THE 2020 Syngenta Australian Melon Conference and Field Day scheduled for later this month has been cancelled.
The event was set to take place in Western Australia from March 30 to April 1, but the industry was advised via e-mail on Saturday of the event's cancellation.
The Australian Melon Associaiton said it decided not to postpone the conference due to the practical nature of the event with 3200 metres of trial crops making it difficult to repeat at a later time.
However, in a move to gain value from the preparations already made for the conference, the AMA is planning on conducting webinars of the speaker's program in the near future and creating short videos of the variety trials at the farm site.
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These will be available to all melon growers and the supply chain.
In the advisory e-mail, AMA industry development manager, Dianne Fullelove, said the decision was made "with a great deal of sadness".
"As the corona virus (COVID-19) is now a declared pandemic which has spread around the world and we are seeing cases in the Australian community, there is a high level of uncertainty around travel and events and the situation changes daily," Ms Fullelove said.
"With these factors in mind, the Australian Melon Association has made a decision for the well-being of all involved.
"Hence, the 2020 Syngenta Australian Melon Conference & Field Day has been cancelled."
The AMA thanked the sponsors and exhibitors for their support of the industry.
All ticket holders will be refunded the cost of their registrations and have already received an email with a process to follow.
