1st Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) Lucerne, Switzerland October 23rd-24th, 2006

The 1^st Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM-Lucerne 2006) was held at the KKL Culture and Convention Center Lucerne, Switzerland on October 23rd-24th 2006. With the sponsorship of the European Commission, the meeting was organised by the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA) and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). ABIM-Lucerne provides an annual meeting place specifically adapted to the needs of the biocontrol industry.

During the two days of the conference, over 200 delegates representing more than 170 companies and organisations presented their activities and discussed new products and trends in the market. The vast majority of company representatives stated that they were highly satisfied with the outcome (scientific quality of presentations and business opportunities) of the conference.

In the scientific programme, 38 presentations covered the latest developments in market development, regulatory affairs and novel products for plant protection. In addition to the presentation, information was at display in stands and posters.

23rd of October 2006

From - To	Programme
09.00 - 13.00 Congress Foyer Auditorium Foyer	Setting up stands and posters
13.00 - 13.30 Auditorium	Welcome (Chair: Lucius Tamm) Michel Guillon (President IBMA): Objectives of IBMA and ABIM Lucius Tamm (FiBL): Welcome on behalf of the organising committee Fabio Cerutti (BLW): New evidence on the contribution of Swiss agriculture to the viability of rural areas Heinrich Hebeisen (Canton Lucerne): Biocontrol in a Swiss canton: the case of Lucerne
13.30 - 14.30 Auditorium	Plenary session 1 (Chair: Michel Guillon) New developments in regulation and policy development Fabio Cerutti (BLW): Regulation of beneficial Insects and biocontrol agents in Switzerland Wolfgang Reinert (DG SANCO). The new regulation on plant protection products in the EU Ulf Heilig (IBMA): Public relations in regulatory affairs for IBMA Michael Braverman (Rudgers Univ.): IR-4 and international biopesticide registrations for speciality crop agriculture
Coffee break Congress Foyer
15.00 - 16.00 Auditorium	Plenary session 2 (Chair: Bernard Blum) New market developments Johann Züblin (Migros): EurepGAP and biocontrol Simeon Chenev (DG Enterprise): The European Union Support programmes for SMEs Thomas Jaekel (GTZ): The GTZ project «Commercialisation of Biopesticides» Reinhard Behrens (SOFI): Instruments for facilitating investments Stephane Delautre-Drouillon: Contribution and proposals for the promotion of the distribution of biopesticides
16.00 - 17.00 Auditorium	Plenary session 3 (chair: Richard Great Rex) Macrobials Arne Peters (e-nema): The position of entomopathogenic nematodes in the biological control market Tiziana Irdani (CRA): Cryopreservation of nematode specimens avoiding liquid nitrogen Karel Bolckmans (Koppert): Amblyseius swirskii Firouz Kabiri (Biotop): Commercial development of beneficials for outdoor utilization in France: examples with Trichogramma, ladybirds Milan Hluchy (Biocont): Effect of Trichoplus on the cotton bollworm (H. armigera)
17.30 - 19.30 Auditorium	Annual General Assembly Meeting of IBMA
Aperitif Congress Foyer

24th of October 2006

From - To	Programme
08.30 - 09.30 Auditorium	Plenary session 4 (Chair: Guido Sterk) Microbials Daniel Zingg (Andermatt BIOCONTROL): Baculovirus products of Andermatt BIOCONTROL AG Roberto Kron-Morelli (Agrifutur): MELOCONT and GRANMET, two new fungal pest control products produced by Agrifutur Peter Lüth (Prophyta): The new biological nematicide BioAct, its production, application and efficacy Stefan Kunz (Bio-Protect): Aureobasidium pullulans – an effective yeast for biocontrol Don Edgecomb (AgraQuest): Serenade (Bacillus subtilis, strain QST 713): Use in integrated pest management
Coffee break Congress Foyer
10.00 - 12.00 Auditorium	Plenary session 5 (Chair: Hubertus Kleeberg) Botanicals, natural substances and semiochemicals Georges Magnier (AgriPlantes): Pyrethrum production in France: experience, status and perspectives Richard Meadow (BIOFORSK): ECOguard: a garlic-based insecticide for the control of root flies in brassica Olivier Klarzynski (Goëmar): Stimulation of natural defenses: agrowing technique for plant protection against diseases Hubertus Kleeberg (Trifolio-M): Successful marketing of NeemAzal- T/S for the biological control of insect pests Quassia-extract-MD – a new botanical with interesting pestcontrol properties Willem Ravensberg (Koppert): A novel, natural anti-microbial product for use as an agricultural bactericide and fungicide Mac McCreless (ACM-Texas): Effectiveness of unique nonhazardous desiccant powder Vittorio Veronelli (CBC): Pheromones present and future Eric Doye (PheromonTest): A reliable field test for development and registration of mating disruption techniques
Lunch Break
13.30 - 15.00 Club Rooms 3-6	Parallel sessions: Meetings of national IBMA-organisations Club Room 4: IBMA Italy (Chair: Roberto Kron-Morelli) Club Room 3: IBMA UK (Chair: Melvyn Fidgett) Club Room 5: IBMA France (Chair: Jean Parat) Club Room 6: IVB Germany (Chair: Hubertus Kleeberg)
Auditorium	Sustaining the long term efficacy of Cydia pomonella granulovirus (CpGV) products: European research to overcome CpGV resistance (Chair: Annegret Schmitt) Jürg Huber (BBA): History and new developments of CpGV Johannes Jehle (DLR): Research on CpGV resistance in Germany and in the European project “SustainCpGV” Antoine Bonhomme (NPP SAS; Arysta Life Science): Research on CpGV resistance in France Daniel Zingg (Andermatt BIOCONTROL): CpGV resistance research at Andermatt BIOCONTROL AG; Development and results of MADEX Plus Jutta Kienzle: Field results from Germany Edith Ladurner (Intrachem Bio Italia): Field results from Italy
15.30 – 18.30 Auditorium	Workshop REBECA (Chair: Ulf Heilig) Ralf-Udo Ehlers: The policy support action REBECA