GEVES attends ISHI Annual Meeting

GEVES experts participated in the annual ISHI (International Seed Health Initiative) members’ meeting, held in Sapporo, Japan, from June 16 to 22, 2025.

This important international technical committee of the International Seed Federation (ISF) aims to create and harmonize methods for the detection of pathogens transmitted by vegetable seeds. More than 60 experts from seed companies and testing agencies from 18 different countries participated.

For GEVES, the Pathology Laboratory and the Detection Pole participate in and coordinate projects within ISHI to contribute and guide the development of seed health analysis methods. ISHI also establishes guidelines and best practices for the development of these detection methods.

During this 2025 edition, in-depth discussions focused on the integration of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) methods for pathogen detection. A comprehensive review of the guidelines for validating new methods was also finalized, with proposed adjustments to better frame the evaluation of each performance criterion. Several specific projects were presented on pathogen detection in tomato, pepper, cabbage, and carrot seeds, confirming the group’s commitment to expanding and refining protocols according to target species and pathosystems.

In 2026, the ISHI annual meeting will be held in Montpellier, France, in October.

Discover previously published ISHI methods for pathogen detection via the link: ISHI Methods – International Seed Federation