[Unpad.ac.id, 22/10/2013] The Indonesian Weed Science Association (HIGI), the Department of Agricultural Cultivation Faculty of Agriculture (Faperta) Unpad organized the 24th Asian Pacific Weed Science Society (APWSS) Conference on Tuesday (22/10) to Friday (25/10) at Grha Sanusi Hardjadinata Unpad, Bandung.
Prof., Dr. Steve Adkins from Australia is presenting material at the 24th Asian Pacific Weed Science Society (APWSS) Conference (Photo by: Tedi Yusup)*
Researchers and weed scientists from 17 countries in Asian Pacific continent met at the event. Prof. Dr. Denny Kurniadie the head of committee and also the chairperson of HIGI, said that the international seminar was held to discuss the role of weed science and its application to support the Food Security Program 2020 by the Indonesian government.
“It is triggered by the fact that our country still needs to import food, and to prevent it, it is important to support the program,” said Prof. Kurniadie. Thus, the seminar is held to discuss the possibilities of the role of weed science in supporting the program, not only for Indonesia, but also in countries in Asian Pacific region. “For example, in the rice cultivation, weed science contributes in around 30 percent of the improvement of rice production,” he added.
The seminar includes 4 sub-themes, which are sustainable weed management in the Asian-Pacific region, Weed solutions for the Asian-Pacific region, Threats and risks of weed invasion and spread in the Asian-Pacific region, and Economics of weed control in the Asian-Pacific region. There are 90 papers and 55 posters presented in the seminar. Those papers, according to Prof. Denny, are the results of researches in the application of weed science for supporting food security. The best papers will be published in a scientific journal in Pakistan.
Prof. Dr. Steve Adkins from University of Queensland Australia was present as the keynote speaker, along with several invited speakers from a number of Asian Pacific countries. Prof. Kurniadie expressed his wish that the event is not only to support food security, but also to promote Unpad internationally.
