Head of research unit Per Kudsk from the Department of Integrated Pest Management at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (DJF), University of Aarhus, has been appointed president of the European Weed Research Society (EWRS).

This follows automatically his election as vice-president of the society two years ago. Per Kudsk will be acting president from 1 January and for two years on, after which he will automatically be ”past president” for another two years.

It is the most natural thing in the world for Per Kudsk to be leading the European Weed Research Society since he can rightly be dubbed “weed enemy number one”. Since he attained his Master of Agricultural Science from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Copenhagen in 1983, he has worked actively with weed research with the aim of controlling weeds effectively and safely. In his weed research work Per Kudsk has not limited himself to Europe. He has also been on the job in Eritrea, China, South Africa, the Philippines, USA and Uganda.

Per Kudsk has been on the Board of EWRS for six years.

- The task of the Board is to create good working conditions for weed scientists in Europe. We organise workshops and support working groups and create platforms for common professional interests. With 13 working groups EWRS is a very active society. With its leadership of three of these work groups, DJF is quite prominent in the European weed landscape, says Per Kudsk.

As president of EWRS Per Kudsk hopes to stimulate interest in weed science and bring weed science higher up on the EU research agenda. He would like to see the interest for research in weeds gaining the same status as plant pests and diseases.

- I will focus on making weed research more visible with regard to EU grants. The use of herbicides to control weeds constitutes on average more than 50 percent of the total pesticide use in Europe. In Denmark, herbicides account for 60 percent of pesticide use. If we are to reduce the use of pesticides as a whole, then it is imperative that we know more about the biology of weeds and the conditions affecting weed growth and reproduction as well as weed susceptibility to alternative weed control methods – and that requires research, says Per Kudsk. Weeds also play an important role as food for birds, bees and other insects, thereby contributing to biodiversity.

Facts about European Weed Research Society (EWRS):

European Weed Research Society (EWRS) is a professional organisation for weed scientists from all over the world, with over 700 members from 75 different countries. Every second or third year EWRS holds an international symposium. EWRS also publishes the international journal Weed Research.

The website for European Weed Research Society is: www.ewrs.org

For more information please contact: Head of research unit Per Kudsk, Department of Integrated Pest Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, telephone: +45 8999 3582, e-mail: Per.Kudsk@agrsci.dk

Text: Janne Hansen