ICAR-NBPGR at 30th International Horticultural Congress, Istanbul, Turkey, 12-16 August 2018

The 30th International Horticultural Congress was held in Istanbul, Turkey, 12-16 August 2018, organized by International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), Turkish Society for Horticultural Science and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Turkey. There were total 39 symposia on various topics like Plant Genetic Resources, Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Applied Functional Molecular Biology, Innovation and New Technologies in Protected Cultivation, Temperate Fruits in the Tropics and Subtropics, Organic Horticulture for Wellbeing of the Environment and Population etc. More than 1800 delegates from about 90 countries participated in the congress. There were exhibitions and stalls by the public institutions and private sector.

Dr Sandhya Gupta, Principal Scientist, ICAR-NBPGR, was convener of Symposium one (S1) “the 5th International Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources: Management and Utilization for Food Nutrition and Environmental Security”. There were three key note speakers, 35 oral presentations from more than 10 countries like Belgium, China, India, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, USA etc. and about 45 posters. Dr Sandhya Gupta held the position of the Vice Chair of ISHS Commission of Plant Genetic Resources from 2014-2018 and as convener of the PGR symposium, received an ISHS medal at IHC 2018.

Dr Kuldeep Singh, Director ICAR-NBPGR was the first Key Note speake and delivered the talk on ‘Unlocking Genebanks to Ensure Food and Nutrient Security and Environmental Stability’. Dr Singh also chaired Session 4: Genomic Resources, Characterisation and Conservation, safe movement of germplasm during the symposium. Dr Sandhya Gupta chaired session1: PGR management and utilization; climate change and Session 3: Plant genetic Diversity, conservation and use, crop wild relatives and native species in addition to an oral presentation on “Diversity, Conservation and Use of Underutilized and Minor Fruits in India: An Overview” and a poster on “Ex situ Conservation of Strawberry (Fragaria spp.) Germplasm in ICAR-NBPGR”.

(Source: Dr Sandhya Gupta, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi)