NEM-EMERGE meets in Istanbul for the 2nd Annual Meeting
From 9 to 11 February 2026, the NEM-EMERGE consortium held its 2nd Annual Meeting in Istanbul, hosted by Ondokuz Mayıs University. Nearly 50 partners came together for three days to present project progress, exchange ideas, and discuss upcoming activities and next steps.
As the project reaches its mid-stage, a substantial part of the planned work has already been completed. This includes extensive field sampling, the establishment of collections of virulent and avirulent nematode populations, the development of nematode identification toolkits, genetic analyses, and stakeholder surveys. These achievements were showcased during the meeting, highlighting both the scientific depth and the collaborative effort behind the results.
The scientific sessions sparked vivid and constructive discussions among partners, with several key topics emerging as hotspots for further research. These exchanges generated new ideas and directions that will help shape the project’s future activities and strengthen its scientific impact.
The meeting also underlined the complexity of the work carried out so far. Field sampling requires close collaboration with farmers to access agricultural land, while identifying genomic regions linked to nematode virulence or species differentiation demands highly controlled and sophisticated laboratory work. The collective efforts of all partners were clearly visible and widely acknowledged.
Throughout the discussions, partners consistently emphasised the importance of delivering results that are directly relevant to end users, particularly breeding companies and potato and tomato farmers. The project’s outcomes will support practical decision-making, from assessing the risk of tropical nematode invasion to identifying heat-stable resistant tomato lines and determining nematode virulence levels in the field.
