PREFACE

Previous symposia has been held at Littlehampton, England (1964), Copenhagen, Denmark (1968), University of Maryland, USA (1972), Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands (1976), Bad Harzburg, Federal Republic of Germany (1980) and Cornell University, Ithaca, USA (1984).

The meeting was attended by 113 participants from 21 countries. Sixtythree papers were presented and included 16 invited lectures. The main topics discussed were: new viruses in ornamentals, viroid diseases, fastidious prokariotes, modern diagnosis techniques, vectors, epidemiology and ecology, evaluation of damage caused by viruses, control and resistance, biotechnologies. A new feature of the Sanremo symposium program was a panel session on practical aspects of virus diseases, dedicated to specialized breeders and growers.

An excursion was organized to visit the Hanbury Gardens at La Mortola, the collection of cacti and succulents at the firm Floricultura Pallanca at Bordighera and the firm A. Baratta at Santo Stefano al Mare, breeder and producer of virus-tested Mediterranean carnations.

A post-symposium tour in Central Italy was also organized, during which the firms Albani at Civitavecchia, specialist in geraniums, chrysanthemums and cacti; Floramiata at Piancastagnaio, specialized mainly in pot plants, and the CO.FLO.RO cooperative society at Cesena, specialized in "in vitro" culture of ornamentals, were visited.

Financial support, gratefully aknowledged, is listed on the following page. With the generous help of these sponsors, it was possible to keep the registration fee within reasonable limits, provide a fee for invited speakers, organize the excursion and the post-symposium tour and publish these Proceedings.

We wish also to recognize the contribution of our colleagues of the Istituto di Fitovirologia, in particular G. Dellavalle for her constant secretarial support, R.G. Milne for revising the English text of circulars and abstracts, G.P. Gaviani for the photos and other help, C. Perrone for preparing all material for postage, A. Appiano and P. Caciagli for handling the visual aids during the symposium, and M. d'Aquilio and M. Vecchiati for caring the reception desk.

A.A. Brunt was elected new chairperson of the ISHS Working Group on Virus Diseases of Ornamental Plants. Drs R. Koenig, A.A. Brunt and R.K. Horst, respectively, have served as chairperson, vice-chairperson and secretary since 1984. We thank them warmly for their services to our Working Group.

O. Lovisolo
V. Lisa