S03

Fruit Production Systems for Sustainable and Resilient Development

The European Fruit Production sector is in recent years under serious threats: climate change, (unfair) competition from other continents, manpower crisis, big number of new untested cultivars, high pressure of new pests and diseases, reduction of plant protection molecules, uneven playing field between fruit growers and big retail chains, etc.

Scientists from all the Continent, nurserymen, farmers and other representatives of the fruit sector are invited to discuss and to propose solutions for the future orchards of Europe. Special features of the new fruit production systems as cultivar/rootstock relations, biodiversity, tree efficiency, water and nutrition management, sustainability, digitalization, decision support systems, mechanization and robotics will be taken in consideration. 

Main topics

  • Tomorrow’s fruit tree – nursery production for future orchards
  • New canopies and planting systems between design and production challenges 
  • Fruit tree physiology: the key for new technologies development
  • Water and nutrition for sustainable fruit production
  • Living mulch and alternative solutions for soil management 
  • Protected fruit growing and agrivoltaics
  • Precision cultivation methods and decision support systems
  • New pests and diseases and the resilience of future fruit systems 
  • Pre-harvest factors affecting post-harvest crop performance

For abstract submission, an active ISHS membership is needed (https://www.ishs.org/members).
If you are not yet an ISHS member and want to pay the membership within the Congress fee (https://ehc.usamv.ro/congress-participant/) – (Non ISHS members, including ACTA), you can ask for a voucher to secretariat@ehc.usamv.ro. Your membership will be active and you can submit the abstracts.
For more information/details please contact secretariat@ehc.usamv.ro

Conveners
Luca Corelli Grappadelli

Chair of the ISHS Division Temperate Tree Fruits
Full Professor at University of Bologna - Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences.
Head of the Ecophysiology Lab in the DISTAL.
Areas of Work: Fruit tree ecophysiology; Tree light relations; Fruit vascular flows and growth physiology; Sensor development; Precision Orchard Management, Pre-harvest factors impacting post-harvest quality and storage disorders. Convener or SC member of 14 international and 6 national symposia/conferences.

Florin Stănică

Prof. Florin Stănică is Vice-Rector of the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest,
Corresponding member of the Romanian Academy, Section Agricultural and Forestry Sciences.
Member of the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, and Vice President of the Section Horticulture.
He is Professor of Pomology at the Bucharest Faculty of Horticulture, expert on Fruit Growing technologies including planting systems, canopy and organic orchard management. Prof. Stănică is senior researcher on new fruit species, breeder of kiwifruit, jujube, pawpaw, peach and apricot.
Since 2006, he is the Romanian representative in the European Fruit Research Institutes Network Board and used to be EUFRIN Secretary and President.
Prof. Florin Stănică is the Chairman of Peach Working Group within the International Society for Horticultural Science and the Romanian representative in the ISHS Council.
He is the president of the European Horticulture Congress 2024, that will be held in Bucharest.

Mekjell Meland

Mekjell Meland is a Research Professor in fruit crop physiology working at Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) . He received his MSc (1979) and PhD (1982) from University of Life Science, Norway. He is located at NIBIO Ullensvang, western Norway. Previously he was both research director and head at this site. The areas of expertise are tree fruit physiology - crop production of apple, pear sweet cherry and plum. Main focus is on pollination and fruit set, mineral nutrition, high tunnels production, genetic resources and fruit quality. He has given about 110 oral or poster presentations at international meetings, attended symposia or professional visits to 35 countries and given about 160 lectures at national meetings. In totally 15 times he was invited as a speaker to universities in Europe, USA, Chile, South Africa and Australia. During his career he completed three research stays abroad (sabbaticals): University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany (2008-2009), The Horticulture and Food Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd, (2000 – 2001) and Cornell University (1988 – 1989). The total number of publications is 430- 102 in international peer reviewed scientific journals, 110 meeting abstracts, 215 publications in grower’s journals and reports. h-index: 15. Main scientific collaborators are University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Chemistry.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE

Andreas Naef (Switzerland); Audrius Sasnauskas (Lithuania); Ayzin B. Küden (Turkiye); Boris Duralija (Croatia); Brunella Morandi (Italy); Christina Oliveira (Portugal); Cristos Xiloyannis (Italy); Dany Bylemans (Belgium); Davide Neri (Italy); Dragan Milatovic (Serbia); Dragan Radivojevic (Serbia); Florin Stănică (Romania); Franco Famiani (Italy); Franziska Zavagli (France); Ignasi Iglesias (Spain); Karoly Hrotko (Hungary); Leonhard Steinbauer (Austria); Luca Corelli Grappadelli (Italy); Lukas Bertshinger (Switzerland); Marcel Wenneker (Netherlands); Mekjell Meland (Norway); Michelle Williams (Danemark); Milica Fotiric (Serbia); Miljan Cvetkovic (Bosnia and Hercegovina); Olimpia Iordănescu (Romania); Richard Colgan (United Kingdom); Sergiu Popa (Republic of Moldova); Sezai Ercisli (Turkiye); Tiziano Caruso (Italy); Zviad Bobokashvili (Georgia)

Program S06

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