WELCOME

I am very honored to welcome all of you in Padova for the 4^th International Symposium on 'Water Supply and Irrigation in the open and protected cutivation ', organized by the International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS) with the collaboration of Societa3 Qrticola Italiana (SOI), Ente de Sviluppo Agricolo del Veneto (ESAV) and Instituto di Coltivazioni Arboree of the University of Padova.

Many of us have attended the 3^rd Symposium held in Wageningen in 1981. Unfortunately the Convener of that Symposium, Prof. Bierhuizen, can not be with us since he died last year. I feel strongly today the need to remember his cordiality and capability.

I hope that the present Symposium will be as successful and pleasant as it was the previous one.

The rain we got last night after about 60 days of drought may be of good auspices for a Symposium on water supply and irrigation.

C. Giulivo

Convener


ADDRESS

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Collegues,

it is a great honor to welcome you at the 4^th International Symposium on 'Water Supply and Irrigation in the open and protected cultivation' on the behalf of the International Society for Horticultural Science, organized by our Working Group on Water supply and vegetable irrigation'.

The Symposium is considered as a joint meeting of Sections Vegatables, Ornamentals and Fruits and also of the Commission of Protected Cultivations.

To our 26 years old Society belong horticulturists of more than 80 Countries in the world, with the aim to promote studies, researches and any other activities which may stimulate and help the development of Horticultural Sciences.

The Symposia of the I.S.H.S. represent today the most important meetings that all the scientific world follows to achieve the research progresses in the four years time between our International Horticultural Congresses. As certainly you already know, the new one of such congresses of the Society will be held next year in Davis (California) and dwe hope to meet you again there.

Just to mention something more about the work of the I.S.H.S., I will outline the up to date number of the Society member that is now of 2,400 (with an increase of 650 in the last three years). Up to now, have been published 170 volumes of Acta Horticulturae; other 20 volumes are in progress.

The activity of our Working Group and Symposia are constantly increasing: only during this year (1985) these symposia will reach the record number of 30 all over the world. But the aims of the Society can be realized only with a joint effort of everybody interested in Horticulture and with a wider international cooperation. For such reasons we hope you will help in stimulate interested people to become member of the Society.

Let me take the opportunity to welcome you on the behalf of the 32 years old Italian Horticultural Society (S.O.I), which has the same aims and structure of the I.S.H.S. at our national level. Today the Italian Horticultural Society has more than 2000 members and represents not only the most important way to collect informations and ideas, but also to establish better human relationship between people who works in the same field.

The Italian Horticultural Society has now the honor to organize the 23^rd International Horticultural Congress that will be held in Florence in 1990, where we hope again to meet all of you and where your items on irrigation of horticultural crops can be emphasized, perhaps through a new enlarged Working Group.

On the behalf of the I.S.H.S. as well as of the S.O.I. , let me now express the best thanks to all the people that have cooperated to realize this Symposium: The University of Padova and the Agency for the agricultural develepment in the Veneto region.

But I want to thank above all prof. Giulivo and all the members of the organization Committee for the nice work done.

I am sure you will have here an useful scientific meeting, but I wich to you also a pleasant stay in our Country and particularly in this fascinating town of Padova. Thank you.

F. Scaramuzzi
Vice-President of International Society for Horticultural Science
President of the Italian Horticultural Society.


ADDRESS

It is a pleasure for me to be here at the 4^th International Symposium on 'Water Supply and irrigation in the open and protected cultivation' and to extend to you the welcome of the Fruit Section of the Italian Horticultural Society.

It is an honour for both our Society and the Veneto Agricultural Development Agency to have been selected by the I.S.H.S. as host of the Symposium, a great deal of the merit for which is due Prof. C. Giulivo, director of the institute of Pomology at the illustrious and time-hallowed University of Padua.

Italy has hosted many conferences, seminars and Symposia in these fields during the last decade. Let me mention just two in passing: the Conference on Fruit Tree Irrigation, held in Bologna in 1979 and organized by Prof. C. Giulivo and the First International Symposium on Water Relations in Fruit Crops held in Pisa last year and convened by Prof. F. Loreti.

A few brief remarks are also in order on protected crops, a theme emphasized by the tittle of the Symposium. Italy has recently established such cultivations mainly in its southern regions, where the climatic conditions are more favourable to the production of vegetables, flowers, ornamental nurseries and fruits out of season. Today we are second only to Japan, and ahead of the United States, in this type of farming with 24,000 total hectars, of which 15,000 are green-houses and 9,000 tunnels, 85% of the total represents vegetable crops.

I am sure that your work during the next 3 days will result in significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge and to an improvement in international cooperation between institutions and scientists. Let me close by adding my personal wishes for the success of the proceedings.

S. Sansavini
President of the Fruit Section of the Italian Horticultural
Society