FOREWORD

FOREWORD

The 6th International Congress on Hazelnut was held in Tarragona, North-East of Spain, on June 14-18, 2004. The Congress offered an international forum to meet each other and to exchange experiences related to the latest results concerning agronomic, industrial, health benefits and commercial aspects of hazelnut growing. The Congress was organized by the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) – Centre Mas Bové in collaboration with the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) and the FAO-CIHEAM Nut Network. This event was financially supported by several institutions: Diputació de Tarragona, Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología, European Union – project PORTA, Generalitat de Catalunya – Agencia de Gestio d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ - CIHEAM), FAO-CIHEAM Nut Network, Caixa Tarragona, Town councils of Tarragona, Reus and Constantí, and the private sponsors: Borges, Morella Nuts, Indústries Garriga, Denomination of Origin "Avellana de Reus", Unio Agraria Cooperativa and Coselva.

The following authorities were present in the opening session: the Councillor of Agriculture (Mr. Antoni Siurana) of the Generalitat of Catalonia, the President of the Diputació of Tarragona (Mr. Joan Aregio), the Director of IRTA Dr. Josep Tarragó, the Chairman of the Section Nuts and Mediterranean Climate Fruits of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) Prof. Carlo Fideghelli, the representative of the Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM), Dr. Dunixi Gabiña, and other local authorities.

The meeting was opened with a word of welcome by the convener, Dr. Joan Tous, who referred to the main economic characteristics of the Spanish hazelnut sector, with an average production of 9.000 t of kernel per year and 23.000 ha, of which 95% was concentrated in Catalonia and mainly in Tarragona province (18.000 ha), where the hazelnut is in diverse districts an important source of income. In Catalonia region there are 7.000 small hazelnut farms with an average orchard size of about 1 to 5 ha. In addition, most of these small farms need to be modernized. In this scenario, one of the most important aims is the reduction of the management cost and the improvement of nut quality in order to ensure greater returns to growers. The hazelnut sector is grouped in six OPA’s (Nut Growers Associations), all of them located in Catalonia. In Spain, hazelnut commercialization is mainly focused on the chocolate and "snacks" industries. Dr. J. Tous also explained the history of the hazelnut Congresses in the world and noted that the first Colloquium on Hazelnut in Spain was held in Reus in 1862, organised by the Institut Agricola of Sant Isidre. There, the introduction of the hazelnut tree as possible alternative to grapevine in the coastal areas of Tarragona was discussed, due to ‘powdery mildew’ fungus problems. Later, in the XXth century, in the year 1976, the 1st International Hazelnut Congress was held in Reus (in this case together with the almond). Since then, different cities all over the world have hosted the meeting: Avellino, Italy (1983); Alba, Italy (1992); Ordu, Turkey (1996), Corvallis, USA (2000) and finally Tarragona, Spain (2004), twenty eight years after the first international event. Prof. Carlo Fideghelli (Chair of the ISHS Section Nuts and Mediterranean Climate Fruits) gave the "ISHS Medal Award" to the convener to acknowledge his effort for the organisation of the Congress.

The Congress was attended by 125 participants from 20 countries: Turkey, Italy, USA (Oregon), Spain (Catalonia), France, Portugal, Australia, China, New Zealand, Poland, South America (Chile and Argentina), Ukraine, India, Albania, Austria, Georgia, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Slovenia. A total amount of 107 scientific papers was presented, 43 as oral communications and 64 as posters. The topics of this Congress were related to the following issues: Germplasm and Genetic Improvement (30 papers), Biology and Physiology (12), Propagation and Rootstocks (6), Orchard Management (24), Pests and Diseases (16), Post Harvest and Quality (7), Health Benefits (2) and Industry, Marketing and Economics (10). In Table 1 the main scientific conclusions of this Congress are summarized.

Researchers had the opportunity to visit the experimental fields of IRTA-Mas Bové Research Center (collection of hazelnut germplasm, rootstock and cultivar trials and seedlings collection of Gevuina avellana specie), commercial hazelnut orchards, an exhibition of several harvest machines and nut industries (Borges and Coselva). An Open Day for the sector was organised the last journey with two workshops: "World hazelnut situation and perspectives in France, USA, Italy, Turkey and Spain" and "Production and commercial aspects on hazelnut". Also, main scientific conclusions of the Congress were presented to the sector. The five days of the congress were a friendly course of excellent scientific presentations and relaxed discussions and allowed to learn new aspects about our region and local habits.