ISHS Acta Horticulturae 179: V International Symposium on Growth Regulators in Fruit Production
FOREWORD |
| Authors: | LOYD E. POWELL, C. Rizzoli, P. Dr. G. Bünemann | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abstract:
These Proceedings represent the scientific presentations of the Fifth International Symposium on Growth Regulators in Fruit Production. The Symposium was organized by Professor S. Sansavini, University of Bologna, under the auspices of the International Society for Horticultural Science. It was held 2–6 September, 1985, at the Novelli Convention Center in Rimini, Italy, with over 250 registered guests representing more than 32 countries. Special thanks and appreciation are due to Professor Sansavini and his many Italian colleagues who devoted countless hours and energy to make this Symposium the outstanding success that it was. Recognition must also be paid to Dr L.C. Luckwill who, once again, agreed to assume the demanding duties as editor of these Proceedings. My appreciation goes also to other members of the Organizing Committee who served in various capacities: J. Grauslund, F. Jaumien, H. Jonkers, J. Quinlan and A. Ramina. Dr Quinlan also serves as our new Secretary of the Working Group. In the name of the Scientific Committee I should like to mention the Italian Society for Horticultural Science (S.O.I.) for its invaluable co-operation, the University of Bologna for its warm hospitality and patronage, and particularly the National Research Council (CNR, Rome), the Emilia-Romagna Region (Bologna) and the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry of Forli, as well as I.C.I. for their all- important financial support. These proceedings reflect current interests with respect to growth regulators and fruit production. The term 'growth regulators' as used here is something of a misnomer, for in the minds of many, growth regulators are synthetic chemicals provided by chemical companies to regulate growth and processes associated with it. This working group does encompass this aspect of the discipline, but from its beginning it has also shown a strong interest in the more basic aspects of growth regulation, particularly as these are affected by the naturally occurring hormones. This is as it should be, for in the long run it is these two approaches - applied and basic working together - which are likely to result in the maximum return. If space permitted it might be instructive to summarize a number of the major trends taking place in this area. It does not. Let me comment on only two points. A major concern at this symposium, at least among U.S. workers, had to do with the possible loss of registration in the United States of the popular growth regulator, daminozide. Whether loss of registration is justified will not be argued here. It is the concept that is pertinent. It reflects a major problem facing the fruit industry. The use of growth regulators in fruit production has come under ever tighter scrutiny, and associated with this are the risks and very high development costs borne by the chemical companies which deal with these substances. It is difficult to predict where all this will end, but at the very least we can expect relatively fewer chemicals to find their way to the marketplace for use on fruit crops in the future. The growth inhibitor, paclobutrazol, was clearly the brightest star of the 'new' growth regulators at Rimini. An entire session was devoted to it. It is a remarkably effective inhibitor of shoot growth, gives real promise of great usefulness in tree management, and has caught the interest of researchers world-wide. It remains to be seen whether it can survive the pitfalls that beset the introduction and widespread use of any new chemical these days. Our next symposium in this series will be held in 1988 at Penticton, British Columbia in western Canada.
Dr Norman Looney will serve as the chairman of the local organizing committee.
Professor Sansavini is the new general chairman of this Working Group. It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you on behalf of the University of Bologna and extend to you my personal wishes for success during the forthcoming 5th International Symposium on Growth Regulators in Fruit Production. It is an honour for us to have you as our guests and a privilege to be able to show you the efforts undertaken in, and the importance attached to, this field of endeavour here at the University of Bologna. The research staff of the Institute of Pomology and Tree Sciences and of the Fruit Growing Technique Centre of the CNR, together with the Institute of Botany, have been working on growth regulators and applied plant physiology for over 15 years, acquiring a wide-ranging, in-depth experience. On this first official day of the Symposium, we shall be very pleased to host your visit later this morning to the field trials and laboratories at the Pomology's Experimental Station at Cadriano, including tissue culture, micropropagation, carbohydrate and hormone extraction and metering, and radioactive isotope studies. The complete list of activities and details of the work as well as the bibliography of the published research papers in English are to be found in the folders carefully prepared by the director, Prof. Silviero Sansavini. A special display of more than 100 fruit varieties has also been expressly arranged for you. Before concluding my remarks, permit me a few words on the University and its traditions. In fact 1988 will mark the 900th anniversary of the founding charter of the Stadium, as the University was originally known. The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences is, on the other hand, a bit younger, having been established in 1802, although prior to this date different subjects in the agricultural curriculum were taught under Botany. The first professor to occupy the chair of agriculture was the illustrious Filippo Re, who held his classes here in the historic Palazzina della Viola, today used as the main Faculty hall. The beautiful Renaissance building constructed in the 1400s by the ruling Bentivoglio Family and adorned with magnificient frescoes by famous court artists of the day, including Prospero Fontana whose work decorates the main wall. The early 1800s also witnessed the inception of the Horticultural Gardens, a part of which was later to become the Botanical Garden. In 1900 the Faculty attained the status of Higher School of Agriculture and in 1935 received the statutes conferring upon it the legal recognition as the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Bologna. Let me but reiterate our warmest welcome to you and the hope that your stay will be pleasant and your proceedings successful. It is a great honor to welcome you on behalf of the International Society for Horticultural Science to the International Symposium "Growth regulators in fruit production" organized by our Working Group. As already pointed out, the Symposium has been organized in cooperation with the Fruit Section of the Italian Horticultural Society (S.O.I.). The I.S.H.S. Symposia represent the most important scientific meetings of the kind today, throwing into relief the research progress in the four-year span between conferences. As you certainly already know, the next one will be held in August 1986 in Davis (California). Horticulturists from more than 80 Countries are members of our 26-year-old society, the aim of which is to promote studies, research and any other activities which may stimulate the development of the Horticultural Sciences. Just to mention something more about the work of the I.S.H.S., let me underscore that the number of Society members is now 2,400, (an increase of 650 in the last three years), and that 170 volumes of Acta Horticulturae, with another 20 volumes in progress, have been published to date. The activity of our Working Groups and Symposia is constantly increasing. This year (1985) alone, a record 30 Symposia are being held worldwide. But the aims of the Society can be realized only through greater international cooperation. We hope you will help in stimulating those who are interested in becoming Society members, as this is the best way not only to collect information and ideas, but also to establish better human relationships among people in the same field. The Italian Horticultural Society has been accorded the honor of organizing the 23rd International Horticultural Congress to be held in Florence in 1990, where we again hope to see all of you. On behalf of the I.S.H.S., as well as of the S.O.I., let me now express my warmest thanks to all the people who have cooperated to make this Symposium possible: the University of Bologna, the Italian National Research Council, the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry of Forli. But I want to thank above all the convener, Prof. Sansavini, the very active President of the S.O.I.'s Fruit Section and all the members of the Organizing Committee for their fine work and warm hospitality. I am sure your efforts will bring success to the Symposium and I hope you enjoy a pleasant stay in our country, particularly in the charming city of Rimini. The opening address of the Fruit Section Chairman will not only contain a word of satisfaction, but also the expression of gratitude for the achievements of ISHS members in general and the Fruit Section members with the Working Group members in particular. An impressive programme has been shaped from the papers submitted, and both the Organising Committee and, in particular, the local Scientific Committee are to be applauded in deep gratitude for having provided the forum for the presentation of over 160 contributions on growth regulators in fruit production. The distribution of international representation is of interest at any such meetings, but the statistics are difficult to present with great accuracy. Let me try nevertheless to present some very rough statistics on the active participation from five continents according to the provisional list of titles. Because of geographical proximity, of course, Western Europe contributes 80 and Eastern Europe 18 papers. There are 27 presentations from North America, 17 from the Near East and 9 from Australia and New Zealand combined. The Far East appeared on the provisional programme with 5 papers and Latin America with 4, viz. from Mexico, Cuba and Brazil. It is a pity that the African continent - except some Egyptian contributions listed under 'Near East' - is represented with only two papers, and it is in the interest of ISHS (and perhaps of FAO too) to improve this situation. Growth regulators in plants have been known for over 50 years and there are a great many applications nowadays, either for promotion or reduction of growth, for root initiation, for shaping trees in a certain manner, for enhancing fruit maturity, and many more.
Let us look at some early 'milestone' from a compilation published in 1970 by Dr S.H. Wittwer and marvel at the tremendous progress which has been made in the last 15 years:-
The mere titles of these papers indicate some of the directions growth regulator research and application has t aken: but now, every one of us may listen to papers and view posters at the present convention and wonder wheth er "he's got the whole world in his hands" with the help of these compounds which ar e extracted from lower or higher plants or which are synthesized by the chemical industry. We must accept that growth regulator application is based mainly on an array of empirical knowledge and that its effectiveness often depends on factors beyond the control of man. Nevertheless we must continually strive towards improvement in our knowledge of chances, risks, interactions and, not to be forgotten, any possible side effects. May this convention be fruitful in the two senses of th e word but, above all, successful in promoting the spirit of international scientific exchange and cooperation. Thank you all, our dear Italian hosts, for a well-prepared meeting, which I hereby declare open. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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