Call for Submissions (General & Student)
IMPORTANT DEADLINES
AUGUST 4, 2026 - Abstract submissions open
SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 (11:59 pm) - Final date for abstract submission
SEPTEMBER 28, 2026 - Notification of abstract decisions
OCTOBER 5, 2026 - Final date for presenters in all categories to register for conference and fill out OPMC Acceptance Form
OCTOBER 22, 2026 (11:59 pm) - Final date for graduate and undergraduate poster presenters to submit PDFs for judging
WEEK OF OCTOBER 26, 2026 - Poster competition judging
OCTOBER 29, 2026 (11:59 pm) - Final date for graduate oral presenters to submit PDFs for judging
NOVEMBER 3, 2026 - Ontario Pest Management Conference
NOTE OPMC deadlines are necessary to ensure timely preparation of the conference program and ensure judges have sufficient time for evaluation. Failure of general or student presenters to meet relevant deadlines could result in their removal from the program or affect scores for student competitors.
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The Ontario Pest Management Conference (OPMC) is held annually in the fall, featuring research on all aspects of pest management associated with plant, animal and human health. OPMC is soliciting abstracts for this year's conference in the following categories:
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General (Non-Competitive) Presentations
Researchers or others interested in submitting pest management related research that are not eligible or accepted for the student competition may submit to these categories on a first come, first serve basis.
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General Oral – One to two spots available (15 min length). Priority will be given to CropLife sponsors and presentations that fit the theme.
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General Posters – Approximately 6 spots available.
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Student Competition Presentations
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CropLife Ontario Council Graduate Student Oral: 6 spots (15 min length). Awards - 1st place $750, 2nd place $250
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CropLife Ontario Council Graduate Student Poster: 6 spots. Award - 1st place $750, 2nd place $250. Pre-judging prior to conference.
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C. Ron Harris Undergraduate Poster: (sponsored by OPMC) 4 spots. Award - 1st place $500. Pre-judging prior to conference.
Oral presentations must be 12 minutes in length + 3 minutes for questions and discussion, using PowerPoint format. Posters must be 4' (height) x 3' (width), portrait format. Poster authors should be present at their posters during the morning and afternoon breaks of the conference. All student posters will be judged virtually the week prior to the conference. Students must attend the 15-minute pre-judging session AND be present at their posters during the morning and afternoon breaks at the conference to qualify for an award. Student oral and poster competitors will be required to provide PDFs of their oral or poster presentations in advance of the conference – see IMPORTANT DEADLINES for dates.​​​​​
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​​​OPMC SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Entries for ALL categories must be submitted through the online portal. Entries for ALL categories must be received by 11:59 PM on Friday, September 18. Entries submitted before or after the submission period, or using any format other than the online portal will not be accepted.
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​​​​Please read the submission form in detail, including footnotes. Students must also review the Student Competition Eligibility & Criteria section below before submitting their abstracts. Additional instructions can be found in Abstract & Presentation Instructions on the OPMC website. Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words and should outline the results of your research as much as possible. If there is data that will be presented but is not complete at the time of submission, indicate this in the abstract. Submissions to the general (non-competitive) category do not need to fill out the “Additional Student Competition Information” section of the online portal.
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​​​Once you have finished your submission, you will receive a pop-up message on the website notifying you that your submission was successful. This is your only submission confirmation – you will not receive a confirmation email. Please email us at ontariopmc@gmail.com if you have questions or problems using the online portal. The OPMC will send acceptance decisions and further instructions (if applicable) to the email address you provided by September 28, 2026.
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​​STUDENT COMPETITION ELIGIBILITY & CRITERIA
General Eligibility
​To be considered for all competition categories, students must meet ALL of the following criteria.
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The student must:
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Be the principal investigator and presenter of the presentation or poster.
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Be presenting data from their own experiments. Literature reviews, research proposals or data generated by others will NOT be accepted.
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Be currently enrolled in an academic (degree or diploma) program or have graduated since last year's conference.
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Be presenting research from a Canadian university.
Students who have previously won in a particular category are not eligible to reenter in that category but can enter another category.
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Spots in the Graduate Oral Competition are reserved for students that have completed or nearly completed the research for their degree (at least 2 years of their own data - 2 field seasons or laboratory equivalent as a graduate student). Students not meeting this criteria should enter the Poster Competition.
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Please contact ontariopmc@gmail.com prior to submission if you are unsure whether you or your data are eligible.
Selection Criteria
Due to limited space, acceptance in the competition is not guaranteed. Selection will be based on ensuring a balance of disciplines and research programs, applicability to pest management, how advanced the student is in their graduate program, how closely the entrant followed the instructions, and, to a lesser degree, order of abstract submission.​​​​
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IMPORTANT NOTE Close adherence to all competition instructions and deadlines is a requirement of the competition. Five percent of a student’s overall score will be assigned by the committee based on their ability to meet deadlines and follow ALL competition instructions, including those outlined in the Abstract & Presentation Instructions on the OPMC website.
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Download Call for Submitted Oral and Poster Presentations