CNR-IPSP contribution to the TAIEX program – an expert mission on Xylella detection in Belgrade
Within the framework of the EC TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange) program, CNR-IPSP made its scientific contribution to delivering practical training on detection of Xylella fastidiosa with the application of the Real-Time PCR technique.
Following a request from the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection-Plant Protection Directorate, an expert mission on this task was organised by the DG Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations in the National Reference Laboratory of Batajnica, Belgrade.
The training sessions related to Xylella fastidiosa were held by Dr. Massimiliano Morelli, a member of CNR-IPSP research staff between May 15 and 19. Dr. Massimiliano Morelli provided the relevant beneficiary’s staff with the implementation of the current validated protocols for detection of Xylella fastidiosa and its quantification by Real-Time PCR.
The expert mission was organised by Dr. Jelena Jankovic, an advisor of the Department for Plant Health and Quarantine for the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, with the scientific collaboration of Dr. Tatjana Popović, a senior research fellow at the Belgrade Institute for Plant Protection and Environment (IZBIS).
The training, attended by researchers from the Institute for Plant Protection and Environment, the Institute of Pesticides and Environmental Protection and the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, was aimed to raise an awareness of the importance of timely and accurate detection as the basis for country’s protection from the introduction and spread of quarantine harmful organisms.
Photo Courtesy of Svetlana Milijasevic-Marcic, Institute of Pesticides and Environmental Protection, Belgrade.
