PREFACE: THE VIITH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON PEAR GROWING

When the name of Chile was proposed in Oregon by representatives of the Universities of Talca and Católica de Santiago, as the place to hold the 1997 Pear Symposium, some thought it would be exciting to visit this distant and little known fruit-producing country, but at the same time there were some apprehensions because of our tremendous lack of experience in organizing this kind of events (actually, this was the first ISHS-sponsored meeting to be held in Chile). However, I think the international delegates left Chile with the impression they attended a good meeting, because what we lacked in experience was replaced by effort and dedication; when funding was scarce (and sure it was), was overcome by ingenuity and cooperation. In the words of the new leader of our Pear group Tom Deckers, “this meeting had a soul”; and we think that this was our greatest accomplishment. That soul was present throughout the meeting because all of the organizing team was really happy to have all the delegates with us and we put our best efforts for making sure the attendees had a very pleasant and rewarding experience. Moreover, rather than a group of researchers, we now think we have a group of friends.

Besides the above-mentioned considerations, this meeting had some relevant features:

It had an important attendance of delegates from Hungary; our neighboring brothers from Argentina and of course Chile. Within the Chilean delegates, we were glad to have many representatives from the industry.

It was jointly organized by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Universidad de Talca. Both entities put their best efforts and dedication throughout the organization of the meeting. The fact that the meeting took place in Talca is only incidental (pears in Chile are mostly grown in this area), but the good and bad things in the organization are shared by both Universities.

Some delegates had the chance to participate in the pre-symposium tour, were they had a broad and intense view of the Chilean fruit industry. We received very good comments from the participants because of the quality of the information they received and the sharing of experiences among the attendees.

The meeting could not have taken place without the contribution from the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture through Fundación para la Innovación Agraria (Foundation for Agricultural Innovation). Besides, both Universities supported the meeting with especial funds.

People attend meetings to update their knowledge and to share experiences. This meeting a fair number of good talks, with relevant information and interesting discussions. Especially remarkable were the opening talks of each session and we are glad to have chosen Dr. Bernardo Latorre, Dr. Tony Webster, Dr. José A. Yuri and Dr. David Sugar; our deepest appreciation for their contribution.

The symposium included a half-day field trip. This was especially useful for delegates who could not attend the pre symposium tour. There, delegates got acquainted with what we thought were “typical” Chilean pear orchards, although we all know how difficult is to pick a “typical” orchard.

The "soul" of our meeting was the students that collaborated with us throughout the meeting as well as in the long editing process. We do not have the space to name them all but they know we truly appreciate their efforts, their handshaking's and their smiles. Their ad honorem work received the best payment: the joy of a job well done. Our special and deepest gratitude to a few of them as their representatives: Gloria Sepúlveda for all her help in preparing the symposium plus Gustavo Lobos and Claudio Valdes for the laborious editing and scanning of the proceedings.

Part of the success of the meeting was due to the irrestrict collaboration from people who had done this before and did it well. My gratitude goes to David Sugar who gave me the timely and friendly advice on how to do things. ISHS was well represented by the former head of the group (and outstanding singer): Manuel Carrera, and the leader of the ISHS Fruit Section: Norm Looney. Thanks to you three for your help, understanding and friendship.

As usual, the editing process took longer than expected. We tried to maintain and sometimes improve the quality of the papers and appreciate the understanding of the senior authors. Some of the figures had to be scanned and this somewhat reduced the quality of the output; however, we thought it was more important to have all the information within each paper. My gratitude to my Chilean colleagues who helped throughout the long and almost never ending editing process: Claudia Moggia, Pilar Bañados, Juan Pablo Zoffoli and Carolina Torres.

I hope the door is now open for Chile to organize other ISHS-sponsored meeting. In fact, to keep it familiar, my brother Julio is organizing the Kiwifruit Symposium in 1999. We are glad to have put Chile in the map as a country that can bring together the international horticultural community. Thank you all for your invaluable contributions and understanding.


INTRODUCTION AND OPENING REMARKS: CHAIR, ISHS FRUIT SECTION

Friends, Colleagues and Honored Guests,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the International Society for Horticultural Science and its President, Prof. Dr. Silviero Sansavini, to the 7th International Symposium on Pear Growing. This meeting continues a series that commenced at Angers, France in 1972 and has met in Europe and North America at approximately four-year intervals since that time. The 6th Symposium, a very successful 1993 event reported as Acta Horticulturae 367, was hosted by Oregon State University's Southern Oregon Experiment Station at Medford. In addition to the USA and France, Spain and Italy have hosted previous symposia in this series. I am very pleased to note that this symposium has finally made it to South America.

Pears, both Pyrus communis and P. pyrifolia, have long fascinated pomologists. This may relate to their interesting genetic diversity or to the fact that they experience many serious production problems. Fortunately, many consumers are also attracted to pears and it is a well known fact that pears, when properly grown and ripened, are among the most attractive and delicious of fruits. Indeed, they are an important food item, especially in western Europe and in Asia. It is interesting to consider that if annual per capita consumption of pears in all economically advantaged countries could be raised to that enjoyed by the Italians or the French, the world pear industry would have to expand many fold to meet the demand!

The reality, however, is that throughout most of the world, pears have a relatively small market compared to that for apples. I put it to you that the challenge could not be made clearer. I know that there are scientists here today with good ideas about how to redress that balance with improved cultivars and better production, handling and marketing technologies.

Since on this particular occasion we are meeting in a southern hemisphere country, it is quite appropriate for me to remind my northern hemisphere colleagues that countries like Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, producing high quality fresh fruit for export from December to July, are now quite profoundly affecting the diet of much of the industrialized world. It is my personal opinion that these countries have already done a great deal to improve the image of pears as an attractive, delicious, and above all, reliable fresh fruit product. The result can only be an increase in per capita consumption throughout the year. The pear industry worldwide will benefit from this increased popularity.

Indeed, Chile has become, in a relatively short period of time, a very important producer and exporter of fresh fruit. Pears produced from about 15,000 ha of planted orchard presently rank fourth or fifth in a list of more than 20 fruits now routinely exported. With such a strong emphasis on the export market, Chilean pear producers, packers and shippers have learned important lessons about how to achieve and sustain success in the international market place.

Clearly, there is much that the international community of pear researchers can learn from this industry and I am delighted to see at this meeting so many scientists and fruit industry representatives from Chile and Argentina. Of course there is also much that they will learn from their colleagues from the northern hemisphere and I commend the conveners for their efforts to see that language is not a barrier to our communication this week.

Let me next say a few words about the volume of Acta Horticulturae that will arise from this meeting and be published and distributed by the ISHS. Like the previous books in this series, this Acta will have great value to the participants as a permanent record of the event and, as such, it must be our goal to see that all of the talks and posters are included and that this publishing project is completed as quickly as possible.

However, the Acta must also be thought of as an important product for sale and distribution to libraries, to individual scientists unable to attend this symposium, and increasingly, to producers and others in industry and commerce around the world. Post-symposium sales of these books help to sustain the operations of the International Society and we must be ever mindful of the fact that the reputation of all ISHS publications is influenced by the quality of each volume. It is with these realities in mind that I will work with the conveners and the editorial committee to ensure that this Acta is an accurate, readable and complete record of what was presented.

It is also important that I acknowledge the important contributions made by our dedicated fellow scientists to see that symposia such as this happen and succeed. I am very satisfied with the accomplishments of the Pear Working Group. Its Chair, Dr. Manuel Carrera, has provided strong leadership for the past eight years. He will step down at the conclusion of this meeting and I look forward to working with his successor. This important contribution to international horticultural science is very much appreciated. Thank you Dr. Carrera!

I also want to say a special "thank you" to Dr. Jorge Retamales and his colleagues at the University of Talca and to the many other Chilean scientists involved in convening this excellent 7th Symposium. They can feel very proud of their effort, the first symposium in Chile since this country has officially become part of the ISHS family. There will certainly be future ISHS-sponsored symposia here and elsewhere in South America and the experience gained in hosting this event will prove valuable.

To provide some insight into the number of opportunities there are for fruit researchers to get involved with ISHS events, the Pear Working Group is but one of 20 Fruit Section Working Groups and this symposium is the first of 10 Fruit Section symposia that will be held in 1997. These symposia will be held in 10 different countries on five continents. Similarly, 10 Fruit Section symposia were convened in 1996 and of course many other ISHS Sections and Commissions are involved in organizing similar meetings. The next International Horticultural Congress (Brussels, August 1998) will attract thousands of scientists from around the world.

Clearly, the ISHS is playing a very significant role in promoting and communicating horticultural science on a global scale and is worthy of your support as an active member. Regular participation in ISHS symposia and congresses is an excellent way to build an international network of friends and research colleagues.

To conclude, I wish for each of you a very successful symposium and visit to Chile. Your effort to get here is very much appreciated. I know that your contribution to the program and your active participation in the discussion will make this a meeting we will remember for many years.


Norman E. Looney
Chair, ISHS Fruit Section