31 Jan 2011
Manuela Donetti reports from the 28th International Horticultural Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, 22-27 August 2010.
I was delighted to be accepted to give an oral presentation at the 28th International Horticultural Congress in Lisbon, the biggest horticultural event of the year. I gave a talk on ‘Evaluation of factors affecting shelf-life and quality biomarkers of imported avocado fruit’ in the ‘Postharvest’ session, one of the 18 symposia present at the conference.
The congress, organised in 9 colloquia, 18 symposia, 14 seminars, 18 thematic sessions and 30 workshops, covered a wide ranges of topics: from the biochemical and molecular investigations of fruit and vegetable, to the horticultural sustainability in a changing climate, and the more recent greenhouse technologies. The multidisciplinary environment stimulated interactions with experts from my specific field but also gave me the unique opportunity to learn more about related areas.
The research I presented discussed the possible influence that pre-harvest conditions can have on the main biochemical characters of avocado fruit and its postharvest quality. This investigation is a part of my PhD project sponsored by Cranfield University and Mack Multiplies under the supervision of L Terry.
This congress gave me the chance to understand the work and scientific interests of other research groups, as I am in the final months of my PhD, this knowledge and understanding could prove to be hugely beneficial to me in the future.
I believe that this congress successfully managed to bring together a really wide scientific community, allowing the interaction and discussions between the attendees to be vast and varied. Additionally, I had the opportunity to network with the main experts working in my actual investigation sector which was incredibly insightful and interesting.
Once again I would like to thank SCI for giving me the opportunity to attend this congress, and funding me with an AJ Bank Travel Bursary (£500).
Manuela Donetti,
Cranfield University
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