OPENING ADDRESS ISHS-SYMPOSIUM THE QUALITY OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES: THE INFLUENCE OF PRE-AND POST HARVEST FACTORS AND TECHNOLOGY" CHANIA / GREECE, 20 SEPTEMBER 1993

I am very pleased to extend to you the greetings of the ISHS Symposium on the "Quality of Fruit and Vegetables: The Influence of Pre- and Postharvest Factors and Technology" here in the beautiful and hospitable city of Chania in Crete. The ISHS Fruit Section has actively supported the dynamism and initiative of Dr. D. Gerasopoulos and the generosity of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania in organising and hosting this gathering. Fruit quality is a very important topic of contemporary research, and this symposium is a prime example of multi-disciplinary integration among researchers in the various fields of horticulture. Eloquent proof of this fact is the large number of participants from many countries who have convened here to present more than 70 contributions in the form of papers and posters reviewed by the Scientific Committee.

The ISHS has sponsored a number of international conferences on these topics. Suffice it to mention the recent ISHS Symposium on "Postharvest Handling of Fruits and Vegetables" convened by P. Sass at Kecskemet in Hungary (August 30 – September 3), which followed the "Symposium on Postharvest Handling of Tropical Fruit" (23–28 July) convened by Dr. B.R. Champ at Chaing Mai in Thailand, the 6th ISHS Conference on "Controlled Atmosphere Research for Fruits and Vegetables (11–16 June) convened by Dr. G.D. Blanpied at Cornell University and the ISHS "Symposium on the Physiological Basis of Postharvest Technologies" (9–14 August 1992) convened by Dr. M. E. Saltveit at Davis in California. The calendar of events in these areas of research are so busy from year to year that even the very capable hands of Dr. Herregods, the Chairman of the Fruit Storage Working Group, and of Dr. J. Apeland, Chairman of the Postharvest Vegetable Handling Working Group, will not find it easy to coordinate them all.

These are some of the main reasons why the ISHS has decided to establish a new "Physiology and Technology Commission" to incorporate the activities of the two current working groups in the Fruit and Vegetable Sections. All of this rather frenetic activity can be explained too by the importance of the quality issue in fruits and vegetables, involving as it does field and postharvest management, packaging and marketing. For the concept of quality has taken on new meanings in the last few years. Europe in particular has played the leading role in revising these ideas because of the surpluses, especially in its Mediterranean areas, of fruit and citrus crops and of growing consumer demands for healthy produce.

Various factors, then, are behind this change in attitude regarding quality. No longer are marketing and trade standards such as size, shape, colour uniformity and absence of defects per cultivar, as established by the EC regulations for its domestic markets, the only criteria for these crops. Today the fruit industry must also take into account residues of pesticides and chemicals, air-, soil- and water-borne pollutants and packaging and labelling as a projection of market image all of which combine to attract consumers.

The philosophy of "integrated fruit production" (IFP) is a direct response to these latter issues, and in Europe today the OILB and the ISHS have combined their efforts to produce a set of guidelines for pome fruits and are now drafting those for other commodities. The IFP guidelines are meant to provide a warranty of the "crop management techniques" employed in growing a safe and healthy crop, and do not necessarily coincide with intrinsic quality. To researchers and specialists, quality in fruit production means above all the enhancement of and respect for the genetic-environmental potential of a given crop, so that it can attain the highest quality standards possible for appearance, taste and flavour traits. Nor must we, as researchers or the geneticists, processors and marketing experts, ever forget this fact, and we must be ready if necessary to sacrifice a part of storage life whenever quality is threatened.

We therefore can claim an important role in making sure that advances in technology, including those for postharvest, do no adversely affect crop quality, the consumer and the grower. This is in final analysis the message that the ISHS wants to get across to everyone concerned. It is our task to ensure that quality comes before any consideration of international market competition, and that consumers be educated so that they are free to choose the freshest, most flavourful and attractive product.

Let me conclude my remarks by wishing you a very pleasant stay and a very successful symposium, and by warmly thanking Dr. D. Gerasopoulos and the Organising and Scientific Committees for their outstanding work. It is important too that the proceedings be published as soon as possible and that an editorial board be appointed to ensure that the quality of the papers printed in the Acta Horticulturae are of the highest scientific standard.

Silviero Sansavini
President of Fruit Section of ISHS


OPENING ADDRESS ISHS-SYMPOSIUM
THE QUALITY OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES: THE INFLUENCE OF PRE-AND
POST HARVEST FACTORS AND TECHNOLOGY"
CHANIA / GREECE, 20 SEPTEMBER 1993

Dear Colleagues and Friends
Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of the Section Vegetables and especially its Working Group: Vegetable Quality, I wish to welcome you to this symposium arranged by the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania in co-operation with the Greek Society for Horticultural Science and the International Society for Horticultural Science; Working Groups Vegetable Quality and Fruit Storage.

Let me immediately tell you that the promoters of the symposium are our Greek colleagues at this Institute without any pressure from the chairman. This means that I owe a great dept of gratitude to the convenor, Dr. D. Gerasopoulos and all his co-workers who have made all the heavy work that must be carried out before a symposium is ready for take off.

This Working Group, Vegetable Quality, was founded by Professor Johannes Hardh at the Agricultural University of Finland during the second half of the seventies. The purpose was to bring into focus the quality of vegetables in a broad sense. Most of the efforts had been concentrated upon crop science and different aspects of production and storage of the produce. For an increasing number of people vegetables were no longer supported by the grower to the consumer without middlemen as in the agricultural society. Instead, urbanisation resulted in a need for distribution of vegetables often long distances. At the same time a growing consciousness of the quality of plant food and the hazards with an unrestricted use of biocides was perceptible among the consumers. With an increasing standard of living in most industrial countries, the appearance of the produces also became more important than earlier.

After the first symposium arranged in Sweden in 1979, there have been four symposia focusing on various aspects of vegetable quality. Two of them were arranged in close co-operation with food research institutes. Let us look upon this as an indication of a growing interest in the food value of fruit and vegetables that can be expanded to a great challenge for the future "Horticulture and Human Health".

However, as horticulturists, we should not forget that the various characteristics that contribute to the quality are established during the growing period and appear as result of an interaction between inheritance, climate and the skill of the grower.

Today we are assembled here at this wonderful island with its old culture and friendly people for the opening ceremony of this symposium on Quality of Fruits and Vegetables. We are again at an Institute with departments of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences. Most of our symposia have been arranged by institutes located in the northern part of Europe and his is the first one that is arranged in the Mediterranean area.

This is an important part of Europe for production of horticultural crops. Greece has the highest per capita consumption of vegetables and , according to the OECD figures, amounting to 225 kg. Similar figures for the Scandinavian countries are from 51 to 80 kg. Greek people must either be real vegetable lovers - or is it a result of an outstanding quality? Without doubt this must be the most promising place for our symposium.

Finally, very welcome to this symposium. A look at the programme indicates that we are facing a very interesting week here in Chania, a week that our hosts no doubt will make an unforgettable one.

Torsten Nilsson
Chairman
Working Group: Vegetable Quality of the ISHS.