophthora to infect plant hosts

Woodpecker feast in Fife today

Indeed, thanks for flagging. Some interesting points on challenges of weather, prices and pests and how @hutton.ac.uk is helping. Not sure about the claim that PCN introduced to manage blight. Will check with my nematologist colleagues on Monday.

Ian Toth speaking at the www.planthealthcentre.scot annual conference on summary of the years activities. Thanking Gerry Sadler and welcoming David Kenyon as Chief Plant Health Officer for Scotland.

This needs more attention and traction. Endless unsustainable growth is not the answer for either people nor the planet. A focus on being 'better not bigger' should not hit profits if marketing is right.

It's that #potato harvest time of year again. Wishing the UK industry good yields and, more importantly, decent prices. At least the #lateblight pressure has been generally low in 2025.

Attention plant proteomics specialists: We are looking for a Head of our new Proteomics Unit at our international and dynamic Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology. @mpi-mp-potsdam.bsky.social Applications are welcome until 30. Sept 2025: jobs.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/jobposting/8...

A very welcome Scottish berry campaign supported by @hutton.ac.uk alongside releases of our blackberry, raspberry and blueberry varieties. Berry berry good. foodanddrink.scot/our-industry...

Pleased to publish a @phytopathology.bsky.social paper with West Bengal State University demonstrating seed tubers as source of #lateblight #phytophthora epidemics in the Indian plains. apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/epdf/10....

Interesting to see one of the other insect sampling suction towers. This one at @rothamsted.bsky.social Research

A @hutton.ac.uk blog shows our contribution to the meeting of the UK Defra 2025 Pesticides National Action Plan to keep Integrated Pest Management at the heart of UK crop production sefari.scot/blog/2025/05...

Great and challenging talk from Prof Bridget Emmett @ukceh.bsky.social on the urgent need to standardise soil sampling metrics. Lack of harmonisation impedes progress. Day 2 #UKDNAWG25

#UKDNAWG25 panel discussion thought provoking end to the day. @ukdnawg.bsky.social

Applications of eDNA in forensics and separation of mixed samples presented by Lorna Dawson of @hutton.ac.uk at #UKDNAWG25

Excited to be at @royalsociety.org for UK DNA Working Group meeting. First up hearing about RS eDNA report from Sarah Giles

What's in a name? Quite a lot! The consensus of our Phytophthora community just published @plantdisease.bsky.social Defending the Genus Phytophthora Proposed name change viewed as unjustified, scientifically incorrect and sowing confusion in all communities apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Pleased to see #Phytophthora #lateblight work from @hutton.ac.uk & @au.dk is getting attention in @wiley.com Plant Pathology #TopCitedArticle This problematic EU43 clonal lineage needs careful management. #Euroblight results for 2024 coming soon

📢 We're hiring! Become the Executive Officer at BSPP 🌿 🔹 Part-time (0.5 FTE) 🔹 Remote 🔹 £20–25K Lead on strategy, projects & plant science impact. Apply by 11 April 👉 buff.ly/Y9vJmYI #PlantPathology #RemoteJobs #ScienceCareers

Plz Repost. We @slcuplants.bsky.social @uniofcam.bsky.social are looking for a postdoc with proven protein biochemistry & cell biology expertise & strong interest in plant processes targeted by Phytophthora effectors. (apply before 2 April) [Image: Alex Guyon] www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50570/

The wilds of #Assynt, Scotland last week. Moody mountains and seascapes galore. A good unwind from the world of Phytophthora science.

Hi Skeeps, if you are in the London area and would like me to speak at your university or company, I will be in London on Thursday April 10 and Friday April 11. Looking for talks that can offer some travel/lodging reimbursement.

I know it's traditional to moan about British trains but credit where it's due. @lner.co.uk from Dundee went like clockwork, bang on time & very comfortable. York with it's town walls, Minster and Yorkshire beer always a pleasure.

Great new collaborative project 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 🇺🇸 Consider applying to this position in Alain Tissier’s lab at Leibniz Institute in Halle and join us to #FIGHTBLIGHT www.ipb-halle.de/en/career/jo...