FOREWORD

The XXVIth International Horticultural Congress (IHC2002) was held in Toronto, Canada during the week of August 11-17, 2002.
The scientific program for this Congress was composed of a Congress Opening Address, the Toronto Forum on Horticulture Biotechnology for Development (held just prior to the Opening Ceremony), 24 special-topic Symposia - all of which are reported in other volumes of Acta Horticulturae (Numbers 618-641), and seven Congress-wide Colloquia. This volume, the final in this IHC2002 series, presents an overview of the Congress for the historical record, the Congress Opening Address, and 20 other plenary or semi-plenary lectures presented outside of the above-mentioned symposia.

The theme of the Toronto Congress, Horticulture: Art and Science for Life, was addressed most directly with these invited plenary lectures but several of the multi-day symposia also developed this theme.

The aim of the Congress organizers was to call attention to the full scope of horticultural science and technology at the start of the new millennium, giving full prominence to its growing importance in addressing the human condition through its activities and products, often delivered in the urban environment and specifically aimed at improving human well-being and life quality.
The manuscripts contained in this volume were collected and edited by the Congress President. All authors have read and approved the edited manuscripts contained herein.

Norman E. Looney
Congress President

Yves Desjardins
Chair, Congress Scientific Program Task Force

Peter Hicklenton
Chair, Congress Printing and Publications Task Force