PREFACE

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 586: IV International Symposium on Olive Growing

PREFACE

Authors:

The ISHS Board of Directors, C. Vitagliano, Convener of the Symposium

Abstract:
WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE CONVENER
It is indeed a great pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all participants to the ISHS 4^th International Symposium on Olive Growing.
Olives and olive oil play an increasingly important nutritional role in Mediterranean countries and are an essential part of what is now widely known as the “Mediterranean diet”.
Your time during the Symposium will be taken up mostly by scientific sessions addressing the progresses that the science of olive growing has made during the last years. However, the excursions planned will provide an opportunity to have a look at the biggest Italian olive-growing district.
Italy is the second world’s olive oil producer with an output of about 645,000 tons (38% of the EC production) during 1999/2000. By contrast, table olives represent only 2,4% of total production.
In our country, 42% of the area given over to olive comprises one million of small farms with an average grove size of about one hectar, while only 20% of the farms have orchards not exceeding five hectars. In addition, most of our small farms need to be modernized. In this scenario, one of the most important goals is the reduction of prime cost, as in other olive-growing countries, to ensure greater returns to the growers.
Therefore, fostering and supporting basic and applied research on genetic improvement, crop management, biology and physiology, technology, and plant protection at large, becomes mandatory.
This Symposium will represent a further occasion and a step forward for the development of international cooperation between scientists from major olive-growing countries.

Prof. Claudio Vitagliano
Convener of the Symposium

PREFACE
This volume of Acta Horticulturae is the Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Olivegrowing.
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 the Editor and the Editorial Board and amended according to the referee suggestions prior to acceptance.
The ISHS acknowledges the cooperation received from the Editor and the Editorial Board on reviewing the manuscripts which was a significant contribution to the overall quality of the publication.

The ISHS Board of Directors