France
July 6, 2023

The ISHG congress conferences were held at the Angers Convention Centre

The congress International Herbage Seed Group (IHSG) congress took place in Angers on 11-18 June. It brought together 150 participants (scientists, breeders, research and technical institutes, seed multiplication farmers) from 14 different countries to discuss 4 major themes around forage and turf seed production: (i) adaptation to climate change, (ii) alternatives to pesticides, (iii) harvest and post-harvest optimisation and (iv) production competitiveness in the face of cost inflation. 

Visit of tall fescue VCUS trial at Anjouère experimental station.
 

The congress included conferences, poster sessions and technical visits, two of which were organised by GEVES:

• Around 30 international visitors were able to visit the GEVES-SNES laboratories: physical tests, including micro-cleaning, purity and counting tests and imaging; germination tests, in particular germination capacity, vigour and viability; and seed health, with explanations of variety resistance, health quality and the development of pathosystems to evaluate alternative treatments.
• At the same time, around 70 visitors visited the GEVES testing station at l'Anjouère, where a large number of  field trials for Distinctness-Uniformity-Stability (DUS), Value for Cultivation, Use and Sustainability (VCUS) and Varietal Control (CV) testing are carried out. After a general presentation of GEVES, visitors were shown DUS and VCUS trials on forage plants. The visit finished with a tour of the experimental equipment.

Many thanks to all the visitors for their keen interest and our fruitful discussions during these visits.

Website: http://www.ihsg.org

Published: July 6, 2023