jaudall:get-to-work dept.:Monday August 13, 2007 12:19AM

Submission by lilia tan habacon

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Vegetable Breeders(Cameroon,Mali, Madagascar,Tanzania)

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is a non-profit, autonomous international agricultural
research center with headquarters in Taiwan and regional offices around the globe. AVRDC
conducts research and development programs that contribute to improved incomes and
diets in the developing world. AVRDC is seeking experienced vegetable breeders for its pan-
African program on Vegetable Breeding and Seed Systems for Poverty Reduction in Africa,
which will:

• establish four national units for vegetable breeding, breeding support, and seed
production in four countries (Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali and Tanzania), as well
as seed health and marketing in South Africa
• build vegetable seed system capacity in those countries as well as in their
neighboring countries
• network the national vegetable breeding programs, private African seed
companies and vegetable seed supply systems
• promote increased and sustainable vegetable production, marketing and
consumption in these countries

Key Responsibilities
The vegetable breeders will support the program\'s national breeding unit (NBU) in Cameroon, Mali, madagascar and Tanzania to develop and release new vegetable varieties. With the country Liaison Officer and Project Manager, the vegetable breeders will prioritize crops and breeding objectives for each crop, and design efficient breeding strategies. Priority will be given to varietal development of tomato, chili pepper, sweet pepper, onion, cabbage, and locally important indigenous vegetables. Activities will include establishment of infrastructure, procurement of equipment and supplies, staff training, and design of plant breeding protocols.
The vegetable breeders will collaborate closely with staff of the NBU, AVRDC staff at the
Regional Center for Africa in Tanzania, the Sub-Regional Office in Mali, and AVRDC’s
headquarters. S/he will also develop cooperative linkages with contract seed producers,
NARS regulatory personnel, and seed distribution channels. Frequent travel within country
and to neighboring countries to monitor program activities is expected.

Qualifications and Experience
• Postgraduate degree in horticulture, agriculture, plant breeding, or related discipline
• At least 5 years experience in applied plant breeding
• An understanding of African farming systems, and public and private sector seed
systems, especially in developing countries
• Work experience in sub-Saharan Africa or developing countries
• Strong communication skills in spoken and written English, working knowledge of
French
• Ability to perform effectively and efficiently in a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural
environment

Terms of Appointment: The incumbents will be based in either Cameroon, Mali, Madagascar or Tanzania. The initial appointment is for two years with possibility of annual re-appointments. Salary and perquisites are commensurate with qualifications and experience, and are comparable with those of other international agricultural research centers.

Application: Submit a letter of application, Curriculum Vitae, with names and contact
addresses (phone number and e-mail) of three referees. Send to: Ms. Lilia Tan Habacon,
HR Manager , AVRDC, P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan 74199, Taiwan; e-mail:
lilia.tanhabacon@netra.avrdc.org.tw; fax: 886-6-583-0009.

Closing Date: The closing date for application is 15 July 2007, or until the position is filled.

AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center is the principal international research center dedicated to vegetable research and development. Its mission is to improve nutrition and reduce poverty in the developing world through
improved production, quality, processing, marketing and consumption of safe vegetables. For more information on AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center, please go to our website:.

jaudall:get-to-work dept.:Monday August 13, 2007 12:19AM

Submission by Margie Way

Driscoll's is looking for a plant breeder to work in Mexico. www.driscolls.com

JOB SUMMARY: Lead a research program focused on the trialing of strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry varieties in Central Mexico and developing production systems to maximize their consumer attributes and horticultural traits. Work with Driscoll’s US based plant breeders for strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry and be responsible for introduction and testing of advanced selections and new varieties of those crops. Coordinate the testing of new varieties in locations outside of their original area of development. Work with Driscoll’s US based plant breeders to develop crossing strategies and testing strategies to better leverage these efforts into Central Mexico. Work with Driscoll’s US based Production Researchers, Plant Pathologists and Entomologists on projects to optimize grower profitability and fruit quality in all our crops. Manage the propagation of test varieties in cooperation with the Nursery Department. Travel frequently to research locations throughout Mexico and the United States of America. Occasional travel to Europe, Australia and South America will also be required.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS: Doctor of Philosophy degree in horticultural science or related discipline with emphasis on Plant Breeding and Genetics and a strong background in Plant Physiology and crop manipulation. A minimum five years work experience. Demonstrated ability to conduct innovative research and develop practical solutions to problems facing growers. Strong organizational and planning skills. Demonstrated ability to communicate both orally and in writing in Spanish and English. Ability to be adaptable and flexible in a fast paced continuously changing multi-cultural work environment. Experience in utilizing information technologies, which include email, word processing and spreadsheets. Dependable and reliable with good interpersonal skills.

Send resumes to resumes@driscolls.com or margiew@surfnetusa.com

jaudall:get-to-work dept.:Wednesday May 2, 2007 12:51AM

Submission by Josh

The Centro Genómica Nutricional Agro Acuícola (CGNA) at IX Region, Chile is seeking a highly motivated and creative individuals to join our Research Group.
Position Purposes:
• Perform research at the Centro Genómica Nutricional Agro Acuícola (CGNA) at IX Region, Chile (Agro aquaculture Nutritional Genomic Center, IX Region, Chile).
• Position is located in Temuco City, Southern Chile, IX Region.
• The appointee will conduct research, consulting and professional activities.
• The appointee will interact regularly, with other CGNA staff; also with peers from universities and research centers (nationally and internationally); and with professionals working at the CGNA industry.
Principal accountabilities
• Put forward research projects regarding core CGNA businesses.
• Raise financing funds from local institutions, and from external resources, such as companies at the marketplace or the industry.
• Write and publish high-quality scientific papers and reports.
• Create useful knowledge concerning patenting purposes.
• Participate and promote local and international research networks in one or more of the following areas:
o Bioinformatics
o Bioprocessing and Technological transformation of products, Bio-Science related to processing and development of food and additive products.

See the entire job description in Spanish (followed by English) in this pdf file.

("Also filed under"):

jaudall:IP dept.:Monday February 5, 2007 10:57PM

Submission by Swaranjit Singh Cameotra

Lesser known IPR Protection of New Plant Varieties


- Swaranjit Singh Cameotra, MTCC & Gene Bank, An IDA, IMTECH, Chandigarh-160036, India

Like Patent, Copyright, Trademark and Industrial Design protection a special protection for new Plant varieties is available. This provision is lesser known by many people. The International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV) and the TRIPS Agreement provide this protection. The Act of UPOV Convention in 1991 gave this important protection to the plant breeders. The UPOV office is situated in Geneva and it coordinates the Protection of New Plant species. There is a debate in many countries that the plants developed do not satisfy the non-obvious requirement in a patent application system as existing techniques are used and the new breed is obvious. Therefore, a unique “sui generis” system is utilized for the Protection of New Plant Varieties. The TRIPS provides a protection for 25 years in case of trees and vines while the protection for other plants is 20 years. The main aim of this article is to create awareness in the less known area of Protection of New Plant Varieties.

jaudall:big-ticket dept.:Saturday July 8, 2006 12:06AM

The European Science Foundation, in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust, is organising the following conference:

ESF-Wellcome Trust Conference
Crop Genomics, Trait Analysis and Breeding
Co-Chairs: Michael Bevan (John Innes Centre, UK) & Robbie Waugh (Scottish Crop Research Institute, UK)
Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK, 8 - 11 November 2006
http://www.esf.org/conferences/lc06204

The conference poster is here
 
For a list of some of the speakers, click the 'More' link below.

jaudall:long-term-storage dept.:Friday January 13, 2006 09:16PM

The BBC and SciDev.net are reporting on a artic global seed bank. A Norwegian island in the Arctic Ocean will soon be playing a key role in safeguarding global food production in the event of war or natural disasters.

The Norwegian government is going to dig an artificial cave deep inside a frozen mountain, and equip it with ventilation equipment to keep the temperature inside at minus 10-20 degrees Celsius.

Though the BBC says it's on Spitsbergen and SciDev on Svalbard, it's the same place.

jaudall:popeye dept.:Wednesday January 11, 2006 12:37AM

Seed Quest has a news release regarding the spinach breeding program of Dr. Teddy Morelock at the University of Arkansas (UA) vegetable breeder. Morelock said he is growing about 400-500 different breeding lines of spinach in nurseries at the Vegetable Substation and the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville. His program has released 9 varieties of spinach. The latest releases were two varieties last December named Evergreen and F415. “Our spinach varieties are valued throughout the South for their resistance to white rust,” Morelock said. The fungal disease is common in southern states and can devastate a crop.

Other web-accessible write-ups are here, here and here (google).

jaudall:keep-the-doctor-away dept.:Friday January 6, 2006 12:33AM

Dr. Forsline is curator of ARS’s Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), located on Cornell University’s Geneva campus. And the genetic makeup of the trees he attends to may revolutionize the nation’s—and perhaps the world’s—apple industry.

These trees come from seeds and grafts Forsline and other researchers collected mostly during the 1990s in central Asia and Europe. Their material was gathered during seven expeditions sponsored by USDA and the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System aimed at expanding the known genetic diversity of apples. The full story can be read here: http://ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan06/apples0106.htm

jaudall:how-did-they-do-that?- dept.:Monday December 19, 2005 12:48PM

This summer we're hosting a workshop at The Institute for Genomic Research as part of our NSF funded Rice Genome Annotation Project. We are holding a week long workshop entitled "Workshop on Plant Genome Annotation Methods: Emphasis on the Rice Genome" on June 26-30, 2006 that is focused on providing training in annotation methods using the rice genome as the example genome. This is the third year for this workshop which is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. To get an idea of the content of the workshop, last year's lectures can be found here. If you are interested in attending this workshop or have someone in your group that you feel would benefit in attending, please see this web site

for more details on the workshop and the application process. The application deadline for international applicants is February 15, 2006 and March 15, 2006 for applicants within the US. Best regards, Robin C. Robin Buell, Ph. D. Associate Investigator The Institute for Genomic Research

jaudall:share-the-love dept.:Friday December 9, 2005 10:59PM

This is to announce that the Indian Society of Plant Breeders (ISPB) is hosting the Second National Plant Breeding Congress duriong 1-3 March, 2006 at Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, TamilNadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore INDIA. The theme of the Congress is "Plant Breeding in the Post Genomics Era".

For more details and registartion information. All plant breeders are welcome..