Dr. Enrico Biancardi graduated in agronomy at the University of Bologna. At the Istituto Sperimentale per le Colture Industriali (formerly Stazione Sperimentale di Bieticoltura, Rovigo), he was devoted to, among other things, improving the processing quality of sugar beet in relation to the nitrogen content of the soil. Since 1977, his activity has been directed towards the breeding of resistances to cercospora leaf spot and, above all, to rhizomania. Selecting within the germplasm stored in the Institute, including hybrids made with Beta maritima collected along the Mediterranean coasts, several male-sterile lines and varieties have been developed, released, and utilized commercially. A significant part of the activity on Beta maritima was carried out in collaboration with the USDA-ARS Stations. He has authored and edited books, chapters, and around 150 publications. Retired in 2009, he currently collaborates with some American, English, and Italian breeders. "Tetsuo Tamada was born in Hokkaido in 1941, is a graduate of Yamagata University, and obtained a PhD from Hokkaido University. He joined the Hokkaido Central Agricultural Experiment Station from 1964-1995 and was visiting scientist at the James Hutton Institute (formerly Scottish Crop Research Institute), UK, for 18 months (1979-1980). He accepted a position as Professor of Institute of Plant Science and Resources (formerly Research Institute for Bioresources), Okayama University from 1995-2007 and has been a Special Adviser of Agricultural Research Institute, Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, since 2013. His research interests include plant pathology, virology, and molecular biology. Prof. Tamada has published over 150 research papers and reviews on the topic of plant viruses".