Asia Pacific Conference 08...call for papers

With September quickly approaching, the organisers of IFPRA Asia Pacific Conference 2008 are now seeking applications for submission of papers for Congress Speakers.

To apply to have your paper accepted, please visit conference page to the contact details provided on the form.

For more information visit the official site.

Vth International Symposium on Horticultural Research, Training and Extension

The theme of the symposium will be Research Training and Extension in Horticultural Science: Staff, Student, Institution and Industry Partnerships in a Changing World. Accordingly, research papers, posters and case studies that address the following key issues will be most welcome:

• The impact of changing research training and extension pressures on environmental and production horticulture programs throughout the world?
• How might this impact be addressed?
• To deal effectively with issues of research training and extension in horticultural science, what will be the relevant skill set required for staff, students and industry into the next decade?
• How can we partner and market persuasive cases to sustain research training and extension in horticulture at education and training institutions in the future?

Contributions will be welcomed from academics, researchers, executives, consultants, government officers, graduate students and growers. All papers will be subject to a blind peer review and the papers that are accepted will be published in a special edition of ACTA HORTICULTURAE.

Visit the Official Vth International Symposium on Horticultural Research, Training and Extension Website

Multipurpose Sports Stadium

For those interested in multipurpose indoor sporting stadiums the new 63,400 seating capacity stadium built for the University of Phoenix has been designed with several very innovative features. It has a retractable roof and a retractable grass field. The stadium opened in August 2006 and it is the home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals who held their inaugural game on 8 December 2006.

Built at a cost of US$455 million, the exterior design resembles a barrel cactus. The interior has all the modern facilities expected with corporate suites, restaurants, high resolution video scoreboards and two massive thermometers to gauge crowd noise. The stadium is air conditioned and seating can be expanded to 73,000 for concerts and trade shows. The main feature is the level natural grass playing field growing in a steel tray that rolls in and out of the stadium as required for football and soccer games. The field remains outside the stadium in full sun avoiding humidity and shadow problems common with indoor grass fields.The field rests on 13 rail tracks and the roll out takes 75 minutes. When the field rolls into the stadium the outside space becomes a security car park for players and officials. There are 14,000 on site parking spaces and a further 12,000 spaces nearby.

Further information and a 3D video of the stadium can be found on www.uopstadium.com and photographs of the stadium in NFL mode are on the Cardinal's web site www.azcardinals.com.

9th International Conference on Alien Plant Invasions

The 9th International Conference on Alien Plant Invasions (EMAPi9), is in Perth on 17 - 21 September 2007.
Register online at www.congresswest.com.au/emapi9/.
Prior to the EMAPi9 conference, the Weeds Society of WA will hold the 2nd International Workshop on Weed Risk Assessment on September 14 - 15 2007

15th Australian Weeds Conference

The 15th Australian Weeds Conference, Managing Weeds in a Changing Climate, is at the Adelaide Convention Centre, 24 - 28 September 2006.
Register online at www.plevin.com.au/15AWC2006.

International Turf Grass July 2006 Newsletter

Welcome to the July 2006 issue of International Turfgrass. This is a quiet time for ITS; The Llandudno Research Conference is becoming a distant memory and it is still a year to go before the ITS mid-conference Board Meeting which marks the start of the serious business of organising the next quadrennial meeting in Santiago.

Click here to read full article

Planning a Holiday? Visit Cairns Queensland in 2011 for the IFPRA Asia Pacific Congress

IFPRA Asia Pacific Congress 2011 - Cairns Queensland Australia
Cairns in Australia's tropical north, is one of the world's most stunning locations, home to the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest.

Cairns, Queensland is the host city for the 2011 IFPRA Asia Pacific Regional Congress and is a city known the world over for its unique environmental treasures. An abundance of reef cruises, adventure tours and cultual attractions awaits for delegates to explorer.

More information will be posted on the IFPRA website at www.ifpraasiapacific.org

Research needed into green spaces and urban growth

Last year more than half of the world’s urban population, 3.17 billion out of 6.45 billion people, live in and around cities, with trends indicating that this could extend out to 5 billion people out of a total world population of 8.1 billion people by 2030. Approximately 75% of the North American and European populations and approximately 90% of the Australasian populations live in urban and surrounding peri-urban areas.
In addition approximately 44% of the world’s population, that constituent many of the Third World countries are currently living under similar circumstances. The impact that urban growth in our cities and surrounding areas and its effect on our natural green sapces will have social, economic, environmental and health impacts and worthy of research.