Keynote Speakers

Thierry AMEGLIO

 

Thierry Améglio (INRAE PIAF, Clermont-Ferrand, France) is a senior scientist of the AgroEcoSystem Department at INRAE (French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment). He is an ecophysiologist focusing on water relation and winter biology of trees, urban forestry and smart cities, and on biosensors for tree growth and tree vitality. He has published more than 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals and produced 2 licences to knowledge (Xyl’em: a device for measuring the rate of gas embolism in tree branches and petioles. e-PepiPIAF: a wireless, autonomous and connected system for monitoring and assessing the growth and vitality of trees (resistance to drought and frost, etc.) which measures, memorizes and remotely transmits micro-variations in organ diameter (sensitivity below the micron) and air temperature to the point of measurement, without disrupting its operation

Most of these papers on water functioning and winter biology have focused on walnut tree.

Conference time: Wednesday June 14, in the morning

Catherine BAROS

 

Catherine Baros is responsible for consumer studies at CTIFL. Combining expertise in marketing, sociology and economics, she is specialized in food consumption analysis. In CTIFL, she carries out qualitative and quantitative studies on fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption among French consumers: perception, purchase pattern, knowledge of production methods, and their readiness/willingness to pay for 0 herbicides / organic products, labels … She studies their behavior, in the kitchen, at home and out of home, and takes part in European projects such as Horizon Europe project “Good”. She also co-leads a working group devoted on Food Transition within the framework of the RMT Filarmoni (mixed technological network) bringing together animal and plant sectors, technical institutes and academic partners.

TOPIC: Trends in food consumption, particularly fruit and vegetables, since the health crisis (2020) and in the face of climate change: perception of supply, expectations, purchasing and consumption behavior

Tuesday June 13, in the afternoon

Pat J. BROWN

 

Pat J. Brown is a tree nut breeder and Associate Professor in the Dept. of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, where he leads the Walnut Improvement Program and the Pistachio Improvement Program. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Biology from Cornell University in 2008, completed a postdoc at Cornell from 2008-2010, and advanced from Assistant to Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in the Dept. of Crop Sciences from 2010-2017 before coming to UC Davis. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on integrating genomic and phenomic data into applied plant breeding programs. Target traits in both walnut and pistachio include precocity, kernel quality and composition, and modifying phenology and abiotic stress tolerance to improve resilience to climate change.

TOPIC : Plant Material, Genetics

Wednesday June 14, in the morning

Florent P. TROUILLAS

 

Florent Trouillas is an Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension with the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis and the Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. He received a PhD in Plant Pathology in 2009 from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Trouillas specializes in fruit and nut crop pathology and his activities include basic and applied research that aims to elucidate the etiology and biology of plant diseases, and develop Integrated Pest Management strategies. He has established a broad research program that investigates canker, soil borne as well as fruit and foliar diseases of almond, cherry, olive, peach, pistachio, and walnut. His research investigates fungal and bacterial taxonomy, phylogenomic, the molecular detection of plant pathogens as well as the development of biocontrol solutions and cultural alternatives to chemical fungicides. His cooperative extension and education activities include the training of farmers and pest control advisers on disease diagnosis and management. He also serves as a lecturer for various specialized courses in Plant Pathology.

TOPIC : Emerging Diseases Related to Climate Change

Thursday June 15, in the morning

Daniel WIPF

 

Daniel Wipf is a professor at the University of Burgundy in Dijon. He leads the Mycorrhizae team of the Agroecology Unit (INRAE). His research group has a recognized expertise in the study of the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. It has focused on the early cellular processes involved in the fungal host recognition mechanisms as well as on the nutrient transfer mechanisms at the biotrophic interface. The team is and has been involved in several national and international projects related to molecular genetics, agricultural relevance and functional genomics of plant-microbe interactions.

Daniel Wipf has published more than 70 papers. He has a long experience in collaborative projects: he has been coordinator or partner of several academic projects in Germany and France (German Science Foundation (DFG), French Ministry of Research, Regional Council of Burgundy, COST, DAAD, PROCOPE…), as well as projects in collaboration with industrial partners (ANRT, ANVAR, OSEO, Regional Council of Burgundy Franche Comté). Daniel Wipf is an expert for several national and international structures.

TOPIC : Organic Agriculture, Agroforestry, Other Productions

Tuesday June 13, in the morning