CLOSING PLENARY SESSION AND ADDRESS

As Chairman of the final session and also in my capacity as the chairman of the Working Group "Apricot Culture and Apricot Decline" of ISHS I would like to present some concluding remarks.

The presence of more than 180 of which 45 from abroad researchers and specialized from 18 countries all over the world and their 106 reports, lectures and posters presented on the 8 sessions gave a comprehensive survey of apricot culture. At the present time attend from 13 countries. The discussion during the last three days of the strenous and, we would say, very successful work of the Symposium, enabled us to draw far reaching conclusions with of a great help in our further work.

We have heard many excellent scientific reports and seen posters on numerous apricot problems. Our present knowledge indicates that we have made a tremendous progress in apricot studies especially in the field of breeding and selections and rootstocks, pathology, biology, physiology, ecology, propagation, rootstocks, system of planting, orchard management, packaging, storage, processing, economics and marketing.

Today, we have a wider perspective on the apricot problem, recognizing the problems as in the case of other fruit species. Of course, we still need a better knowledge about of the regularity of apricot production, year by year, under various climatic conditions. We must enrich our knowledge about the genotypes apricot cultivars and rootstocks. To know everything about them from all scientific fields: biology, genetics, breeding, pomology, physiology, pathology, ecology, technology, bio-chemistry, agrotechnology, processing, drying, storage, marketing and economy..

What should our objective be?

Allow me to suggest the following:

1. To produce virus free apricot plant materials, specially relate to Sharka virus;
2. To continue with exploration, collecting, conservation and exchange apricot accessions, within the local indigenous, old cvs, primitive cultivated landrace as well as the exotic apricot cultivars in the aim to protect them from the gene erosion and to use for the breeding programme.
3. To find the most effective but cheaper chemicals for the most widespread and harmful diseases or biological preventive or curative control.

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