ISHS Acta Horticulturae 596: VIII International Symposium on Pear
PREFACE |
| Authors: | S. Sansavini, C.A. Roncaratti, D. Regazzi, G. Stupazzoni, ISHS Board of Directors |
| Abstract:
WELCOME ADDRESS This is the 8th ISHS Pear Symposium. Of the Fruit Section’s approximately 27 Working Groups, none can boast such a consolidated tradition which, as I recollect, began in 1972 under the chairmanship and organizing skills of Dr. J. Huet of INRA’s Angers station in France. Let me just note that, as I had the good fortune to attend, it was a meeting whose seeds have given rise to very good harvestsFlorence (Italy) in 1976, Corvallis (Oregon, USA) in 1981, Avignon (France) in 1984, Zaragoza (Spain) in 1988, Medford (Oregon) in 1993, Talca (Chile) in 1997 and now Ferrara-Bologna (Italy) in 2000. To use a marketing term, it appears that the ISHS trademark has been a warranty of quality confidence and success that is underscored by the large attendance and the number of presentations scheduled, not to mention their scientific content. Indeed, we have had to schedule no less than 11 sessions this time to make room for the great many researchers working in pear. These colleagues also represent 26 countries today, a growth over the last 30 years that is both markedly significant per se and a testament to the globe spanning interest in Pyrus communis and Pyrus pyrifolia. It is no accident that next year will see the symposium on nashi and other Asian pears to be held in Japan. The University of Bologna’s Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, officially represented by its Dean, Prof. D. Regazzi, is pleased in its centenary year to host this Symposium. Together with the Organizing Committee, and in particular with the Department of Arboriculture, it has put together a very busy schedule of working sessions and ancillary events to make your stay, and that of our many other guests, in Bologna and Ferrara as hospitable, fruitful and culturally enjoyable as possible. Let me also note the intense work of the Scientific Committee in selecting authors and papers and in choosing the session topics so as to make our efforts and investment in time and money as productive and efficient as is possible. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Ferrara, the city which is hosting the biggest part of the Symposium’s program and has extended its generosity to a number of special initiatives highlighting our meeting. So, let me thank warmly all the agencies, associations and people of Ferrara’s municipal and Provincial authorities, with special thanks to Dr. C.A. Roncarati, the dynamic President of the local Chamber of Commerce. If the Symposium is a success, much of the merit will be his. And, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, I should like to express our gratitude to all the sponsors whose generous support underpins all the activities of the Symposium. As Convener, I have a special debt to all those who have worked hard to make this meeting a memorable occasion. Let me especially single out my collaborators Prof. M. Tagliavini (Scientific Committee), Dr. S. Musacchi (Organizing Committee), Prof. L. Corelli Grappadelli (who coordinated the Editorial Committee for the proceedings publication in Acta Horticulturae), Mrs. C. Forconi at the Secretariat, and Dr. D. Verzoni. I should also like to take this moment to thank you all for attending and sharing with colleagues the fruits of your research and experience in pear. Let me conclude by thanking the ISHS, the Chair of the Fruit Section, Dr. N. Looney, and the Managing Director, J. Van Assche, for their invaluable organizational contributions and, as a follow-up, for guiding the Proceedings through to publication. I wish everyone a pleasurable stay in this wonderful city of Ferrara and every success in your endeavors throughout, and beyond, the Symposium. Ferrara, 4 September 2000 Silviero Sansavini Convener WELCOME ADDRESS Mr. Convener, Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, When my friend Prof. Sansavini asked me to help in organising the 8th ISHS Pear Symposium slated for a venue in Italy, it seemed natural for me to suggest Ferrara as the primary host city. Indeed, in broaching the subject, I gave him three good reasons to back my proposal. The first is that Ferrara Province is the country’s main pear-growing district, accounting for about 40% of national production. In effect, our soil and climate conditions, not to mention the expertise of our growers, are the resource base enabling us to come up with a product of excellence that is universally acknowledged and valued. The second is a matter of civic pride. Ferrara is a wonderful city and has been acknowledged as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Our citizens take pride in sharing with visitors from far and wide the history, art, culture and hospitality the city is justly famous for. The third reason has a basis in sentiment and has to do with the Symposium’s convener, Prof. Sansavini. Indeed, it was here in Ferrara that he began what would become an illustrious career that has placed him among the world’s leading fruit scientists. Contributing to this Symposium is thus a way of honouring an eminent and distinguished scholar as well as a heartfelt thank-you for everything, and it is a lot, he has done for us and continues to do. The prestige of the speakers and the outstanding quality of the scientists and experts gathered here today ensure the success of the 8th ISHS Pear Symposium, a meeting whose outcome will be the point of departure for the advances in research and experimentation that will bear the fruits to be examined at the next symposium. Let me conclude by wishing you, personally and on behalf of all the agencies, institutions and firms that have contributed to making this conference a memorable one, every success in your endeavours over the next few days, and I hope that you will also remember our city for the friendship in which it and we have extended our welcome to you. Ferrara, 4 September 2000 Carlo Alberto Roncarati, President Ferrara Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Small Business and Agriculture WELCOME ADDRESS Mr. Chairman, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is at once a pleasure and an honour to welcome you to the University of Bologna’s College of Agricultural Sciences and to an event as important as the ISHS’s 8th Pear Symposium. As you begin your endeavours on one of the most economically important crops to our region’s agriculture, let me also wish everyone a fruitful, successful and pleasurable meeting. With your permission, I should like to give you a quick snapshot of our Faculty, which as you know from Prof. Stupazzoni is celebrating its centennial anniversary. The founding of the Royal School of Higher Studies in Agriculture marked the move towards the establishment of the college syllabus in 1900 and led to the official establishment of the university curriculum in 1935. Needless to say, much has changed since. For example, the undergraduate degree has gone from a five-year course of studies to the new European Union regime of three years, with another two years of elective specialisation. Today our College, which had always enjoyed a scenic campus in the center of Bologna, has moved to a new and more spacious location about 3 kilometers outside of town next to the new agri-food market with greatly improved teaching, library and research facilities. This move is part of the University of Bologna’s ongoing decentralisation program and has included new extensions of our college in Reggio Emilia, Cesena, Faenza, Imola and Forlì. Our current crop of about 2,000 students are enrolled in degree courses that include Crop Biotechnology, Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Food Science and Technology, Livestock Sciences, Forestry and Timber Production, Herbs and Medicinal Plants, Viticulture and Enology and PhD. degree courses that are of marked importance for research in both agricultural sciences and economics. The College comprises five departmentsAgronomy, Arboriculture, Agricultural Economics and Engineering, Food Protection and Safety, Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences and Technologyand an experiment station of several hundred hectares. Tenured faculty members, which include full and associate professors and researchers, now number about two hundred and are backed up by a numerous technical and administrative staff. The College has also established close working relations with a great many national and international research centres, including other universities, and regularly takes part in multilateral programs and exchanges of scientists and post-graduate students with them. Indeed, that Prof. Sansavini has organised this 8th ISHS Pear Symposium is ample proof of our standing within the international community of scholars and researchers. Ferrara, 7 September 2000 Domenico Regazzi Dean of the Agricultural Sciences Faculty, University of Bologna WELCOME ADDRESS Distinguished Guests, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, As one of the Faculty ‘eleders’ in charge of our 100th Anniversary celebrations, I have the honour, and the privelege, of welcoming you to our College and of wishing you every success in your endeavours over the next week of Symposium working sessions and social events. Permit me to thank the convener and organisers for their forethought in scheduling such an illustrious gathering during our centenary year. The issues you will take up and the cultural insights brought to them from the many countries you represent are indispensable instruments in advancing our knowledge in the primary industry that is agriculture the world over. As all who work in the various fields of research subsumed in the AgriSciences know, agriculture itself is not only a primary industry but has been throughout the history of man the driving force behind our very civilisation and the social, economic and technological advances that are inextricably linked to it. Even in a field as specialised as pear, I am sure that many strands of this common dialogue, which has continued down through many millennia in all the world’s countries, can be heard loud and clear. The Centenary’s calendar of events will also coincide with the transfer of the College to its new, and larger, campus with all the modern facilities that it needs for all the activities that it supports. In thanking the faculty members and administrative staff who are the backbone of our College, as well as the students and professionals who are the living and working proof of its stature, let me thank all of you for sharing these thoughts with us. It is our hope that your work will always be at the service of agriculture and the activities linked to it. Again, our very best wishes for a successful Symposium and an enjoyable stay in Bologna and Ferrara. Giorgio Stupazzoni Events Coordinator of the Centenary Celebrations of the COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES University of Bologna ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This volume of Acta Horticulturae is the Proceedings of the “Eighth International Symposium on Pear”. 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 Editors, members of the Editorial Board, and amended according to the referee suggestions prior to acceptance. The ISHS acknowledges the cooperation received from the Editorial Board on reviewing the manuscripts which was a significant contribution to the overall quality of the publication. The ISHS Board of Directors | |
