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5th episode in the ISHS Horticulture Debate series called "Hort Forum"
Agroecology for sustainable horticulture: It's time to address it
Speaker: Georgina Catacora-Vargas , Universidad Católica Boliviana, Tiahuanacu (Bolivia)
Chronica Horticulturae Volume 64 Number 1 (March 2024) is available for download - proceed to https://www.ishs.org/chronica-horticulturae/vol64nr1.
Topics in this number include
News & Views from the Board
Beware of scams implying association with ISHS
The ISHS was made aware of correspondences, being circulated via e-mails, from internet websites, and via regular mail or fax, falsely stating that they are issued by or associated with ISHS, the ISHS Board and/or its officials.
Such scams, which may ultimately seek to extract money and/or personal details from the recipients of such correspondence, are fraudulent.
Neither ISHS nor its officials are engaging in such practices.
4th episode in a new ISHS Horticulture Debate series called "Hort Forum"
Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere Storage: A paradigm shift in postharvest science
Speaker: Angelo Zanella , Research Centre Laimburg, Ora, (Italy)
Over the past thirty years, there has been considerable commentary about Acta Horticulturae (https://www.actahort.org/).
Dear Member of ISHS Working Group on Mechanization, Digitization, Sensing and Robotics,
Agrivoltaics is the practice of growing crops underneath solar panels. Using photovoltaic arrays above tree canopies has several potential benefits such as limiting transpiration and water use, and protecting trees and fruit from damage (extreme heat, sunlight, hail). Nevertheless, above-canopy photovoltaic arrays reduce light availability. This study aimed to measure the light availability and crop load distribution under two different west-facing solar panel configurations – 45 degree (45W) and near horizontal 5 degree (5W) – and compared it to a control (no photovoltaic arrays).
Red-fleshed kiwifruit have recently entered the international market. As their nutraceutical properties have generated significant consumer interest, to establish a quality standard along the supply chain, the internal quality of the fruit must be accurately evaluated. Evaluating the redness of kiwifruit flesh poses a complex challenge due to the inherent variability in color localization and spottiness, as well as the wide range of red shades and intensities within each fruit.
Muthianzhele Ravuluma is a PhD candidate at the University of the Free State, South Africa. His research is focused on estimating the current and future use of water in pomegranate orchards in the Western Cape, South Africa. Establishing crops tolerant to water stress is essential to improve food availability. As the climate in South Africa is semi-arid and prone to droughts, climate change is exacerbating the situation with increasing temperatures, increased evaporative demand, more frequent occurrence of droughts, more erratic rainfall and shifts in rainfall patterns.
Biostimulants can improve nutrient uptake by plants, growth, productivity, fruit quality, as well as plant resilience to abiotic and biotic stresses. Among them, silicon (Si) is reported to be beneficial in mitigating stresses such as plant diseases, salinity, drought, and nutrient imbalances. For organic highbush blueberries, the ability to enhance crop resilience and produce high quality berries is essential to the success of the organic sector in international markets.
Sebastian Dam is a former undergraduate student of Dr. Youbin Zheng (University of Guelph) and is currently a crop consultant at Cultivation Coaches in Canada. Sebastian’s research consists of optimizing cannabis cultivation techniques. Throughout the world, as the cultivation of cannabis is becoming legal for both medicinal and recreational use, documented research for this new crop is in high demand. The important quality metrics for production are consistent inflorescence density and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content throughout the plant and between cultivation cycles.
As a member of Cranfield University’s Plant Science Laboratory, Heather is currently completing a PhD project entitled “Reducing seed loss and waste in umbelliferous crops” as part of the FoodBioSystems DTP program in partnership with Elsoms Seeds Ltd. The project focuses on understanding the genetic background of flower and seed development in parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) with a view to developing a marker-assisted-selection pipeline to improve seed production efficiency for current and new varieties.
The Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana L.), a member of the family Rhamnaceae, is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The tree can withstand highly alkaline and slightly waterlogged soils and has potential to prevent soil erosion and desertification. However, the cultivation of Indian jujube may also provide opportunities for smallholder farmers to improve their livelihoods. Fruits may be dehydrated and processed into different products like pickles, murabba, candy, and chutney.
Severe drought and extreme temperatures are two main impacts of climate change, resulting in increased abiotic stress response from plants and an increased demand for fresh water. Breeding for functional traits such as stomatal density can enhance the climate resilience of plants. As stomata control plant-water relations, their function makes them promising targets for improving crop performance in response to climatic stresses.
The employment of Vitis vinifera germplasm for the development of downy mildew resistant cultivars could greatly shorten and simplify breeding programs. ‘Mgaloblishvili’ is a V. vinifera cultivar that has shown some resistance to grape downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), one of the most destructive diseases affecting grapevines. A genome wide association study was able to identify three new loci associated with the ‘Mgaloblishvili’ resistant phenotype: Rpv29, Rpv30 and Rpv31. Nonetheless, the protein-coding genes responsible for the resistance remain elusive.
Aleksandra Korićanac is a PhD student at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, and a Research Assistant at the Fruit Research Institute, Čačak, Serbia. Her research is largely focused on fruit quality changes during ripening, harvest, storage, and postharvest management of temperate zone fruit species, particularly plums. Little is currently known about how European plums (Prunus domestica) ripen.
Jingyin Bao, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, under the supervision of Dr. Alice Hayward, is focused on conserving endangered Australian flora. Armed with a Master of Biotechnology, her prior work has focused on optimizing cryopreservation protocols for the endangered Gossia fragrantissima. Expanding on this foundation, her current PhD project is dedicated to broadening the application of cryopreservation to other endangered Australian native plants, particularly Gossia and Decaspermum.
Join the International "Fascination of Plants Day" around May 18, 2024 – a global celebration of plants!
The European Plant Science Organisation (EPSO) jointly with over 60 National Coordinators across the globe proudly announce the launch of the seventh edition of the Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD), scheduled to take place on and around May 18, 2024.
Third episode in a new ISHS Horticulture Debate series called "Hort Forum"
Video recording of this webinar is now available for on-demand viewing
Leveraging Molecular Markers in Fruit Tree Breeding: From Promise to Reality
Speaker: Ksenija Gasic, Professor, Clemson University, South Carolina (USA)
Chronica Horticulturae Volume 63 Number 4 (December 2023) is available for download - proceed to https://www.ishs.org/chronica-horticulturae/vol63nr4.
Topics in this number include
News & Views from the Board
Plant phenological development is deeply influenced by changes in temperature, with budbreak dates occurring earlier as the mean global temperature increases. As a result, spring frost damage risk is increasing in many areas of the world. In grapevine, early dormancy release may also result in the advancement of all subsequent developmental stages, including ripening and harvest, thus challenging traditional wine production schedules in important wine-making regions.
As part of her PhD at the University of Life Sciences “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” Iasi, Romania, Mariana Calara’s research has focused on “Optimization of some organic vegetable crop systems using allelopathic interactions”. There are many products available for disease and pest control in organic agriculture. However, when it comes to weed control, the measures are limited. Allelopathy can be helpful in this regard. Allelopathy is a biological phenomenon involving chemical interactions, where a plant releases specific chemicals that exert various effects on neighboring or associated plants.
As part of his PhD at the Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy, Francesco Maldera is evaluating the behavior of new hedgerow systems in olive and almond orchards. This research is exploring the relevance of propagation methods for olive trees and how the in vitro propagation techniques affect the morphology and architectural parameters of different olive cultivars and thus their suitability in orchard intensification.
The Ranunculaceae family, comprising 2500 species across 53 genera, has long intrigued researchers due to its unique position among flowering plants. Two species, Anemone coronaria L. (poppy anemone) and Ranunculus asiaticus L. (Persian buttercup), are renowned for their ornamental value as cut flowers and potted plants, with breeding efforts focused on enhancing various traits from flower uniformity to resistance to environmental stressors.
Bixuan Cheng is in the first year of her Ph.D. studies at the School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, China, under the supervision of Prof. Chao Yu. Based on genomics and linkage analysis, she is seeking to discover the molecular mechanism of important traits for tetraploid roses. China has been cultivating Rosa species for many centuries. More than a hundred Chinese rose cultivars are recorded in "The Rose Anthology" compiled by Chuanchuo Liu in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). Some of them have excellent ornamental traits and strong adaptability. R.
Chestnuts are an ecologically and economically important fruit and forest tree species that have been cultivated for several centuries. Annual chestnut production now reaches over two million tons, yet little is known about the ecology of chestnut pollination. How is chestnut pollen dispersed? Is the quantity and quality of pollen limiting? What are the determinants of chestnut pollination success? Without an in-depth study of these mechanisms, it is difficult to design highly productive orchards.
Christine Schmitz is a PhD candidate working on management models for fruit growers with the Horticultural Sciences team at the University of Bonn and the Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum Rheinpfalz (Germany). Spring frost damage is a major problem for temperate fruit production in Germany. Techniques to protect apricot orchards against such damage include wind machines, paraffin candles and below-canopy irrigation.
Raphaël Deragon is a Ph.D. candidate at Université Laval (Canada), working under the supervision of Drs. Jean Caron and Budiman Minasny. His work focuses on detecting and mapping peaty, limnic and mineral layers found within the first metre of soil in drained and cultivated peatlands. To survey thousands of hectares more efficiently, the use of automated and proximal sensors has the potential to reduce manual sampling efforts and eliminate the need for laboratory measurements.
Zobabalo Mina is a Masters candidate at the Postharvest and Agroprocessing Research Centre at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Her research is focused on the development of a shelf-stable carrot product for multiple applications in the South African food and beverage industries. An efficient and effective drying method is crucial for preserving fresh carrots. Simultaneously, the dried product needs to maintain its color, shape and nutritional quality for better consumer acceptability.
The governing Board of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) is working to make the society's publication strategy more efficient.
At present the plan is to keep at least one journal that will remain an open access journal and will be published by a non-profit publishing company through a partnership agreement.
For the first time under the aegis of the ISHS, the III International Symposium on Moringa was held from 8-10 November 2023 in Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil.
Young Minds Committee
The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) is about to launch an exciting new program for Young Minds in 2024: The "ISHS Young Minds Committee"
If you are a student embarking upon your academic journey or an early career professional
ProMiCli2024: I International Symposium on Protected Cultivation, Nettings and Screens for Mild Climates
Athens (Greece), 23-26 September 2024 - #ProMiCli2024
Dear friends and colleagues,
We are delighted to inform you that registration and abstract submission for the I International Symposium on Protected Cultivation, Nettings and Screens for Mild Climates, which will be held in Athens (Greece) from September 23th to 26th 2024, is open. It is our pleasure to host this Symposium and invite you to attend and present a scientific paper.
Check out the new issue of eJHS online at https://www.pubhort.org/ejhs/ (Volume 88, issue 5, October 2023) including the following articles:
European, Middle Eastern & African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) in cooperation with the ISHS Working Group B03 Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources and Genebank Management invites all interested to join for an enlightening educational webinar on October 24th 2023 at 15:00 CEST
The October 2023 Newsletter of the ISHS Division Horticulture for Development is now available for download below.
As a marketingspecialist, horticulture is viewed from a different lens than to breeders, physiologists, and other horticulturalists. The best part? This is okay! We all serve a role in horticulture that requires our specializations.
Have you ever considered what is horticulture?
Truly, what horticulture is has changed over time and means something different to different cultures or people.
Two hours celebrating International Day of Moringa (IDM) - Shine Africa gathered world moringa industrial partners along with ISHS Working Group Moringa
On September 14, 2023, an online meeting was held as a continues support to moringa worldwide.
Shine Africa took the lead and gathered world moringa industrial partners to celebrate along with ISHS Working Group Moringa the 1st version of 'International Day of Moringa (IDM)' on September 14, 2023.
Chronica Horticulturae Volume 63 Number 3 (September 2023) is available for download - proceed to https://www.ishs.org/chronica-horticulturae/vol63nr3.
Topics in this number include
News & Views from the Board
Ioannis Moutsinas is an Agricultural Engineer currently working as a research scientist at the Networks Implementation Testbed Laboratory of the University of Thessaly, Greece. At the same time, he is a PhD student within the Laboratory of Pomology. His research mainly focuses on the assessment of major fruit crops’ phenological responses to climate change in the Mediterranean to determine the most suitable adaptation strategies to improve crop resilience and sustainability.
The CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing system has been widely used in crop genetic improvement. To rapidly select efficient single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) in the genus watermelon, which is difficult to genetically transform, the Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root method is often used to detect efficient target sites in different Citrullus species. In this study, hairy roots were induced in different plant tissues of Citrullus lanatus, Citrullus mucosospermus and Citrullus amarus, in a non-sterile environment.
For non-rigid porous materials like many soils and growing media, the ability to shrink during drying should be considered as it modifies the total pore volume and pore size distribution, which leads to changes in water holding capacity and air properties. Many studies have shown that the physical properties of growing media depend in part on their particle size. However, no study has been focused on the relationships between shrinkage and particle size for growing media to date. A milled peat (H3 – H6) was fractionated by wet sieving into six particle size fractions.
Zhixian Lin is a Ph.D. candidate in the College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. He works under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Tao Lin. His research focuses on data-driven based modeling for crop growth in plant factories. Strawberries have high consumer demand due to their palatability and nutritional benefits. However, strawberry farming can be challenging as it is susceptible to pests, diseases, and environmental fluctuations.
Rising temperatures, reduced irrigation water and the occurrence of extreme drought events are only some of the challenges that the agricultural sector is currently facing. Deficit irrigation strategies have the potential to maximise water use efficiency without compromising crop quality or yield. This research paper, presented at the IX International Cherry Symposium, examined the effects of different irrigation levels on the physiological performance and fruit quality of sour cherry trees.
Chinese cherry [Cerasus pseudocerasus (Lindl.) G.Don], is an economically important fruit crop in China. Native to China, it is precocious, of high ornamental value, with a delicious taste and rich in nutrients.
Suong Tuyet Thi Ha is a postdoctoral researcher at the Postharvest Physiology Lab, Department of Smart Horticultural Science, Andong National University, South Korea, under the supervision of Prof. Byung-Chun In. Her research interests are postharvest physiology, ethylene, the senescence of cut flowers, and the development of techniques to detect water stress and grey mould disease in cut rose flowers. Cut roses are susceptible to grey mould disease caused by Botrytis cinerea. The severity of the disease symptoms is influenced by the presence of ethylene during storage and transportation.
The postharvest chain for blueberry is challenging. Complications are related to the monitoring of ripeness, which manifests as coloring of the peduncular area. This leads to potential degradation during storage, a decrease in bioactive components and a reduction in quality characteristics. To mitigate these complications, the impact of increased artificial UV-B radiation on nutraceutical compounds of ‘Cargo’ blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) was evaluated.
Despite the physiological impact that variable crop loads have on the vegetative growth and reproductive processes of pistachio, very few studies have examined the effect of fruit-sink strength on pistachio nut growth and quality. In this study, considering the branch as a semi-autonomous unit, with regard to carbohydrate availability, we manipulated fruit load with the following two treatments: high crop load (3 nut clusters) and low crop load (1 nut cluster), and evaluated the impact on carbon assimilation, nut growth and quality parameters.
Pistachio (Pistacia vera) is an important crop in Italy, especially in Sicily (southern Italy), due to the suitability of the crop to the agro-ecological conditions. However, the phytopathological situation has been poorly investigated and little information is available. My research has focused on the investigation of fungal diseases affecting pistachio in Italy. Field surveys were conducted in different geographic regions of Sicily.
Check out the new issue of eJHS online at https://www.pubhort.org/ejhs/ (Volume 88, issue 4, August 2023) including the following articles:
The VII International Symposium on Applications of Modelling as an Innovative Technology in the Horticultural Supply Chain (Model-IT 2023) was held from June 11-14, 2023, at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) in Potsdam, Germany.