| Abstract |
The last BYD Newsletter (BYD-NL6) was sent in July 1997 to all the contributors and to most scientists from developing countries listed in the 1994 mailing list. A questionnaire on the future of the Newsletter and a subscription form were also included. The Newsletter was sent to 172 scientists or institutions and the questionnaire to 210 people. Publication of this newsletter was delayed by several months due to a few responses received by the deadline for subscription (31 Dec. 1997). By now, around 35 responses have been received, indicating a 15% reply rate. Continuation of the publication was favored in 95% of the cases. The majority of answers favored an annual publication, keeping the same format, with occasional publication of related articles in the areas of cereal aphid resistance, biology of cereal aphids and, possibly, other luteoviruses. Several scientists from the developing world also requested references on recent BYDV publications. In light of this questionnaire, the next issue of the BYD Newsletter will be published in one year, keeping in mind its informal nature. Whenever possible, extra information will be given on anything useful to BYDV researchers, such as tips and techniques, meetings, conferences, name of BYD researchers, etc. An informal review of BYDV publications printed the previous year will be added, but with no intention of being exhaustive. The review will be based on what appears in Current Contents, the AGRIS database and any papers I come across. My main concern about the future of the BYD Newsletter is the low number of written contributions submitted. As you no doubt noticed, BYD-NL7 is very thin. In 1998, only seven papers were received from scientists outside CIMMYT. This will greatly affect the quality of the present issue. I still believe that the Newsletter is a useful form of communication among scientists, especially in the developing world. I shall be grateful to anyone who contributes material for the next issue of the Newsletter. This could be in the form of country reports, recently published results, tips and any other subject that would contribute to the body of BYDV research, with a special focus on the developing world. Don't hesitate to promote the Newsletter, if you think it is useful. With the advent of the Internet, access to literature has been facilitated; however, there are still numerous places in the world where access to such tool is not easy, many of them being areas targeted by CIMMYT. However, if there is no interest in the Newsletter, we will have to stop its publication. Because of the small size of this issue, every subscriber to BYD-NL7 will receive the next issue free of charge. |
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