NUCIS number 12. September 2004. 52 pages (full ... - IAMZ - ciheam

ging and dancing were also included andwhere the natural abilities of the participantscould be demonstrated.Because of their contribution to this meetingspecial thanks are due to FAO-CI-HEAM, the Director of the Regional AgriculturalServices of Trás-os-Montes andIBET, for their encouragement and supportduring all the organization. Also thePresidents of Câmara Municipal de Mirandelaand Alfândega da Fé, as well asAmendouro Company, Mr. António Martinsand Mss. Maria de Lurdes Lopes aremuch acknowledged for their help andgranted availability.Participants of the XIII Grempa Meeting on Pistachios and Almonds held at Mirandela, Portugaland the Universidade de Trás-os-Montese Alto Douro (UTAD), with the collaborationof the Inter-Regional FAO-CIHEAMCooperative Research Network on Nuts,and having Vitor Cordeiro and M. MargaridaOliveira as the conveners.The meeting was attended by more than80 participants from 14 countries: Algeria(1), Argentina (1), Australia (10), Belgium(1), France (3), Greece (1), Iran (5), Italy(8), Morocco (1), Portugal (22), Spain(17), Tunisia (3), Turkey (3) and USA (6).A Chinese delegation with 7 participantscould not attend the meeting because ofthe severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS), although China was representedwith two abstracts. Also one participantfrom Macedonia and two other participantsfrom Algeria did not succeed to bepresent but managed to have their posterspresented.The participants represented several sectorsof activity linked to almond and pistachio,including farmers, industrials andresearchers. Important scientific advanceshave been reported and the meetingwas a good opportunity to exchangeknowledge and strategies among teamsfrom all around the world where almondand pistachio are grown. Besides thescientific sessions, numerous opportunitiesfor discussion and establishment ofnew collaborations were possible duringcoffee-breaks, meals or social events.In total, 75 communications were presented(39 oral communications and 36 posters),unequally distributed by the differentsessions, which included:“Cultivars, Rootstocks and Breeding” (10oral communications and 12 posters),“Flowering, Pollination and Fruit Set” (5orals, 5 posters), “Pests and Diseases” (3orals, 3 posters), “Harvesting, Marketingand Industry” (2 orals, 2 posters), “OrchardManagement” (4 orals, 4 posters)and finally “Physiology, Biology and Biotechnology”(15 orals, 10 posters). All theabstracts, including those of the participantsthat finally did not attend the meeting(in total 50 orals and 40 posters weresubmitted) were included in the Book ofAbstracts and distributed by the participants.Before closing the ceremony, aRound table was organized for discussionof common problems and strategies aimingto solve them. The proceedings ofthis meeting will be edited in a volume ofCahiers Options Méditerranéenes.In the first working day, the participantswere transported to the city Hall Auditoriumby the touristic train of Mirandela. Inthe afternoon of the second working day,a visit was organized to an almond privatecompany “Amendouro”, and to the villageof Moncorvo where the secular churchwas visited, as well as a traditional storewhere almonds are processed in a secretway!!! The day ended with a prosperousmeal offered by the Town-hall Presidentof Alfândega da Fé.On Wednesday, a full day was dedicatedto a long tour. The day started with a visitto almond orchards (at the ExperimentalCentre of Terra Quente), followed by a visitto old wine presses in a Douro farm(Quinta da Pacheca) and a travel by boat,up the Douro river, until Pinhão.On the last day, after the sessions andclosing ceremony, a farewell eveningbanquet organized at “Estalagem da Senhoradas Neves” gathered most of theparticipants in a happy event where sin-Finally, we would like to express ourthanks to the Scientific and OrganizingCommittee of the Meeting and to all participantsand contributors of the large almondand pistachio family. We hope thismeeting may have contributed for the exchangeof scientific knowledge and tostrengthen the collaboration of the participantswithin the network or in connectionwith it.M. Margarida OliveiraVitor CordeiroVI INTERNATIONALCONGRESS ON HAZELNUTThe 6 th International Congress on Hazelnutwas held in Tarragona, North-East ofSpain, on June 14-18, 2004. The Congressoffered an international forum tomeet each other and to exchange experiencesrelated to the latest results concerningagronomic, industrial, health benefitsand commercial aspects of hazelnutgrowing. The Congress was organizedby the Institut de Recerca i TecnologiaAgroalimentàries (IRTA) – CentreMas Bové in collaboration with the InternationalSociety for Horticultural Science(ISHS) and the FAO-CIHEAM Nut Network.This event was financially supportedby several institutions: Diputació deTarragona, Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología,INIA, European Union - projectPORTA, Generalitat de Catalunya –Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris ide Recerca (AGAUR), MediterraneanAgronomic Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ -CIHEAM), FAO-CIHEAM Nut Network,Caixa Tarragona, Town councils of Tarragona,Reus and Constantí; and the privatesponsors: Borges, Morella Nuts, IndústriesGarriga, Denomination of Origin“Avellana de Reus”, Unió Agrària Cooperativaand Coselva.42 FAO-CIHEAM - Nucis-Newsletter, Number 12 September 2004