FOREWORD

The papers presented during the Symposium demonstrate clearly the current trends in kiwifruit science and management. Many interesting research results were communicated concerning the breeding of new cultivars by the application of classical and molecular methods, the properties of different species within the genus Actinidia and the improvement of cultural practices to obtain better fruit quality. The problems of fruit quality, harvesting, post harvest handling and storage operations, were among the most important topics considered during the Symposium.

This meeting was held at a crucial period for the kiwifruit industry. After a rapid expansion of its cultivation, the world production of kiwifruit reached high levels recently, resulting in an oversupply of the markets with all its undesirable consequences. The gathering of so many researchers with different specialties offered a unique opportunity for the discussion of this situation. Main proposals for future research priorities, aiming to the solution of this problem, were the following:

• the breeding of a new early-maturing cultivar for extending the marketing period,
• the supply of kiwifruit of high quality in order to attract the consumer's preference and compete successfully with other fruits.
• the development of suitable technology for kiwifruit processing, which may serve as an alternative to the fresh fruit consumption and
• the improvement of marketing methods.

We expect the Symposium and its proceedings to be very useful for planning kiwifruit research, so that our colleagues will go to the next meeting, which will be held in 1998 in Chile, with some good answers to the problems of kiwifruit industry.

Finally, we would like to thank the contributors to the proceedings for their papers, the International Scientific Committee for their support as well as the ISHS and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, under the patronage of which the Symposium was organized.

E. Sfakiotakis and I. Porlingis


WELCOME BY THE CONVENER

As a Convener and on behalf of the organizing committee I welcome you to the Third International Symposium on Kiwifruit. Kiwifruit is one of the few new crops to have made a tremendous impact on world market the last 20 years. The kiwifruit industry is a case study of exploitation of a new commodity. It originated from New Zealand as an export crop in the 70s and expanded to Europe and other countries so rapidly that today it has reached a total world yearly production of almost one million tonnes. This success has been due to the fruit's natural quality, to the keen promotion by New Zealand exporters and to the support of researchers who contributed in solving some difficult problems of the kiwifruit industry. These days, many research people are working on the kiwifruit and as a result, numerous papers, given its relatively short crop history, have been published in scientific periodicals.

The first International Symposium on Kiwifruit was held in Italy in 1987, while the second took place in New Zealand in 1991. Today, we are very pleased to host the Third International Kiwifruit Symposium here in Thessaloniki, close to the main commercial kiwifruit growing area of Greece. The meeting is taking place just before harvest time for kiwifruit in the Northern hemisphere and at a most critical point of the serious marketing problems that the kiwifruit industry faces. A total of 145 scientists from many counties and particularly from New Zealand, Italy, Greece, France, Chile, USA and other countries has registered to attend the symposium and 150 papers and posters were submitted for presentation by 244 authors.

There is a point I would like to emphasize in welcoming you here. The great significance of the symposium for developing international cooperation. Meeting here makes for a valuable exchange of ideas and information among specialists of the same or different areas and for personal acquaintances that facilitate future collaboration between individuals and institutions.

Before I conclude, allow me to thank all of those who have contributed financially in organizing this symposium. Let me mention in particular: The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the General Secretariat of Research and Technology, the Hellenic Agricultural Insurance Organization, the National Agricultural Research Foundation, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, the Union of Agricultural Co-operatives of kiwifruit growers and exporters, as well as other sponsors. I would also like to thank the Chairman of the Working group on Kiwifruit Dr. Ferguson and the International Scientific committee for their collaboration. I wish you all a very fruitful symposium and a pleasant stay in Thessaloniki, hoping that our foreign guests in particular will feel at home and enjoy their visit to Greece.

E. Sfakiotakis


WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF INTERNATIONAL
KIWIFRUIT WORKING GROUP

Ninety years ago the kiwifruit was just a wild plant in China. Today it is an important crop plant in many countries. It is one of the very few new fruit plants to have been domesticated this century.

The first research work on the genus Actinidia was taxonomic but by the 1940s the composition of the fruit and the storage life of the fruit were being studied. Even so, kiwifruit then were just a very minor crop and it is only with the development of the kiwifruit industry in many different countries that more intensive research on kiwifruit was justified. When I first started working on kiwifruit about twenty years ago, there was perhaps half a dozen people working on the crop and all the current research could be discussed in detail in a couple of hours. Today the kiwifruit and its relatives are being studied by scientists in many different countries and the research has expanded from purely taxonomic or agronomic work to cover many different aspects. The Third Symposium on Kiwifruit revealed just how extensive research programs have now become. The results discussed also reveal that very considerable progress is being made in understanding the basic biology of the kiwifruit and this enables us to help our orchardists to produce better fruit of more consistent quality at a lower price: to make our fruit more available to more consumers. The ultimate users of our research are the kiwifruit industries of our individual countries.

Organizing an international symposium requires much work and I would like to thank Professor Sfakiotakis and his team for all their efforts. Organization is never easy but their efforts were rewarded by a most enjoyable meeting and a most useful exchange of scientific information and of ideas. In some ways, the most useful aspect of such meetings is to renew old friendships and develop new contacts. I enjoyed the meeting at Thessaloniki and I now look forward to the publication of the proceedings, the formal record of our discussions.

A.R. Ferguson


WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GREEK SOCIETY FOR
HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE

It is a great pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the Greek Society for Horticultural Science and it is gratifying to see that so many accepted the invitation to attend this symposium.

Kiwi is a new fruit crop in my country, which has a very long tradition in fruit culture. Since prehistoric times, fruit production has been very important for the nutrition and the economy of Greeks, and contributed greatly to the development of their civilization. We know that already in the 20th century B. C. olive trees were thriving in Crete, and olives and olive oil were not only consumed by Cretans but were also exported to Egypt and exchanged for wheat. Homer in the 10th century B.C. described, in a poetic way, an irrigated, well kept orchard of pears, pomegranates, apples, figs and olives as well as a productive vineyard. During the classical period, in the 5th century B. C., the city of Athens was surrounded by olive and fig trees and vineyards and agriculture was considered as the nurse of all arts and sciences.

Today fruit industry continues to be very important. As an intensive form of agriculture, fruit growing contributes greatly to the occupation of people. Among the countries of European Union, Greece has the highest percentage, about 25% of active population, occupied mainly in agriculture and the smallest average size of holdings (3.7 hectares) which is even smaller for fruit growing (≈1.2 hectares).

Orchards and vineyards cover 30% of the cultivated area producing an abundance of fresh and dried fruits, wine and olive oil for the consumption by the 10 millions of our population and for exports. The value of these products contributes 5.6% to the total national income and 17% to the total exports.

Recently, in addition to our traditional crops, we started cultivating many fruit species, new to Greece, and one of the most successful was kiwifruit. In the period of about 20 years since its introduction, the kiwifruit culture expanded rapidly, becoming in certain regions of Macedonia an important part of their fruit industry. As a new crop with problems of adaptation, attracted the interest of our scientists, who with their studies tried to determine the optimal conditions for its production.

We all know the great significance of scientific meetings for the advancement of science and our personal work. This symposium, in particular, by taking place in this country, will be beneficial in solving the problems and improving its kiwifruit industry.

Before I conclude, I would like to thank very much all those who supported financially the Symposium. I want also very much to thank in particular, the Convener professor Sfakiotakis, the members of the Organizing Committee for their fine work, as well as the members of the International Scientific Committee for their valuable advises.

I wish you much success with your work and express the hope that our foreign guests will preserve good memories, not only of a fruitful Symposium, but also of a pleasant stay in Greece.

J. Porlingis