Forty-seven scientists from Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Guam, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the United Kingdom and the USA, participated in the “First International Workshop for the Morphological and Molecular Identification of the Stramenopiles: Phytophthora and Pythium” held 23–27 July 2004 at the Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, and organized by the Plant Pathogen Identification Laboratory. The five-day workshop was an opportunity for leading plant pathologists to learn advanced techniques from nine expert instructors from the US and abroad. In all, there were 25 hands-on, molecular and morphological laboratory sessions, in addition to a computer-assisted molecular identification session and demonstrations on the use of identification kits. As a result of continuing interest, plans are already underway for the second international workshop to be held during the summer 2006. For more information contact Gloria Abad (gloria_abad(at)ncsu.edu).

Participants at a Phytophthora morphological identification laboratory session.