GREETINGS-CHAIR, ISHS FRUIT SECTION

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Fruit Section of the International Society for Horticultural Science, to the 4^th International Symposium on Replant Problems. This meeting continues a series that began in August, 1987 in Bonn and continued with symposia in Bologna (1990) and Penticton, Canada (1993). The proceedings of these earlier symposia can be found in Numbers 233, 324 and 363 of Acta Horticulturae. The ISHS is very pleased to be the sponsoring Society. The Fruit Section is especially proud of the fact that the volumes of Acta Horticulturae that have come from these meetings provide an excellent record of the ongoing research on these important but stubbornly difficult problems facing fruit producers world-wide.

There can be no doubt that this topic will continue to be of interest to the perennial fruit crops research community in many countries. Your attendance here today shows that there is still much to be learned. The high returns possible with popular new cultivars are leading fruit growers toward much shorter cycles of orchard renewal. Another reality is the fact that the present day restrictions on the use of soil fumigants and other pesticides and fertilizers will become increasingly severe. The need to explain, and to devise environmentally friendly strategies to correct orchard and plantation replant problems remains a high priority in Europe and elsewhere in the fruit producing world.

Hungary, as an old and very important fruit producing nation, is a highly appropriate location for this symposium. Furthermore, Hungarian researchers have contributed importantly, and on many fronts, to our knowledge of this subject area. I know that they are pleased to have this opportunity to share their research results with an international audience. I note that the organizers have found room in the program to visit parts of the world famous grape and wine industry of Hungary. This will lead to a better understanding and appreciation of the grapevine replant problems that have been identified here and elsewhere in Europe.

So, my sincere congratulations to the convenors for assembling a truly international group of researchers and an interesting scientific program. The formal presentations, combined with informal discussions, tours and social events will result in new knowledge being shared, interpreted, clarified and finally incorporated into our existing knowledge of this subject area. This is the strength, the attractiveness, of small, discipline- or commodity-oriented symposia.

It has been my experience that the 20 Working Groups that make up the Fruit Section are particularly adept at organizing such meetings. This present symposium is one of twelve similar-size meetings sponsored or co-sponsored by Fruit Section Working Groups in 1996. Some are very crop specific. Others involve several Working Groups or topic areas. In all cases, however, the over-riding aim is to bring the right people to the right place to share information, get better acquainted, and ultimately to advance horticultural science and technology. I strongly encourage everyone here to initiate and maintain membership in the ISHS since it is through the various ISHS publications, especially Chronica Horticulturae, that you can learn about these meetings.

Let me also take this opportunity to share a few thoughts about the volume of Acta Horticulturae that will arise from this meeting. It will have great value to the participants as a permanent record of the event and, as such, it must be our goal to include all of the contributions and to have the Acta ready for distribution as soon as possible.

However, the Acta must also be thought of as an important publication for sale and distribution to libraries, to individual scientists unable to attend this symposium, and increasingly, to producers and others in industry and commerce. Post-symposium sales of this Acta will help to sustain the operations of the Society. We must keep in mind that the reputation of all ISHS publications is influenced by the quality of each Acta.

It is with these realities in mind that I look forward to working with the convenors and the editorial commitee to ensure that this Acta appears in a timely fashion, is an accurate and complete record of what was presented, is carefully edited to remove typographical errors, ensure clarity of presentation and adherence to the prescribed format, and is attractively and professionally published.

I am pleased and proud to represent a Society so clearly dedicated to the advancement of horticulture through these symposia, congresses and publications. However, I am especially proud of the dedicated individuals that make the Society work and I wish to mention, in particular, Dr.Raj Utkhede, Chair of the “Replant Problems” Working Group since 1990. Raj has provided yeoman service to this Group as an Acta Editor, Newsletter Editor, and Convenor of the 1993 symposium. This dedication to international networking is very impressive indeed and we owe a deep debt of gratitude to Dr. Utkhede for his many years of service to the research community concerned with replant problems in fruit production.

I would also like to acknowledge the hard work and strong leadership provided by Professor Dr.Pál Sass and the members of the Organizing Committee in preparing for this present symposium. Dr.klára Véghelyi, Secretary of the Organizing Commitee, has been especially active in the convincing of this meeting. Organizing and hosting an international conference is one of the most generous contributions that one can make in the course of a professional career. It is important that the hard work of these scientists receives the recognition it deserves.

Finally, I extend my sincere thanks and very best wishes to all of you who made the effort to come to Budapest for this event. Your interest, enthusiasm and active participation will make this a metting to remember.

Norman E. Looney, Ph.D., FASHS
Chair, ISHS Fruit Section


GREETINGS FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKING GROUP OF
REPLANT PROBLEMS

Dear Friends, and Honored Guests:

It is a privilege and honor to welcome you to the 4^th International Symposium on Replant Problems here in Budapest, Hungary. This is a very beautiful city to have an international meeting. The first symposium was organized by Prof. Lenz in Bonn, Germany in 1987, the second one by Prof. Zucconi, and Dr. Tagliavini Bologna in 1990, Italy, and the third one by Dr. Utkhede in Penticton, Canada 1993. The proceedings of these meetings have been published in Acta Horticulturae 233, 324, and 363 by the ISHS. We are very grateful to the ISHS office for their excellent co-operation for the publication of these Acta Horticulturae.

The replant problem is of utmost importance to fruit growers around the world. The pioneer work of Dr. Hoestra and Dr. Otto paved the way in understanding it. At present knowledge, the replant problem is caused by biotic (bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and nematodes) and abiotic factors (high or low soil pH, lack or excess of moisture, imbalance of nutrients, poor quality of rootstock, and poor weed control). Although research has been done for many years, this problem remains to be the number one soil borne disease. This is a challenging problem to all the research workers around the world. We need co-operation of plant pathologists, soil scientists, weed specialists, plant physiologists and nematologists to control replant problems. We still do not know much about this problem. To make things worse, we are loosing soil fumigants, which are being used to correct the replant problem. We have to develop environmentally friendly strategies to control the replant problems under orchard conditions.

We will be facing the Third World War soon. This war is against HUNGER. The world population is increasing rapidly. It is our responsibility to find solutions to growers' production problems so that they can produce ample food for everybody on this planet. It is my wish and probably yours too that nobody should go to bed hungry.

Researchers from Hungary have contributed immensely to our knowledge of this disease. I am sure they are very eager to share their knowledge with the rest of the researchers from around the world who are participating in this meeting. And this is the best avenue to do that.

I am glad that 3 years back, Dr. Klára Véghelyi took the initiative us to this beautiful city for our 4^th International meeting. As a secretary, she has done an excellent job for this meeting. I appreciate the hard work and strong leadership provided by professor Dr. Pál Sass, Rector of the University, Dr. István Balogh, Head of Department of Viticulture, Dr. János Papp, Head of Fruit Production, Dr. Erzsébet Kállay, Director of the Research Station in Budapest, and Dr. Lajos Diófási, Director of the Research Station at Pécs. Without their efforts this meeting would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank you all for your efforts in coming to this meeting. I know it is not easy to participate in the international meetings because of the financial constraints being faced by all countries. Despite these we have participants from Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, India, Israel, Libya, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovenian, USA (NY), and Yugoslavia. With everybody's co-operation, interest and enthusiasm this meeting will be one of the best to remember for a long period of time. I wish you all the best in accomplishing your goals.

Dr. Raj Utkhede
Chair, Replant Problem Group of ISHS


REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF WORKING GROUP
ON REPLANT PROBLEMS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF
HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE HELD IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
ON AUGUST 12-16, 1996.

The aim of this symposium was to examine the current concerns of replant problems and where to focus future research on replant problems. The program consisted of invited papers, contributed papers and posters and field trips to view research plots on tree fruit and grape replant problems. This symposium attracted 60 participants representing Australia, Belarus, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, India, Israel, Libya, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Slovenian, USA (NY), and Yugoslavia. Much of the focus was on integrated and multidisciplinary approach to replant problems and attended by plant pathologists, soil scientists, nematologists, and plant physiologists.

At the business meeting the following points were discussed and decisions were made:

1. Research on replant problems is important, practically and scientifically. We have our responsibility towards the farmers and science to determine the causes of replant problems (biotic and abiotic) and to find control methods.
2. Ensure that the work on actinomycetes will be continued, especially when Drs. Otto and Winkler retire for good.
3. Not to confine our activities to fruit trees only but include all horticultural crops.
4. The role of nematodes in replant disease is established and easy to assess under field conditions.
5. The need to establish replant laboratories to which farmers can send their soil samples for testing.
6. The need to do research on fruit quality affected by replant problems.
7. Considering environmental impact, develop non chemical methods to alleviate replant problems.
8. Establish a committee for co-ordinated research on suggested projects on replant problems.
9. Determine the distinction between specific replant disease and replant problems.
10. Invite experts who are working on replant problems in other crops to our symposium so that we can learn from their experiences.
11. There is a major concern about retiring replant workers and the elimination of replant programs in fruit tree crops. Efforts to get young people involved by publishing our activity in Review of Plant Pathology, American Phytopathological Society newsletter, Chronica Horticulturae, American Society of Horticultural Science, etc.
12. Publish reviews on economic losses because of replant problems.
13. The new slate of officers have been elected: Chairperson: Dr. Raj Utkhede, Canada Vice-Chairperson: Dr. Gordon Brown, Australia Editor: Dr. Peter Hirst, New Zealand
14. Future meeting: 1^st choice: New Zealand, January 2000, 2^nd choice Solan, India