CALVIN QUALSET Director, Genetic Resources Conservation Program "Public-Sector Approaches to Assuring Performance and Safety of Pest Resistant Cultivars" Since the dawn of agriculture, there has been concern over the possibility of introducing weedy plants and plant diseases along with desirable crops into a new environment. As a result, governments have established formal plant inspection services; and researchers, growers and processors have developed informal systems for evaluating the safety of new plants. Now that plants and microorganisms can be modified simply by transferring a gene, new environmental safety questions are raised. Qualset will stress the need for the informal oversight process to be evaluated, strengthened and coordinated with formal, governmental monitoring. He will call for the oversight process to be based on the gene product, rather than on the genetic process. Symposium: "Preparing for a New Century of Pest Management With Genes" Date and time: Saturday, Feb. 14, 3 p.m.