"Jan Ritzema Bos" Prize
The Jan Ritzema Bosprize is the prize for clearly explaining a PhD research in the field of plant health and thus making it accessible to a wide audience. The prize is awarded by the Royal Netherlands Society of Plant Pathology (KNPV).
JRB Prize 2025
The KNPV invites PhD candidates to explain their research in the field of plant health and crop protection in an accessible way in a short summary. Three of all entries will be nominated (announcement on 15 Oktober 2025). They will be allowed to present their research during the KNPV autumn meeting on 20 November 2025 in Wageningen. The winner will also be chosen on that occasion. The Jan Ritzema Bosprijs not only includes a sum of money, but the three selected summaries will also be published in the KNPV journal Gewasbescherming.
For whom?
Young researchers, affiliated with a Dutch university, who will have obtained their PhD in 2024 or expect to complete their PhD research in 2025. The subject of the PhD is in the field of plant health in the broadest sense of the word and can include both fundamental and practical research. It can therefore also concern topics related to the sustainability or ecologization of agriculture.
What do we ask?
- A summary of a (nearly) completed PhD research in the field of plant diseases, plant health and crop protection. In max. 450 words (English or Dutch) you describe in an understandable way what you have done and what the relevance of your research is.
- An overview of the associated scientific publications
- Submit by 15 September 2025 by sending an email to secretaris@knpv.org
- Be available on 20 November 2025 to give an Dutch- or English-language presentation
What does the prize entail?
- Honors and a certificate
- The opportunity to give a presentation
- A cash prize (€1500 for the winner, €750 for numbers 2 and 3)
- Publication of the summary of the research in the journal Gewasbescherming
Criteria (in random order) that are taken into account in the assessment:
- Clear wording and explanation of the research
- Potential impact on cultivation practice / applicability
- Possibilities for scaling up
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Degree of innovation and renewal
- Social relevance
Jan Ritzema Bos
Jan Ritzema Bos (1850-1928) is one of the founders of the KNPV in 1891. He was chairman of this plant pathology association for many years. As editor of the Tijdschrift over Plantenziekten (later the European Journal of Plant Pathology) he wrote hundreds of articles in the journal. He was also director of the Phytopathological Laboratory Willie Commelin Scholten in Amsterdam and director of the Plant Pathology Service. He was a professor at the University of Amsterdam and later in Wageningen. Ritzema Bos is considered the founder of plant pathology in the Netherlands and is honored for this by being awarded this prize.
KNPV
The KNPV aims to promote cooperation between research, education, information, policy and industry in the field of plant diseases, pests and weeds. It does this by organising meetings, sponsoring projects and publishing the journal Gewasbescherming since 1970. The association increasingly focuses on knowledge exchange with society and the social debate.
Former winners
In 2023 the Prize was awarded to Els van de Zande.
Prize winners JRB>>
Regulations
You can view the Regulations (NL/EN) 2025 here.