PREFACE

Invited and keynote speakers and selected authors of offered oral papers and posters had the opportunity to submit their manuscripts for publication in this volume of the series Acta Horticulturae.

Submitted manuscripts were reviewed by at least two members of the Editorial Board and amended according to the referee suggestions prior to acceptance.

The Editorial Board could not accept all manuscripts submitted for publication.

The ISHS acknowledges the cooperation received from the Editors and Editorial Board on reviewing the manuscripts which was a significant contribution to the overall quality of the publication.

Due to the publication of these proceedings prior to the date of the meeting, some papers have been modified in order to make them consistent. However, all modifications were made under the supervision of the Editor-in-chief.

The ISHS Board of Directors


COMMITTEE FOR HORTICULTURE, STATES OF GUERNSEY AND THE
GUERNSEY GROWERS' ASSOCIATION

This volume of Acta Horticulture is the proceedings of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences XIVth International Symposium on Horticultural Economics, Management and Marketing. The Symposuim was held at Les Cotils, St Peter Port, Guernscy, British Isles on the 13^th September 2000 to the 15^th September 2000. Generous sponsorship from the Committee for Horticulture and the support of the Guernsey Growers' Association, together with the provision of the excellent facilities at Les Cotils Christian Conference Centre, enabled the Symposium to be organized with a small specialist team at minimal cost to the delegates.

The specific focus on chain management, sustainable development and quality assurance, set against the backdrop of changing markets and technologies, attracted contributions from delegates from around the world. Invited papers, refereed papers and poster presentations were reviewd by at least two peers, a technical editor and were revised according to suggestions by the referees and editors. In addition to meeting the subject matter standards applied by the reviewers, authors had to conform to technical guidelines established by the ISHS and make corrections to their papers on a tight time schedule so that the proceedings could be available for the Symposium. Inevitably not all manuscripts submitted could be accepted for publication as refereed papers. In some cases the authors elected to present their work in poster format as this was more suited to their particular research field.

I would like to thank all the authors and reviewers for their co-operation. In particular Dr N de Groot who organised and facilitated the editing process.

In the compilation of the Acta, I would like to express my special thanks to Mrs V Mahy and Mrs B Minta for their professionalism and diligence in assisting the editing and organisation of the papers for the Symposium. Their long hours of work in communicating with the authors and incorporating corrections helped make this volume possible. Thanks to Mr Paul Le Sauvage for looking after the finance side of things and also to Miss M Collenette and Mrs C Gallienne who typed many of the corrections or additions required to the papers in the final editing process. I would particularly mention Miss F Chavoushi, Dr T Brokenshire, Mr D Le Marchant-Smith and Mr J D Woodward for their assistance in the final editing porcess for the papers. Mr M Dillon, Mr M Thompson from Dillon Associates for the symposium database program.

The idea for this horticultural economics symposium, the first ever in the Channel Islands, began four years ago at the last meeting in New Jersey in the United States of America. A very special thanks to Jan Ammerlaan and his team of leading researchers in the field of horticultural economics, management and marketing at the Dutch PBB Research Station at Naaldwijk. Their support, encouragement and technical assistance gave me the confidence to proceed with an international symposium in Guensey. Nicole de Groot, Head of the Horticulture Division for the ISHS Horticultural Economics Section, also provided invaluable direction and support to enable this Symposium to take place.

With delegates arriving from around the world, we took the opportunity to provide a view of horticulture in th British Isles. I am very grateful to the Horticultural Research Institute and thier station at East Malling in assisting with the pre-symposium tour. This covered research in top fruit, field scale vegetable production and retail marketing through the multiples. One afternoon of the Symposium was also devoted to a technical tour of Island nurseries. I would like to express my thanks to Raymond Evison and David Miller of the Guernsey Clematis Nursery, Kees Jungerius of Ramee Roses and Marleen Le Ray and the Board of Grow Limited, which specialises in using horticulture as a social therapy and work experience for those with a learning disability. My appreciation also goes to Mr N Lewis, Chief Executive at Raymond Falla House, and Mr R Nash, Deputy Chief Executive, Committee for Horticulture for their support in allowing staff participation in the Symposium organisation. Finally I thank the ISHS, particularly Dr Jozef Van Assche who has organised the publication of the Acta and always been helpful in assisting with organisational questions.

John P. Ogier
Convener and Editor
XIVth International Symposium on Horticultural Economics, Management and Marketing