EWRS Workshop 'Advances and Challenges in IAP and Weed Management: Ethical and Economic Perspectives'

Organized by EWRS WG 'Invasive Alien Plants'

Nitra, Slovakia, 21st to 23rd of May 2026

The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra and the EWRS „Invasive Alien Plants“ Working Group are organizing a 3-day Workshop (21-23 May 2026) in Nitra, Slovakia. The Workshop will bring together researchers and professionals from around the world working on IAP, weed management and related disciplines, as well as social scientists and economists, including students and early-career scientists.

Invasive alien plants (IAP) are an increasing global problem and they present a serious threat to agricultural production, natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Many IAP establish themselves as weeds in a wide range of habitats, including arable land, pastures, aquatic ecosystems and natural environments. Their impacts are expected to become even more pronounced under ongoing climate change.

This Workshop will focus on newly emerging weeds and IAP, with particular emphasis on their economic implications and ethical aspects related to their management. While the economic impacts of IAP have been addressed in several studies, ethical considerations in weed science and IAP management have received comparatively little attention.

The aim of the Workshop is to provide a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas among researchers working on IAP, weed management, and related disciplines. We hope that, in addition to weed scientists, social scientists and economists will also participate in the Workshop.

We would also like to emphasize that the EWRS membership is not required to participate in Working Group activities.

We look forward to welcoming you to Nitra and to another productive and inspiring meeting of our Working Group. 

The Workshop will focus on the following topics: 

  1. Newly emerging weeds
  2. Ecology and biology of IAP
  3. Management strategies for IAP
  4. Ethical aspects of weed science and IAP management
  5. Economic impacts of IAP and weeds
  6. Novel technologies for IAP and weed monitoring and management
  7. Other relevant issues 

Venue

The Workshop will take place at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia) in Main Building, Conference Room (under the Aula). 

DOWNLOAD here the complete FIRST CIRCULAR

Organizers

Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection, Çanakkale, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Bojan Konstantinović, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Novi Sad, Serbia
Dr. Monika Tóthová, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Institute of Agrochemistry and Soil Science, Nitra, Slovakia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Tóth, bioTomal Ltd., Rúbaň, Slovakia
MSc Tijana Stojanović, Teaching Assistant (Secretary), University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Environmental and Plant Protection, Novi Sad, Serbia

Local Coordinators

Dr. Monika Tóthová
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra,
Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources,
Institute of Agrochemistry and Soil Science,
Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2,
949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Email: monika.tothova@uniag.sk

Accommodation

To ensure a comfortable stay during the Workshop, we encourage all participants to secure their accommodation as early as possible. Several hotels are available near the conference venue, offering options for different budgets and preferences. Please use the appropriate booking code (SPU, where stated) when making your reservation to access the agreed workshop rates.
Please note that some rooms are only guaranteed for bookings made before the stated deadlines. After these dates, room availability cannot be guaranteed. If no deadline is indicated, room availability depends on the hotel's current capacity.

Please also note that a popular Slovak music group will be performing in Nitra on 23 May 2026. Since this event is significantly increasing the demand for accommodation, we strongly recommend making your reservation as early as possible.

Hotel City***
Single room – 70 EUR/night
Double room – 80 EUR/night
Room reservation: reception@city-hotel.sk https://www.city-hotel.sk/en/contact/
Deadline: 31/03/2026
Booking code: SPU

Hotel Capital****
Single room – 75 EUR/night
Double room – 85 EUR/night
Room reservation: hotelcapital@hotelcapital.sk,
Deadline: 31/03/2026
Booking code: SPU

Hotel Comfort****
Single room – 61 EUR/night
Double room – 68 or 72 EUR/night
(Hotel Comfort is located closest to the venue)
Room reservation: https://www.hotelcomfort.sk/eng/pricelist/

Hotel De LUXE****
Single room – 55 EUR/night
(only single rooms are available)
Room reservation: https://www.hoteldeluxe.sk/eng/pricelist/

Travelling to Nitra

By car:
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2,
949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
48°18'26.25''N, 18°05'35.33''E

More information on how to get to the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra can be found at the following link: https://www.uniag.sk/en/how-to-get-to-sua-in-nitra

Costs

Registration fee is €150. The registration fee will cover the costs for the welcome reception, lunches, coffee breaks, conference dinner and the field trip. It will not cover accommodation and travel expenses.
No registration fee is required for the accompanying person(s).
The payment method will be announced soon.

Travel grants for early-career scientists

Travel grants are offered for five young researchers (i.e. students and early-career scientists, all under 35 years of age), which will refund a part of their travel expenses.

Travel grants can be applied for by sending an email to Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uludağ (ahuludag@yahoo.com) and MSc Tijana Stojanović (tijana.stojanovic@polj.edu.rs) not later than 30 April 2026. Please make sure to receive the confirmation email regarding your travel grant application.

The maximum amount of the travel refund cannot exceed €800. If the applicant is not an EWRS-member, an amount equal to the yearly EWRS membership fee (€30 for students and €60 for regular members) will be deducted from the subsidy and the applicant will be enrolled in the EWRS for a year. The maximum number of subsidies to be awarded to one early-career scientist is three in total.

The email applications for the travel grant need to include the following:

  • the abstract (previously submitted through the EWRS abstract submission system),
  • a short motivational letter (not more than 1 page)
  • a brief curriculum vitae (not more than 1 page), including the applicant’s date of birth,
  • an estimate of the costs for the travel and accommodation.

Successful applicants will be informed about the allocation of the subsidy by the organizers in due time. The EWRS does not provide the subsidy in advance. The travel expenses will be reimbursed to the subsidiaries by bank transfer after their active participation in the Workshop. Further details on the reimbursements and declaration forms will be provided later on by the EWRS Treasurer.

Registration

Please make your registration on the EWRS website (in the “Events” section, within the Workshop announcement) not later than 15 May 2026.
If you are planning to submit an abstract, please upload the abstract using the Abstract Submission System on the EWRS website, given within the Workshop announcement in the “Events” section. When submitting the abstract, please ensure that all the fields are completed (title, abstract text, keywords, and acknowledgements, if applicable), that all authors’ details are provided, and that the abstract is uploaded as a .docx file. The abstract submission deadline is 30 April 2026. Please prepare your abstract using the provided abstract template.

Additional information

The meetings will take place from 8:00 to 18:00 each day.
The detailed programme and additional information will be announced at a later date.