Green Plant Protection (GPP) is an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach to managing plant health by minimizing the use of synthetic pesticides and promoting ecological balance. Conventional pest control methods often rely on chemical pesticides, which, although effective, pose serious environmental and health risks. Over time, excessive pesticide use has led to soil degradation, water contamination, and a decline in biodiversity, particularly affecting beneficial organisms such as pollinators and natural predators of pests. In contrast, Green Plant Protection emphasizes alternative strategies such as biological control, plant resistance, and precision agriculture to ensure effective pest and disease management while safeguarding ecosystems. This approach integrates scientific advancements, agroecological practices, and technological innovations to create a resilient and sustainable agricultural system that addresses modern food production challenges without disturbing environmental integrity.
One of the core principles of Green Plant Protection is the reduction of chemical pesticide dependency. Instead, farmers and researchers are encouraged to adopt biopesticides, microbial solutions, and natural predators to control pest populations. Biopesticides derived from fungi, bacteria, and plant extracts target specific pests with minimal impact on non-target organisms. Additionally, genetic advancements such as RNA interference (RNAi) and CRISPR-based gene editing enable the development of pest-resistant crop varieties, reducing the need for external chemical inputs. Precision agriculture, which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI), remote sensing, and data-driven decision-making, further enhances the efficiency of pest and disease management, allowing for targeted interventions that reduce environmental contamination. By integrating these innovative strategies, GPP fosters a more balanced approach to plant protection, ensuring both productivity and ecological well-being.
The Green Plant Protection Workshop, jointly organized by the Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Guizhou University and Central China Normal University, serves as a platform for knowledge exchange and research collaboration in sustainable plant health management. This workshop brings together leading scientists, agricultural professionals, and policymakers to discuss the latest advancements in eco-friendly plant protection. Topics such as AI-driven plant protection, smart pesticide formulations, and climate-resilient crop protection strategies will be explored to provide practical solutions for modern agricultural challenges. By fostering dialogue and cooperation among experts, this initiative aims to advance sustainable pest and disease management practices while shaping policies that support long-term agricultural sustainability. The Green Plant Protection Workshop aspires to contribute to a more resilient and environmentally conscious agricultural future through education, research, and innovative technological applications.
Key Message
Prof. Linhong Jin
Linhong Jin, Professor at Guizhou University, scientist in the Guizhou modern agricultural industry technology system, specializes in agricultural pest control, particularly biological control (using natural enemies) for tea plantations and other crops. He has established pest control technology demonstration sites in over 30 counties across Guizhou province, making significant contributions to the green development of Guizhou’s tea industry. With more than 100 scientific publications and multiple invention patents, his research has been highly recognized by numerous national and provincial projects. His achievements have earned him numerous awards, including “Guizhou Province Outstanding Individual in the Tea Industry (2020)”, “Guizhou Province Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation (2021), National Advanced Collective for Poverty Alleviation, Team Leader (2021)” and “The Most Distinguished technologist (2022)”, etc.
Director International Collaboration on Green Plant Protection
Prof. Gefei Hao
Hao Gefei, PhD in pesticide science from Huazhong Normal University, is a professor and doctoral supervisor at Guizhou University specializing in pesticide informatics. Recognized as a national high-level talent, he has served as Chief Scientist for a National Key Research and Development Project Program and received numerous prestigious honors, including: 17th China Youth Science and Technology Award, National Hundred Outstanding Doctoral Dissertations (Plant Protection), “Golden Teacher” in Guizhou Province undergraduate colleges and universities, “Chu Tian Scholars Program”, “Chu Tian Scholars”, and has won the first prize of Guizhou Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award (ranked first). “He was awarded the First Prize of Guizhou Scientific and Technological Progress (ranked first), the Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress Award of Guizhou Province (ranked first), and the First Zhao Shanhuan Academician Scholarship Fund Outstanding Young Academic Award. Focusing on the key scientific issue of “the interaction between molecular target and lead structure, he has dedicated his career to fundamental and applied research in pesticide molecular design. He has led multiple national research projects, including: the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s top project, regional project, youth project, and Fok Ying Tung Young Teachers’ Fund project.
Resource Persons
Dr. Ming-Zhi ZHANG
Dr. Ming-Zhi ZHANG, professor at Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU), has been recognized in the “World Ranking of Top 2% Scientists” in 2023, made at the Stanford University, won the Grants4 Ag Award of Bayer Company in 2021, and won the Zhao Shanhuan Scholarship Fund Outstanding Young Academic Award in 2020. In 2019, he was awarded the “Zhong Shan Scholar” academic rookie of NAU. As first or corresponding author, he has published more than 30 research papers in the Med Res Rev, Eur J Med Chem, J Agric Food Chem, Pest Manage Sci, with more than 1800 citations. One of his papers has been recognized as a web of science highly cited paper. In 2017, he completed the second training course for Talents of International Organizations, held by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and was invited to participate in the 12th “China-Us Youth Science Forum” of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. He was awarded the Visiting Scholarship wholly sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline in 2013, and has served as a reviewer for the NSFC, and leading reviewer of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.
Dr. Xiaolei Zhu
Zhu Xiaolei, earned her PhD in pesticide science from Central China Normal University (CCNU), where currently serves as professor and doctoral supervisor of State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide in CCNU, with research interests in pesticide molecular design based on target. As for the main researcher, she has discovered two fungicide candidates targeting upon succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). In addition, she has received funding from a number of national projects, such as Key Research and Development Project and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Porf. Zhenyu Wang
Dr. Zhenyu Wang has over 5 years of teaching experience as a tenure-track Associate Professor at Central China Normal University, where he holds a position at the College of Chemistry in the Key Laboratory of Green Pesticides. In addition to his academic career, he has over 5 years of field experience as an Entomologist in China. His academic journey is marked by a strong foundation in molecular biology techniques, RNA interference, pest management, and crop protection. His research focuses on the evolution of insect resistance to chemical insecticides, with the goal of advancing novel pest management technologies for sustainable agriculture. Dr. Wang, as a key contributor, has successfully established a high-throughput screening technology system for pesticide bioactivity. Utilizing this system, he has invented one green insecticide molecule and three highly active insecticide candidate molecules. He has published multiple original research achievements in the fields of insect toxicology and green pesticide development. Dr. Wang is passionate about contributing to global agricultural innovations that balance crop protection with environmental sustainability.
Prof. Wang Qi
Prof. Wang Qi serves as a Distinguished Professor and Master’s Supervisor at the State Key Laboratory of Public Big Data, Guizhou University, with a dual Ph.D. in Engineering (China & Belgium). Specializing in computer vision and smart agriculture, he has published 32 SCI papers (IF>250), led 4 national/provincial projects, and holds 11 Chinese patents. Recognized for excellence (e.g., Guizhou Youth Tech Elite, National “Challenge Cup” Grand Prize mentor), he serves as a reviewer for top journals (TCYB, TMM) and a technical advisor for government big data platforms. His international collaboration portfolio includes a pivotal Belgium-China bilateral science project.
Dr. Wishwajith Kandegama
Dr. W.M.W.W. Kandegama is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, and working as a visiting professor at the State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Guizhou University, in China. Dr. Kandegama specializes in plant protection, Food safety, Biorationals application in agriculture, and horticulture crop production. He received Ph.D from Central China Normal University, Hubei, China, where he developed a Nanoformulation (Smart Control Released) as a novel pesticide target and claimed two patents. Dr. Kandegama has published in top-tier journals such as Agric. Food Chem., Journal of Hazardous Materials, Pharmacological Research. He is a specially invited reviewer for several internationally renowned journals. He is a key initiator of the International Collaboration between Sri Lanka and China in Green Plant Protection and serves as the secretary general.
Dr. Mahasen Ranatunga
Dr. Mahasen A B Ranatunga, Additional Director of the Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka currently serves as the Acting Director/ CEO of the institute with over 25 years of research career. He obtained his BSc in Agriculture Degree from University of Peradeniya in 2000 and joined as a Research Assistant to the Plant Breeding Division of the Institute in 2001. Later, he obtained his MSc in Biotechnology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India and PhD in Plant Sciences from the University of Peradeniya. Dr. Ranatunga started his career as a tea breeder and specialized research areas involve Molecular Biology, Genetic Resources Conservation and Mutation Breeding. He obtained his postdoctoral training from the National Food Research Institute, Japan, on the Use of NIR on Rapid Phenotyping. He has authored and Co co-authored 06 book chapters, over 35 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Ranatunga has supervised about 06 postgraduate students. He is a recipient of the Presidential Awards for Scientific Research and Excellence in National Agricultural Research Awards. He is currently serving as an Associate Editor of the Beverage Plant Research journal.
Dr. Lakmini Priyantha
Dr. Lakmini Priyantha is the Director Rice Research and Development Institute of the Department of Agriculture, bringing over 25 years of experience in agricultural research. She began her career as a Research Officer specializing in Plant Pathology and, since 2012, has expanded her expertise into Seed Pathology, Seed Technology, implementation of the Seed Act, and the promotion of Good Agricultural Practices (SLGAP) in Sri Lanka. In addition to her research and development work, Dr. Lakmini has significantly contributed to the dissemination of agricultural knowledge through various editorial roles. She has served on the editorial boards of the Tropical Agriculturist and the Annals of the Department of Agriculture, and has also held the position of Chief Editor for the Department of Agriculture’s Annual Report. Her dedication and achievements have earned her numerous national and international awards. Dr. Lakmini also serves as the National Coordinator for CABI in Sri Lanka. In this capacity, she plays a key role in coordinating national-level initiatives, strengthening partnerships between CABI and local stakeholders, and advancing efforts related to plant health, biosecurity, and sustainable agriculture throughout the country.
Dr. Surantha Salgadoe
Dr, Surantha is the current Head of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, Faculty of Agriculture and Plantation Management, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka. His passion is to lift the agricultural system to an advanced platform with precision agricultural techniques (Crop Remote sensing) to early identify crop problems, quantify crop performance and apply modern and sustainable agricultural practices. He is an experienced Researcher and Senior Lecturer with a demonstrated history of working (Australia & Sri Lanka) in higher education and research in developing & testing agriculture crop remote sensing applications for improved crop monitoring & performance measurement, production tracing, crop protection, yield forecasting and early crop signalling. He is well-experienced with a diverse range of skills in Remote Sensing, Image processing, Signal processing, multispectral, hyperspectral, thermal, Drone (UAV), Smartphone and Satellite technologies, Plant Protection, Plant Pathology, Crop Production, and Modern Agriculture.
With the representatives
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1. Prof. Zhibing Wu, Guizhou University, China
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2. Prof. Lingxu Li, Qingdao Agricultural University, China
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3. Prof. Yawen Dong, Guizhou University, China
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4. Prof. Dawei Wang, Central China Normal University, China
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5. Prof. Bo He, Nanjing Agricultural University, China
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6. Pan Liao, Assistant Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
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7. Dr. Da-Yong Peng, Associate Professor, Jiangxi Agricultural University, China
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8. Dr. Ibrahim Senosy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow，Guizhou University, China
