Dear Colleagues and Friends,

On behalf of the Scientific Committee of the 8^th International Conference of Bacterial Blight of Rice (ICBB08) and the Local Organizing Committee, I warmly invite you to attend the 8^th International Conference of Bacterial Blight of Rice to be held in Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, during June 11th-14th, 2026.

This prestigious conferences, organized every three years, is attended by leading researchers in the area of Xanthomonas oryzae, which remains a major constraint to rice production in the world despite many years of effort in understanding the disease and breeding for resistant cultivars. The latest developments in this field, both basic and applied, will be presented and discussed at the conference, with the aim of promoting international scientific exchanges and collaboration among us from different countries worldwide Our host, the Local Organizing Committee, supported by Shanghai Society for Plant Pathology, has set several exciting and challenging themes for the congress: Epidemiology, Population Biology, Pathogen Virulence, Molecular Xanthomonas-Host Interaction and Novel Strategies to Control Diseases. These topics promises to provide a broad platform for talks, posters, and discussions that consider the integral nature of plant health with human, animal and environmental health.

The Local Organizing Committee of the ICBB08 has been working hard to organize a scientifically preeminent conference program. In addition to a high quality science program at the conference, we will also provide you with an opportunity to experience China and Chinese culture. Shanghai is the largest city in China and is called the pearl of the orient. There are many famous scenic spots in Shanghai, like the Bund, the Oriental Pearl Tower and Yuyuan Garden, etc. I am sure that you will have amemorable experience attending ICBB08 in Shanghai.

Please accept my best wishes for a productive conference.

Yours sincerely,

Gongyou Chen
Chair of the organizing committee of ICBB08