ISHS Acta Horticulturae 353: International Workshop on Floriculture & Nursery Industries and Environment
FOREWORD |
| Author: | A. Curzio |
| Abstract:
The Cariplo Foundation for Scientific Research is an institution created in 1991 by the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, the most important European credit group. The main purpose of the Cariplo Foundation is to encourage the scientific research in the environment, agriculture, natural resources and technology, emphasizing the importance of two basic criteria: multidisciplinarity and internationality. When the Cariplo Foundation for Scientific Research was created, the Scientific Committee decided that, among its many research activities, the organization of international workshops had to stand as a privileged initiative. The outcome of the first two years of operation is surely positive and demonstrates the validity of this strategy. Five international workshops, dealing with matters of great technological and social importance, have been organized. Scholars and experts, as well as professionals and policy makers, have participated. The international workshop "Floriculture & Nursery Industries and Environment", organized in collaboration with the Minoprio Foundation, was aimed at verifying the technological capabilities on international scale of a sector that will have an increasing relevance in the future, with particular emphasis on the discussion about the management of green areas and the quality of urban life. Plants are an important element for the environmental recovery and the reconstruction of spoiled landscapes. Sixteen speakers of nine different countries analysed the floriculture sector from different points of view, giving attention to the problems of the small and medium enterprises and that of innovation.
To create plants of greater quality and able to adapt to the changing environment, basic and applied research are fundamental, and during the workshop it has been analysed the current state of research in plant breeding, plant physiology and crop production.
It has also been stressed the importance of a correct flora architecture for the rehabilitation of the degraded urban areas. The organizers of this workshop acknoledge with thanks: the generous financial support of the Cariplo Foundation for Scientific Research; kindly availability of International Society for Horticultural Science, which made possible the pubblication of the proceedings in Acta Horticulturae; the Centre for Scientific Culture "A. Volta" for the hospitality in Villa Olmo (Como) and its staff for their help and effective collaboration; Cariplo Foundation staff. | |
