Abstracts and Presentations at APPS 2025

You arrive with field notes, culture results and a question from your crop or bush block, and you wonder how an abstract becomes a talk. The New Zealand Plant Protection Society model gives first-time speakers one clear route: you flag yourself when you submit the abstract, you present orally at the annual conference, and a small panel judges that talk on content, clarity, timing and delivery.

The details cited in this entry were checked on emerging speaker award details.

What the first talk feels like in the room

Giving your first-ever conference talk can feel daunting, and that feeling is normal when you face pathologists, agronomists, biosecurity staff and students in the same row. You know your trial or survey better than anyone, yet you must explain it in a few minutes to people who work on other hosts and other pathogens. The Society answers that pressure with encouragement rather than extra paperwork. It invites emerging speakers to take part in the annual conference, and it offers a special prize for the best oral presentation by a first-time speaker, so your debut carries a purpose beyond getting through the slides.

Who the emerging speaker prize is for

The prize is for you if you have never spoken orally at the conference before and you are ready to present your own work aloud. It does not reward posters or co-authorship at a distance. It rewards a person who stands up, explains methods and findings, and responds to the room. If you study leaf spots on wheat, dieback in native trees, fruit rots after rain, or weeds that host viruses, the entry point stays the same. You come as a newcomer with an oral presentation, and the Society treats that step as worth recognising in its own category. Speaker line-up and themes show the range of topics where such debut talks find an audience.

How you flag yourself at abstract stage

You do not apply later with a separate form or letter. If you wish to be considered for the emerging speaker award, you tick the appropriate box when you submit your abstract for the next conference of the Society. That tick matters because it tells organisers to place you in the judged group and to schedule your talk where judges can attend. Think before you submit whether your work suits an oral slot, whether you will be available to present in person, and whether you are truly speaking for the first time. Once the box is ticked, your job shifts from paperwork to preparation of a tight, honest talk.

What do the three judges actually watch for?

Emerging speaker presentations are assessed by a panel of three judges from the Executive Committee. Three pairs of eyes reduce the influence of personal taste and let the group compare talks across sessions. The judges use a set of criteria that covers scientific validity and content, clarity and organisation of the content presented, timekeeping, and delivery style. You can use that list as your rehearsal checklist. Ask yourself if each slide earns its place, if your story runs in order, if you finish on time, and if your voice helps people follow you.

Why scientific validity comes first

Scientific validity and content mean your question, method, result, and interpretation hold together for a plant protection audience. You should state why you looked at that disease, how you sampled or tested, what you found, and what you cannot yet claim. A student who tracked rust pustules across two sowing dates, an extension officer who compared hygiene steps between orchards, or a diagnostician who checked a culture against a herbarium reference all face the same test. The New Zealand Plant Protection Society page does not publish abstract word counts, deadlines, or poster sizes for APPS 2025. What it does publish is the expectation that content stays sound even when time is short.

How can you keep clarity and structure tight?

Clarity and organisation of the content presented mean a listener can follow you without reading the paper first. You help yourself by naming the host and symptom early, by showing one idea per slide, and by linking each result to the question you opened with. Use plain titles on slides, speak the Latin name once, then keep it consistent, and explain an abbreviation for growers and students who do not use it daily. Judges notice when your introduction sets up the method, when your method explains the graph, and when your closing returns to disease management rather than drifting to unrelated work. For a sense of how sessions link hosts, pathogens, and management, look at the program at a glance and picture where your story would sit.

What timekeeping looks like from the chair

Timekeeping is not politeness alone. It keeps the session fair for the next speaker, and it shows you can select what matters. You should rehearse with a timer, mark where you must be at the halfway point, and cut a backup slide rather than rush the conclusion. If questions follow the talk, finish your main message before the bell so the chair can manage discussion without cutting your findings. Judges see many talks in a row, so a speaker who opens cleanly, moves steadily, and closes on time stands out. Practice aloud in front of lab mates, note where you speed up, and leave breath for the names of chemicals, cultivars, or collection sites.

How is delivery style judged without acting?

Delivery style does not mean theatre. It means you face the room, you speak clearly, and you guide attention to evidence rather than to yourself. You can look at listeners, not only at the screen, and you can point to the lesion, the spore print, or the map that proves your point. You can admit uncertainty where data stop and explain what you would sample next season. To understand the standard in plain terms, read the emerging speaker award details alongside your draft and check each criterion against one of your slides. That one comparison often reveals a crowded figure, a missing method line, or a conclusion that runs too long.

What happens after the last session

The winner is announced at the end of the conference and presented with a prize. The announcement closes the meeting with names and faces rather than only data, which helps students and new staff feel seen by the Society. Details of the winner will be published on the Society's website and in the September newsletter, so your department, grower group, or herbarium team can read the result after you return home. If your name is not called, you still leave with judged feedback habits you can reuse for the next abstract, the next talk, and the next field season. Tick the box at submission, prepare a valid and clear talk, keep to time, and let the room hear what you found.