Articles
PREFACE
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 at least two members of the Editorial Board and amended according to the referee suggestions prior to acceptance.
The Editorial Board could not accept all manuscripts submitted for publication.
The ISHS acknowledges the cooperation received from the Editors and Editorial Board on reviewing the manuscripts which was a significant contribution to the overall quality of the publication.
The ISHS Board of Directors
FOREWORD
The first International Citrus Biotechnology Symposium was held in Eilat, Israel, from November 29 to December 3, 1998, under the auspices of the S.P. Monselise and A. Bar-Akiva Foundation Memorial Foundation, The Citrus Marketing Board of Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), and the International Society of Citriculture (ISC).
The symposium was attended by research scientists from 13 citrus-growing countries, students, extension officers, marketing representatives, and growers.
In addition to keynote papers and oral reports, there were interactive poster sessions, group discussions, and exhibitions showing select Israeli citrus fruit cultivars and citrus diseases.
The symposium was characterized by stimulating discussions and lively exchanges of ideas.
Thanks are due to the participants, all of whom contributed to the symposium’s success.
Citrus biotechnology has emerged in recent years as a rapidly developing field, encompassing molecular, genetic, physiological, and pathological aspects.
The progress achieved in these interdisciplinary areas during the last decade prompted us to organize this international symposium.
This initiative seems justified in view of the broad interest in this meeting, as reflected in this volume of the Proceedings.
The ever-growing number of scientists involved in citrus biotechnology leads us to believe that future symposia will continue the work started here.
The present volume contains of most of the major presentations of the Symposium.
In fact, this volume is the first collection of its kind, bringing together up-to-date achievements in citrus biotechnology, a field that has rarely been open for public scientific discussion.
We hope that this volume will enhance the development of the discipline in its theoretical aspects as well as its practical implementation.
Raphael (Raffi) Goren and Eliezer E. Goldschmidt
Rehevot, May 2000
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The organizers thank the following organizations for their help and their support of the Symposium: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; The Citrus Marketing Board of Israel; Division of Citriculture, Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
We are grateful to Shirley Smith (Israel), who edited the manuscripts, and to Andrea Bernstein (USA), who undertook the copy-editing.
Their dedication and editorial skills made a valuable contribution to this publication.
IN MEMORIAM
The First International Citrus Biotechnology Symposium was sponsored by the S.P. Monselise and A. Bar-Akiva Memorial Foundation.
S.P. Monselise and A. Bar-Akiva were pioneers of modern citrus research in Israel.
Their fields of interest and activity were largely complementary, with Monselise concentrating on problems of hormonal control of growth and productivity, and Bar-Akiva working on problems of mineral nutrition and its impact on fruit quality.
Beginning in the mid-fifties the Israeli citrus industry went through a period of rapid expansion, which was accompanied by intensive modern research initiatives.
Monselise’s activities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem encompassed both teaching and research.
Most of the current citrus researchers and extension officers in Israel were his students.
In research, his main contribution was the elucidation of the specific roles of growth substances in the regulation of flowering, fruit set growth, and quality, which led to broad implementation of growth regulators in citriculture.
In his research at the Volcani Center of the Agricultural Research Organization, Bar-Akiva devoted his efforts to a broad array of nutritional problems.
His major achievements were the development of enzymatic methods for diagnosis of mineral deficiencies in citrus leaves and their correction by appropriate fertilization treatments.
Their remarkable scientific contributions and their warm personal influence provide ongoing guidance and inspiration to their successors in citrus research in Israel and worldwide.
Menachem (Mena) Davidzon
Yair Erner
Eliezer E. Goldschmidt
Raphael (Raffi) Goren
Memorial Foundation Committee