The scientific program for the IHC2026 comprises 27 fascinating symposia that reflect the theme of “Exploring the Diversity of Horticulture”.
This program has been developed with the contributions of the IHC2026 Scientific Program Committee, ISHS Division Chairs, and each symposium’s conveners and scientific committees.
The release of detailed information for each symposium, including the “Call for Abstract”, is scheduled for this spring!
Prof. Masao Watanabe is a distinguished plant molecular geneticist and breeder, currently serving as a full Professor at the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, in Sendai, Japan. He earned his Doctor of Agriculture degree from Tohoku University.
Prof. Watanabe’s academic career commenced at Tohoku University, where he held the position of Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture from April 1991 to November 1997. He then advanced to Associate Professor at Iwate University’s Faculty of Agriclture, serving from December 1997 to March 2005. In April 2005, he returned to Tohoku University as a full Professor in the Graduate School of Life Sciences, a position he continues to hold.
His research primarily focuses on plant molecular genetics and breeding, with significant contributions to the understanding of plant reproductive biology and self-incompatibility mechanisms. Prof. Watanabe has extensively studied the genetic and molecular bases of self-incompatibility in Brassica species, providing insights that are crucial for crop improvement and hybrid seed production.
Throughout his career, Prof. Watanabe has been prolific in his scholarly output, authoring over 145 publications that have collectively garnered more than 7,070 citations, reflecting the substantial impact of his work in the scientific community. His expertise encompasses plant genetics, molecular biology, and biotechnology, with a particular emphasis on the Brassicaceae family. Prof. Watanabe also understands the importance of nurturing the next generation of young researchers, and contributed to the spread of plant sciences in public through more than 1,400 outreach activities.
In addition to his research endeavors, Prof. Watanabe is an active member of several professional societies, including the Molecular Biology Society of Japan, the Japanese Society of Breeding, and the Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. His dedication to both research and education continues to advance the field of plant sciences, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices and crop improvement strategies.
Naoya Fukuda, PhD, serves as a Professor within the Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, where his research focuses on the intricate interplay between horticulture and environmental control. His expertise is particularly pronounced in the study of light environments, hydroponics, and the application of artificial lighting in agricultural settings. His research initiatives are dedicated to advancing horticultural practices through innovative environmental manipulation. Notable projects include elucidating the mechanisms behind chlorogenic acid accumulation in lettuce seedlings via compound environmental treatments and developing lighting techniques to enhance chlorogenic acid content. His earlier work extensively explored the impact of light quality on horticultural crop growth and floral induction.Dr. Fukuda’s contributions have been recognized with the Agricultural Facilities Society Contribution Award in 2017. He is an active member of several prominent academic societies, including The Japanese Society for Horticultural Science, the Japanese Society of Farm Work Research, and The Society of Agricultural Structures, Japan. His research findings are disseminated through numerous publications, such as recent studies on the effects of LED lighting on lettuce growth and the enhancement of ginseng seedling yield through dense planting and environmental control, serves as a Professor within the Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tsukuba, where his research focuses on the intricate interplay between horticulture and environmental control. His expertise is particularly pronounced in the study of light environments, hydroponics, and the application of artificial lighting in agricultural settings.
Researcher, Ecological Production and Consumption, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (August 2023–Present): Focus on plant protection in organic horticulture.
Dr.Yasunaga Iwasaki is a researcher and academic currently affiliated with Meiji University. His expertise lies in the field of agricultural science, with a specialized focus on horticulture, soil science, and plant nutrition. His research interests encompass a wide range of areas, including environmental control in horticulture, soilless culture, and the development of sustainable agricultural practices. 4 He has made significant contributions to the field through his extensive research and publications, which have been featured in numerous academic journals and conferences. Dr. Iwasaki’s work is characterized by its innovative approach and its commitment to advancing the field of agricultural science. He is a highly respected member of the academic community and is dedicated to educating and mentoring the next generation of agricultural scientists.
Dr. Silke Hemming is a senior scientist at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) specializing in greenhouse technology and controlled environment agriculture. With a focus on optimizing plant growth and resource efficiency, her research explores innovative lighting strategies, climate control systems, and sustainable cultivation practices. Dr. Hemming leads interdisciplinary projects aimed at developing cutting-edge solutions for the horticultural industry, addressing challenges related to food production, energy consumption, and environmental impact. Her expertise encompasses the integration of sensor technology, data analysis, and modeling to create intelligent growing systems. She is actively involved in international collaborations and knowledge dissemination, contributing to the advancement of sustainable horticulture worldwide. Dr. Hemming holds a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from WUR and has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals and industry reports.
Toshiyuki WAKI is an Assistant Professor at Tohoku University, he specializes in plant secondary metabolism, particularly in the biosynthesis of flavonoids as natural colorants in plants. His research investigates the formation of metabolons—dynamic enzyme complexes that facilitate efficient biosynthetic flux by associating metabolic enzymes into proximity, thereby enhancing reaction specificity and metabolic efficiency. Understanding metabolon formation is crucial for unraveling the regulatory mechanisms of plant secondary metabolism and has potential applications in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. In his recent studies, Waki identified the genes encoding carthamin synthase, peroxidase homologs that catalyze the final enzymatic step of carthamin biosynthesis in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), a species widely used in textile dyeing, food colorants, and traditional medicine. Additionally, he has made significant contributions to elucidating the evolution and function of chalcone isomerase-like proteins, which play a key role via protein-protein interactions with chalcone synthase in the biosynthesis of flavonoid-based natural colorants. This discovery advances the understanding of flavonoid-derived natural colorant biosynthesis.
Ryosuke MUNAKATA is an Assistant Professor at Kyoto University. He received his Ph.D from Graduate School of Agriculture at Kyoto University, where he has studied the molecular mechanisms of biosynthesis of pharmacologically active metabolites in medicinal plants and horticultural species. He spent for almost three years as a postdoctoral fellow at Universite de Lorraine to develop his basic research on plant specialized metabolism and also studied metabolic engineering to produce bioactive phytochemicals in microbes through synthetic biology. In addition to biosynthesis, now he is working on transport and accumulation of lipophilic phytochemicals in plants to better understand plant specialized metabolism. He served two years as a Budding Editor of the journal Plant and Cell Physiology and is also a board member of Japanese Society for Plant Biotechnology.
Chair Professor Hong-Hwa Chen graduated from the Department of Microbiology at Michigan State University, USA in 1991. She has been a faculty at National Cheng Kung University for more than 30 years teaching Cell Biology, Genomics, and Orchid Biotechnology since 1994. She has visited France, the United States, South Korea, and mainland China for short-term study visits several times. So far, she has published more than 60 academic journal articles with high-impact factors, 14 book chapters, 11 domestic and USA patents, and 2 technology transfers, and edited and published 4 Orchid Biotechnology books from volumes I to IV via World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore. In addition, she has completed the whole genome sequence of Phalaenopsis equestris with international cooperation and published it in Nature Genetics in 2015. Her research focuses on the aesthetic traits of Phalaenopsis orchids, including floral color, floral scent as well as disease resistance against Fusarium pathogens. She has been invited as the keynote speaker sharing floral scent biology in 3 international conferences, including the 2018 European Orchid Conference in Paris, France; the 2018 International Symposium on Evolutionary Genomics and Bioinformatics, Taipei, Taiwan; and the 2017 From Fundamental Research to Medical Applications Symposium in Singapore.
Kazufumi Yazaki received his Ph.D. degree from the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Kyoto University under the supervision of Prof. M. Tabata (1988). He was appointed Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Okayama University in 1986. As an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow (1989-1991), he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Bonn under Prof. E. Leistner, and then in the laboratory of Prof. K. Hahlbrock at the Max-Planck-Institute in Cologne, Germany. He moved to Kyoto University as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1992, and became an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture of Kyoto University in 1996. He was promoted to Professor in the Wood Research Institute in 2002, and the Institute was reorganized to become the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere. He became Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University in 2024.
Matteo Busconi is Associate Professor of Agricultural Genetics at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. He is Director of the Research Centre for Biodiversity and Ancient DNA, an interdepartmental research centre, involving researchers with different expertise, of the same University. He carries out research activities mainly in the field of Agricultural Genetics for the characterisation of genetic resources, identification of genes of interest and the development of traceability methods for plant derived food products. He has many years of experience in coordinating or participating in research projects of regional, national or international interest. Among the main research interests, it is possible to cite: study of genetic and epigenetic variability of crops as maize, rice, tomato, bean, saffron, olive, apple, pear, almond, walnut, grapevine and sorghum; study of the genetic variability of species of naturalistic interest as strawberry tree, Taxus baccata L. and Saxifraga tombeanensis (Boiss. ex Engl., 1869); transcriptomics analysis for gene expression analysis in tomato, grapevine and maize; traceability of plant derived products with a main focus in saffron, wine, cocoa and vegetables. He is author of more than 60 publications on international and national journals.
Dr. Knuth specializes in innovative management and marketing strategies to investigate consumer attitudes and behaviors for horticulture crops — both edible and ornamental. Dr. Knuth has conducted studies and published results on the benefits of plants (mentally and emotionally, physically, and socially), consumer preferences of miniature houseplants, preference for water conservation in the residential landscape, and purchasing intent of floral arrangements. She has published innovative eye-tracking and eye-movement studies regarding retail sign complexity and components of the retail display, the Hawthorne effect of eye trackers, and the influence of water conservation signage on purchase intent.
Professor Dr. Matsushita majors in Farm management and farmer’s decision making as his main research fields. Prof. Matsushita had been working in National Agricultural Experiment Station managed by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as a researcher. And he also had been in Division of Financial Management, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Finance Corporation in Japan as one of the officers. Prof. Matsushita received his Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Sciences from Okayama University, Japan in 2002. After these careers, Prof. Matsushita was appointed as professor in University of Tsukuba and Kyoto University in Japan. Now he is making research work in the fields of developing “Decision support system for farmers with stochastic programming methods” and majored in Risk management, Extension and Diffusion related to farmers’ technological investment.
Srinivasan Ramasamy (India) received a PhD in Agricultural Entomology from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India / Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Taiwan in 2003. Since 2005 he has led the Entomology Group at the World Vegetable Center. His professional interests include host-plant resistance, chemical ecology of insect pests, biological control, and molecular entomology. As a member of the WorldVeg Plant Protection and Breeding Team, he received the International Plant Protection Award of Distinction from the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences. Dr. Srinivasan is an active member in professional societies / networks such as Royal Entomological Society, Society for Invertebrate Pathology, Entomological Society of America, International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences, New York Academy of Sciences, and International Society of Chemical Ecology. He has more than 60 peer-reviewed journal publications and book chapters, two field guides and a Conference Proceedings to his credit.
Prof. Yuling Bai is a distinguished scientist in plant breeding, currently serving as a Professor at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands. She earned her PhD from Wageningen University, where she has developed a robust research portfolio focusing on plant-pathogen interactions and the genetic mechanisms underlying disease resistance in crops. Since September 2024, she is the interim Chair of Plant Breeding of WUR.
Throughout her career, Prof. Bai has made significant contributions to the field of plant breeding. Since 2007 she has been leading the research group of “Breeding for Resistance”, with the aim to develop breeding strategies for durable resistance in different crops. Various genetic and genomics approaches are exploited to discover novel plant resistance (R) and susceptibility (S) genes and to study their interaction with the corresponding pathogens. The strong point in her research is its translational feature: overarching strategically the fundamental research to applied breeding practices.
Prof. Bai has an extensive publication record, with over 200 research works that have collectively garnered nearly 9,000 citations, reflecting the impact and relevance of her work in the scientific community. Additionally, her studies have led to great impact in breeding practice by developing novel breeding strategies, tools and prebreeding plant materials.
In the European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) she serves as Scientific Secretary (elected in 2024) and the Chair of Section Vegetables (elected in 2012).
Prof. Bai’s dedication to plant science and her significant research contributions have established her as a leading figure in plant resistance breeding.
Dr. Pasquale Tripodi is a distinguished plant geneticist and breeder, currently serving as Research Director at the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops in Pontecagnano, Italy. He earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from the University of Naples, Faculty of Agriculture, where he specialized in genetic improvement and horticulture.
Dr. Tripodi’s research focuses on the breeding, genetics, and genomics of both fruity (pepper, tomato) and leafy vegetables (rocket salad). His work includes establishing breeding programs to develop advanced backcross inbred lines, introgression lines, multiparental populations, and core collections in vegetables. He investigates genetic regions underlying traits of agricultural interest through QTL mapping and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Additionally, he employs various molecular and genomic approaches for population diversity studies and examines nutritionally important phytochemical compounds.
Throughout his career, Dr. Tripodi has been involved in numerous national and international research projects. Notably, he has contributed to the EU-Horizon 2020 projects such as G2P-SOL, Linking genetics resources, genomes and phenotypes of solanaceous crops INCREASE, focusing on intelligent collections of food-legume genetic resources for European agrofood systems, and BRESOV, aimed at breeding for resilient, efficient, and sustainable organic vegetable production.
In his role, Dr. Tripodi also serves as the Italian representative and chair of the Solanaceae Working Group of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and he is part of the Board of Directors of the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics. He serves as an Associate Editor for journals such as Frontiers in Genetics, Molecular Horticulture and Plant Molecular Biology Reporter. His extensive publication record and editorial contributions underscore his commitment to advancing plant science and sustainable agriculture.
Prof. Masayoshi Shigyo is a distinguished professor in the College of Agriculture, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation at Yamaguchi University, Japan, specializing in vegetable crop science. His research primarily focuses on developing high-efficiency and value-added production systems within plant factories, as well as breeding novel vegetable varieties that are resilient to the effects of global warming.
In addition to his research and teaching responsibilities, Prof. Shigyo plays a significant role in international horticultural communities. He serves as the chair of the Working Group on Edible Alliums within the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), contributing to the advancement of knowledge and practices related to allium crops.
Prof. Shigyo is also actively involved in promoting international exchanges within the academic community. As one of the leaders responsible for fostering global collaborations in the Faculty of Agriculture at Yamaguchi University, he facilitates research partnerships and academic exchanges that enhance the university’s global engagement.
Through his extensive research, leadership roles, and commitment to education, Prof. Shigyo significantly contributes to the fields of horticultural science and sustainable agriculture, addressing contemporary challenges such as climate change and food security.
Dr. Olga Scholten serves as the Scientific Director of the Topsector Horticulture & Starting Materials and the Coordinator external collaboration at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the Netherlands.
In her role as Scientific Director, Dr. Scholten, is responsible for the execution of the knowledge and innovation agenda of the Topsector Horticulture & Starting Materials, by the development and management of highly innovative research programs. These programs focus on fundamental science, applied research, and valorization of outcomes through public-private partnerships and collaboration with other research funding bodies.
Until last year, Dr. Scholten’s research focused primarily on plant breeding, particularly crop genetic improvement. Her work mainly focused on applying molecular genetics and genomics to increase resistance to pests and diseases in various crops, and to improve yield and quality traits. She has contributed to the understanding of plant-pathogen interactions, the development of molecular markers for use in breeding programs, and the sequencing of the onion genome.
Throughout her career, Dr. Scholten has been involved in various research projects aiming to improve the resilience and productivity of crops. Her work has practical applications in agriculture, particularly in developing crop varieties with higher levels of resistance to diseases and environmental stresses, thereby supporting the advancement of sustainable agricultural practices.
Dr. Scholten has an extensive publication record, with over 100 research works that have earned numerous citations, reflecting the impact and relevance of her work in the scientific community and breeding companies.
In her current role at WUR, Dr. Scholten still manages research programs, including the Green Breeding program for organic and conventional farming systems. Additionally, she has mentored PhD and MSc students and collaborated with other researchers to advance the field of plant breeding. Her work contributed to our understanding of plant biology and had practical applications in agriculture, particularly in developing cops with higher levels of resistance to pests and diseases, thereby contributing to global food security.
Dr. Ferdinando Branca is a Professor at the Department of Agriculture, Food, and Environment (Di3A) at the University of Catania, Italy. He earned his Ph.D. in Crop Productivity in 1991 and has been with the University of Catania since 1992.
Prof. Branca’s research focuses on the diversification and innovation of vegetable production. He has extensively studied the bio-morphological variations, primary and secondary metabolites, and genetic profiles of landraces and wild relatives, particularly within the Brassicaceae family. His work includes the collection, conservation, and evaluation of both wild and cultivated vegetable species, with a special emphasis on Italian germplasm of cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and kohlrabi. He has assessed these landraces for their morphological, agronomic, nutraceutical, and organoleptic traits, as well as their adaptability to various environmental conditions.
In addition to his research, Prof. Branca has played a significant role in several international projects. He is the coordinator of the Horizon 2020 BRESOV project, which focuses on breeding for resilient, efficient, and sustainable organic vegetable production. He also serves as the Italian representative and he chaired of the Brassica Working Group of the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) from 1997 to 2024. From 2014 to 2016, he was the vice-chair of the “”Vegetables, Roots, Tubers, Edible Bulbs, Brassica, Asparagus”” section of the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), and he assumed the role of chair from 2016 to 2018. He is chair of the ISHS Division “”Vegetables, Bulbs and Tubers”” from 2022 upto now.
Prof. Branca has authored over 200 scientific papers related to the exploitation of wild and cultivated germplasm used as vegetables and medicinal plants, aiming to enhance and to innovate their productions and the related vegetable supply chains. His extensive work has significantly contributed to the fields of horticulture and plant genetic resources, particularly concerning the Brassicaceae family.
Dr. Hikaru Tsukazaki is a prominent researcher specializing in vegetable crop science, currently serving as the Manager of the Division of Field Cropping and Horticulture Research at the Tohoku Agricultural Research Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Japan. He also holds a position at The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, since April 2018.
Professor Singh is an internationally renowned scientist and his original and outstanding contributions to research and innovation, research training and teaching in horticulture have been recognised by various international and national research and teaching awards. Singh is a Fellow American Society for Horticultural Science, a Fellow Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences, and Vice-Chair Division of Tropical and Subtropical Fruit and Nuts of the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS). He has been a member of ISHS for over 30 years. 
Dr. Kozai has been a member of ISHS for over 20 years and is also a member of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science. She has been conducting research for over 20 years to improve cultivation techniques for temperate and tropical fruit trees, particularly clarification the mechanism of fertilization and fruiting, and has made significant contributions to the industry. She has been involved in research on stable production of durian and other tropical fruit trees and improvement of low tree height cultivation techniques in a project conducted in Thailand. She also joined agricultural projects aimed at improving livelihoods in the Indochina region. Her achievements have been recognized by the Japanese Society of Tropical Agriculture. Currently, she is mainly involved in research on stable fruiting of tropical and subtropical fruit trees in Japan.
Dr. Shingo Goto is a distinguished scientist in citrus research, renowned for his extensive contributions to the field of citrus genomics and breeding. His pioneering work revealed the genomic mechanism of male sterility in citrus. He also applied this mechanism to marker-assisted selection in seedless citrus breeding. These achievements have been recognized internationally, and he received the Best Poster Presentation Award at ICC 2024. Currently, he is focused on developing genome editing technologies for citrus, following his research as a visiting researcher at the University of Florida.
Prof. Sanjay Kumar Singh is the Deputy Director General (Horticultural Science) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and former Director of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru. He earned his B.Sc. (Ag.), M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Horticulture from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, with Gold Medal distinctions. He completed his postdoctoral research under the DBT Overseas Fellowship at the University of Florida, USA (2008-09), focusing on tropical fruit biotechnology.
Joining ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, as an ARS Scientist in 1994, Dr. Singh became the first Professor of Fruit Science (2013-2016). He currently serves as Vice President of the Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences and President of the Society for Promotion of Horticulture, Bengaluru. He was Editor and Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Horticulture (2009-2019).
Dr. Singh has developed improved varieties of grape (Pusa Aditi, Pusa Trishar), mango (Pusa Deepshikha), and guava (Pusa Prateeksha), along with commercial protocols for micropropagation and bio-hardening in crops like mango, grape, citrus, and pomegranate. His research interests include fruit breeding and applying transcriptomics and functional genomics in fruit crops.
He has guided 9 M.Sc. and 18 Ph.D. students and published over 300 research papers, 13 books, and numerous book chapters and articles. Dr. Singh is a Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences and several other prestigious societies and has received multiple awards, including the ICAR’s Bharat Ratna Dr. C. Subramanium Best Teacher Award (2018) and several Lifetime Achievement Awards
Dr. Keisuke Nonaka is the group leader of the Citrus Research Division at NARO. He received his master’s degree at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology in 2002 and his PhD in 2005. He has been engaged in citrus breeding at NARO from 2006 and has been leading NARO’s citrus breeding program since 2019.
Dr. Shu-Yen Lin is an emerging leader in tropical and subtropical fruit tree research in Taiwan, recognized for her pivotal contributions to revitalizing native Taiwanese citrus and promoting the sustainable development of Taiwan’s citrus germplasm. Specializing in metabolomics analysis, particularly in aroma profiling, she has advanced the classification and identification of wild citrus populations and developed stress-response indicators to manage the impact of environmental factors on aroma-related metabolites. Additionally, Dr. Lin is actively developing high-resolution sensing systems for the fruit tree industry, unlocking the potential of precision agriculture and smart farming.
Po An Chen is a researcher at the Agricultural Technology Research Institute (ATRI) in Taiwan. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Horticulture at National Taiwan University, where he studied physiological models of horticultural crops, including branch growth, dormancy, and flowering. During his time at ATRI, he has conducted research on the biosynthesis of aromas in various horticultural crops and developed electronic nose sensing technologies, focusing on tea, coffee, citrus, orchids, and medicinal plants. He has also explored the effects of cultivation techniques (such as fertilization management, light quality and quantity, temperature, and planting substrates) on the bioactive chemical compounds in plants. He served as a guest editor for the journal Horticulturae and is also a board member of the Taiwan Association of Sensory Science and Technology International (TASSTI).
Mahmoud Sharafeldin is a member of International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), served as plant production expert, at Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) with responsibility for Plant Production Technologies and Agricultural Research and Extension. Prior to joining MEWA, Professor Sharafeldin worked in academic teaching and research at several institutions, in different countries including Germany, USA, KSA, ARE, and UK. Professor Sharafeldin received PhD from Technische Universität München. Mahmoud Sharafeldin is serving as Vice-Chair of the ISHS-Workgroup Saffron and served as elected Chairperson of the ISHS-Workgroup Moringa.
Satoru Kondo is a researcher specializing in fruit tree science, with a particular focus on plant physiology and growth regulation. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. Over the course of his career, he has held positions at the Akita Fruit Tree Research Station, Hiroshima Prefectural University, and the Graduate School of Horticulture at Chiba University. In 2024, he joined the School of Agro-Industry at Mae Fah Luang University in Thailand. His contributions to the academic community include serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science (2012–2014), Chair of the ISHS Symposium Plant Bioregulators in Fruit Production (2014–2017), and Editor-in-Chief of Scientia Horticulturae (2016–2023). He currently serves as an Associate Editor. Dr. Kondo has published approximately 200 research papers in his field, contributing significantly to the advancement of fruit tree science.
Dr. Kawakami graduated from Utsunomiya University in 1983 under the supervision of Dr. Naoki Yamamoto on the role of stored mRNA in light induced germination of black pine seeds. He obtained his PhD from Nagoya University in 1988 working under Dr. Akira Watanabe on gene expression during radish leaf senescence and discovered upregulation of cytoplasmic glutamine synthetase gene expression in relation to nitrate recovery from senescing leaves. He started to work as an assistant professor on wheat seed dormancy and pre-harvest sprouting at Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University in 1988. He worked with Dr. Kazuhiko Noda and reported importance of abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism and sensitivity for grain dormancy development and pre-harvest spouting resistance. He moved to Meiji University in 1997 and shifted his main work to seed response to temperature to understand molecular mechanism of seed dormancy and germination. His group has been taken molecular genetic and chemical genetic approaches with Arabidopsis and illuminating phytohormone regulation mechanism by internal dormancy and external temperature. Recently, his group elucidated molecular function of rice and wheat dormancy QTL genes in Arabidopsis in collaboration with breeding scientists. He has been a member of International Society for Seed Science and appointed as a regional representative of Japan from 2019. He chaired the 6th Plant Dormancy Symposium in 2018 at Kyoto and facilitated discussion between seed and bud dormancy researchers.
Dr. Horvath graduated from Purdue University in 1984 after working under Dr. Jeff Bennetzen on screening for stress sensitive mutator lines. He obtained his PhD from Michigan State University in 1993 working under Dr. Mike Thomashow where he assisted in cloning and characterizing the first cold induced genes from plants. He then took a post-doc position with the USDA-ARS in Fargo ND working on identifying molecular markers associated with durable stem rust resistance working under Dr. Lynn Dahleen. He was then hired as a full-time scientist for the USDA-ARS where he spent the first 20 years of his career working on bud dormancy and stress tolerance in the perennial invasive weed leafy spurge and was one of the first two groups to clone and characterize DORMANCY ASSOCIATED MADS-BOX genes. He has since begun investigating freezing tolerance and deacclimation resistance in oilseed crops such as canola and camelina where he cloned the first gene shown to reduce the rate of deacclimation in canola and arabidopsis and to investigate the association between FLOWERING LOCUS C and freezing tolerance in camelina. He is also actively investigating crop-weed interactions using transcriptomics and mutation analyses and has helped develop a new paradigm for how weeds reduce crop yields in well-managed agricultural settings.
Dr. Kotoda graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1993 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Kenji Mori on organic synthesis of the pheromone of an insect. He obtained his MS from the University of Tokyo in 1996 working under Prof. Dr. Haruo Seto on screening of natural products that reduce glutamate neurotoxicity using neuro hybridoma cell lines and hippocampal primary cells of mice. He started to work as a researcher on apple breeding at the National Institute of Fruit Tree Science in Morioka, Iwate, in 1996. He then obtained his Ph.D from the University of Tokyo in 2005 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Tadakatsu Yoneyama on flowering mechanism of apples. After 12 years of expertise of handling deciduous fruit trees such as apple, pear, cherry, blueberry, etc., he studied parthenocarpy and GA function of citrus for five years in Okitsu, Shizuoka. He also worked with Drs. Roger Hellens and Erika-Varkonyi Gasic on the flowering mechanism of fruit trees at Plant and Food Research in Auckland, New Zealand from 2009 to 2010. Since he moved to Saga University in 2013, he has studied physiology and genomics of citrus using a variety of citrus germplasms and wild species. Recently he is interested in natural products including health ingredients in tree fruits like citrus.
Dr. Varkonyi-Gasic received her BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. As a research associate at the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering in Belgrade, she contributed to the characterization of buckwheat seed storage proteins. She then moved to New Zealand in 1995 to study plant development and responses to environmental signals at AgResearch Grasslands, Palmerston North. Her study of a white clover early nodulin gene earned her a PhD from the University of Belgrade in 2001. Following this, she joined the biotechnology company Genesis Research and Development in Auckland, New Zealand, as a scientist investigating mobile RNAs and long-distance communication in plants. For the past 19 years, Dr. Varkonyi-Gasic has worked at Plant & Food Research and its predecessor, HortResearch, studying the developmental and environmental regulation of vegetative and reproductive phenology in horticultural species. Her current research applies biotechnology to accelerate the breeding of woody perennials, including apple and kiwifruit. Under her leadership, gene editing in kiwifruit was successfully established, paving the way for the development of climate-resilient plants.
Dr. Erin Rosskopf has been working for over 25 years on alternatives to methyl bromide leading research on a series of biological solutions (bio-herbicides, vegetable grafting, biofumigation, soil solarization, and anaerobic soil disinfestation) meant to manage weeds and other soilborne pests and pathogens. She has worked closely with industry representatives and vegetable and in-ground ornamental producers assessing the efficacy and feasibility of alternatives to MeBr. Currently she leads research on anaerobic soil disinfestation for vegetable and small berry production systems in the southeast of the US, evaluating its efficacy against soilborne pests. In her career, she has been the recipient of more than $10 million in research grants and has authored or co-authored over 95 published peer-reviewed papers and 15 book chapters on soil disinfestation, biological control, organic production, and others, besides many conference proceedings and extension articles. Her work is recognized internationally.
Among other things, Dr. Rosskopf serves on the Organizing Committee of the International Research Conference on Methyl Bromide Alternatives and Emissions Reduction (https://mbao.org/) and will convene the 2025 (first) International Symposium on Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation.
Dr. Takahashi completed his Master’s degree in Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology at the University of Tokyo in 2014. The same year, he joined the NARO Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science as a researcher, focusing on broccoli production system. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a technical officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, working in both the Secretariat of AFFRC and the Horticultural Crops Division. In 2023, he returned to NARO as a Senior Researcher, and in 2024, he also became an Associate Professor in the Agricultural Science Program at the University of Tsukuba.
His major career milestones include working on techniques to bridge the off-season gap for fresh broccoli and increasing yields for processing broccoli. Dr. Takahashi has made significant contributions to the development of techniques for two heads harvesting and large head production in Japan. His work has been recognized with several awards, including the Horticultural Society’s Outstanding Paper Award in 2020 and the Encouragement Award in 2022.
Dr. Sato began his career in 1995 at the Vegetable and Tea Research Station, now part of NARO. From 2005 to 2006, he was dispatched to Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Upon returning, he served as a Senior Researcher in NARO’s Planning and Coordination Division until 2008.
Dr. Sato then worked as a Senior Researcher at the NARO Vegetable and Tea Research Institute until 2016, and as Principal Researcher until 2019. Since 2020, he has led a research group at the same institute.
His research focuses on cell-formed seedlings for leafy vegetables. He published a management manual in 1997 and developed a bottom irrigation technique for cabbage seedlings in 2001. Dr. Sato has also worked on sustainable vegetable production using livestock manure compost, publishing findings on nitrogen absorption in cabbage in 2008.
Recently, Dr. Sato has developed growth prediction technologies for green onions and broccoli, patented in 2019 and 2020. He also created growth and yield prediction programs for cabbage and lettuce, implemented in WAGRI in 2021. In 2022, he developed a precision shipment prediction system for field vegetables using ICT.
Since 2010, Dr. Sato has been a member of various Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries committees, contributing to several subsidy projects. “
Dr. Kazuyoshi Nada is a professor at Mie University, Japan (https://www.bio.mie-u.ac.jp/en/). He served as an editor or a senior editor of the vegetable section for the Horticulture Journal from 2016 to 2025. Additionally, he was as a managing editor of Horticultural Research (Japan) from 2010 to 2013 and a member of the symposium committee for the JSHS from 2014 to 2016. At IHC2026, he is a member of the publication committee.
Dr. Francesco Di Gioia is Associate Professor of Vegetable Crop Science in the Department of Plant Science at The Pennsylvania State University.>br?His integrated research and extension program is focused on improving the sustainability of vegetable crops and their nutritional quality. Working across different crops, growing systems (open field, protected, and controlled environment), and production methods (conventional, organic, soil-based and soilless systems) his research aims at developing and optimizing solutions for improving crop resource use efficiency (water, nutrients, energy), reducing the use of synthetic inputs, and improving the nutritional value of vegetable crops.
ProfessorSota Fujii completed his PhD at Tohoku University in 2009. After holding postdoctoral positions at the University of Western Australia and Kyoto University, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology. In 2017, he joined the Department of Applied Biological Chemistry at the University of Tokyo, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2020 and Full Professor in 2025. His research primarily focuses on the molecular mechanisms governing plant sexual reproduction, including pioneering discoveries of the key interspecific reproductive barrier factors SPRI1 and SPRI2 in Arabidopsis. He also investigates the fundamental molecular mechanisms of pollen-pistil interactions and self-incompatibility across diverse plant species.
Recent Representative Awards:
2020, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Young Scientists’ Prize
2023, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Prize
2024, Japan Academy Medal
2024, Bioindustry Young Investigator Award
2025, The Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists Young Investigator Awards
Professor
Ray Ming began his working in plant genomics at the University of Hawaii, where he received his PhD degree in 1995. After completing a post-doctoral research associate position in sugarcane genome mapping at Texas A&M University, he joined the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center (HARC) in 1998, focusing on tropical plant genomics including papaya, pineapple, and sugarcane. During his time at HARC, his team discovered recently evolved sex chromosomes in papaya, which led to sex chromosome evolution and sex determination becoming a major focus of his research. In 2005, he joined the faculty of plant biology at the University of Illinois at Urbane-Champaign (UIUC). From 2013 to 2017, he served as the director of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) and UIUC School of Integrative Biology (SIB) Joint Center for Genomics and Biotechnology. In 2023, he returned to FAFU as the director of the Center for Genomics and Biotechnology while remaining as a professor emeritus at UIUC.
His research interests include sex chromosome evolution and its relevance on crop improvement in papaya, the origin and evolution of CAM photosynthesis and clonally propagated crops, and genome features contributing to high sugar content and biomass yield in sugarcane. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have been cited more than 30,000 times, with an H-index of 76.
Tom Bennett has been a group leader at the University of Leeds since 2016. His research focuses on the mechanisms that plants use to optimise the root and shoot growth with respect to prevailing environmental conditions. One key focus of his research is understanding how end-of-flowering and total reproductive effort are coordinated by resource availability and environmental signals. He did his PhD at the University of York (2002-2006) working with Dame Professor Ottoline Leyser, before undertaking post-doctoral research at the University of Utrecht (2007-2010) and University of Cambridge (2010-2016).
Dr. Masahiro Kanaoka got Ph. D. at Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, for genetic and developmental biology of pollen grains in 2006. After post-doc work of stomatal development at Department of biology, University of Washington, he had been working as an Assistant Professor and a tenured Lecturer at Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University. Since 2022, he has been a Professor at Department of Life Science, Prefectural University of Hiroshima.
Hisayo Yamane is a professor at the Laboratory of Pomology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University. Her research focuses on the reproduction biology of fruit trees and phenology characteristics (winter bud dormancy and fruit ripening) of temperate fruit trees especially Rosaceae fruit trees and blueberry. One key focus of her research is understanding genetic and epigenetic regulations on bud dormancy and chilling requirement for dormancy release and bud break. She received her PhD at the Kyoto University (2003) and stayed at Cornell University as postdoc (2003-2004), working with Prof. Jocelyn Rose and studied about Prunus self-incompatibility.
Dr. Avi Sadka has been a senior research scientist at the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Institute, since 1995, and also serves as an adjunct professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As a plant physiologist specializing in citrus and other fruit trees, his research focuses on various aspects of plant growth, development, and responses to external stimuli.
Yulin Fang, professor and vice president of Northwest A&F University. He has successively served as the dean of the College of Enology, the dean of the Institute of Science and Technology Development, , and the vice president of Northwest A&F University. He served as the dean of the Institute of Future Agriculture, the vice director of China Wine Technical Committee and the president of Grape and Wine Branch of Chinese Society for Horticultural Science. Prof. Fang focuses primarily on the areas of wine grape quality regulation, exploration of grape germplasm resources and breeding of new varieties, mechanisms of wine grape development under abiotic stress, grape and wine flavor chemistry, and simplified cultivation technology for wine grape. In recent years, he has made outstanding achievements in the technical innovation chain covering the whole industry, such as precise regulation of wine grape quality, mining of typical flavor quality of varieties in producing areas, abiotic stress physiology and resistance cultivation, grape quality improvement after flood and drought disasters, and standardization of wine grape production. All the research activity has contributed much to the grape and wine industry in the arid and semi-arid regions of Northwest China, as well as to the whole national grape industry.
Simone Diego Castellarin is a Professor and the co-Director of the Wine Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He has received his Ph.D. (2007) in Agricultural Science and Biotechnology from the University of Udine, Italy. His research focuses on viticulture and grapevine physiology. Particularly, it considers the physiological and molecular aspects that underlay ripening and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in grapes, and how they are modulated by the environment and viticultural practices. Prof. Castellarin’s laboratory currently uses a multidisciplinary approach that combines field and greenhouse experiments, and targeted and untargeted analyses of metabolites and transcripts. The laboratory has a robust partnership with top scientists in the field of viticulture, grapevine physiology, and applied genomics in North America and Europe. His research is shaped by his agriculture-oriented background and considers those aspects of grapevine physiology that are relevant for improving fruit quality in vineyards.
Jinggui Fang works as a professor and the director of the Fruit Crop Variety Promotion and Seedling Propagation Engineering Center of Jiangsu Province in Nanjing Agricultural University, China. His research mainly focuses on evaluation of grape genetic resources, development of genotype identification strategies using DNA markers, grape genomics, genetics and breeding, grape development biology, the formation mechanism of some phenotypic and inner quality traits, such as skin color, berry shape and sugar etc. He also engaged in much extension job to the management practice both of table and wine grape vineyards.
Giovanni Battista Tornielli is a Full Professor of Viticulture at the University of Padua (Italy). He graduated in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Padua, and obtained his PhD in 1999. Until 2002, he carried out post-doctoral research in agricultural genetics at the University of Verona, and as a visiting scientist at the Vrije University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). In 2018, he became an Associate Professor of General Arboriculture and Tree Crops at the University of Verona, and in 2023 he moved to the University of Padua as a Full Professor in the same field. He teaches and has taught various courses in undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programs, mostly dedicated to the molecular biology, physiology, and cultivation of grapevines. His research activity covers the themes of grape ripening and postharvest withering physiology, with particular attention to the effects of environment and agronomic practices and the underlying molecular mechanisms. This research work is documented by a significant number of publications in high-impact international journals. Prof. Tornielli also serves/has served as an editor for leading journals, including Horticulture Research, Frontiers in Plant Science, and Horticulturae, contributing to the dissemination of innovative research in fruit tree physiology and molecular biology. He is a member of the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine.
Akifumi Azuma is a Principal Scientist at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) in Japan. His main research fields are physiological and genetic aspects of grape cultivation. His research aims to enhance grape production through the development of climate-resilient grape varieties and the elucidation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in grape skins. His research focuses on the molecular genomics and genetics of anthocyanin biosynthesis in grape berry skin, breeding and cultivation of table grapes, and the impact of environmental factors on grape coloration. He has developed DNA markers for early selection of high-quality, heat-tolerant grape varieties and contributed to postharvest technologies for improving grape quality.
Dr. David Bryla is a research horticulturist and lead scientist with the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Dr. Bryla graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a BS in Biology in 1987 and a MS in Ecology in 1989 and completed his PhD in Plant Biology at the University of California, Davis in 1994. He joined the USDA in 1999. Dr. Bryla has authored more than 150 scientific publications over his career and is recognized internationally for his research on water and nutrient management of horticultural crops. He compiled the most complete work to date on irrigation and fertigation of blueberries and other small fruits. He also led a team to identify temperature thresholds for heat damage in blueberries and is continuing to develop techniques for mitigating heat stress in the flowers and fruit. Dr. Bryla is a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science and serves as assistant editor for HortScience and an associate editor for Irrigation Science and Frontiers in Plant Science.
Associate professor of Horticulture at Utsunomiya University in Japan. He is a plant (molecular) physiologist whose main interest is the flowering mechanisms of the genus Fragaria, especially wild species, as well as the evolution of the genus.
Science Group Leader at Plant & Food Research in New Zealand. Research area began with a focus on sex determination in kiwifruit (Actinidia) and has expanded to oversee the group’s activity from molecular biology along the entire kiwifruit breeding pipeline.
Associate Professor of Horticulture at Washington State University in the United States. Program focus is small fruit crops in response to alternative management systems designed to optimize plant productivity, fruit quality, and on-farm efficiencies while maintaining the health of adjacent natural resources within a diversity of production systems. Crops of focus are caneberry (raspberry and blackberry), blueberry, strawberry.
Dr. Whiting hails from Canada where he earned his M.Sc. studying Postharvest Physiology of apples at the University of Guelph. He received his Ph.D. from Washington State University in 2001 studying whole-canopy gas exchange and applied tree physiology of sweet cherry. Since 2002 Dr. Whiting has led a temperate tree fruit research, extension, and teaching program at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center. His program has addressed the key factors limiting sustainable production of superlative fruit including fruit set, pollination biology, artificial pollination, canopy source-sink relations, crop load management, and canopy architecture. Dr. Whiting has adopted a total systems approach to incorporating mechanization/automation in tree fruit by combining the development of compact fruiting wall architectures with collaborative research into mechanical harvest, pruning, and thinning systems. His team works in collaboration with commercial producers around the world to improve production efficiency and orchard sustainability.
1991 PhD University of Bologna (Italy). 1998-2007 Associate professor at the University of Bologna. Professor at the Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (2007-now). Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (2008-2014). Vice-president of Eurac Research (2016-). President of the Italian Society of Horticultural Science (2016-2022). President of the Italian Association of the Scientific Agricultural Societies, AISSA (2020-2023). Chairman of the working group on “Mineral Nutrition of Fruit Crops” of the ISHS (2000-2005; 2012-2017). He leads the Tree ecophysiology and ecosystems group (https://treeecophysiology.unibz.it/) at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, where he also coordinates the PhD Program in Mountain Environment and Agriculture. His main research interests relate to the efficient resource use in agricultural systems and aim at providing basic knowledge to develop more sustainable production systems, with special focus on fruit trees and grapevine under the climate change scenarios. His research looks at the effects that plant physiological processes have at ecosystem scale and stretches from mineral nutrients to carbon and water fluxes. The research group activities integrate several techniques including micrometeorology, eco-physiological measurements, the use of stable isotopes, tree biometry and modelling. He has published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and several international book chapters and papers in conference proceedings.
Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki. received his Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kyoto University in 2001 and has been in his current position since April 2010. His research focuses on fruit science, especially clonal propagation. He specializes in persimmon (Diospyros kaki) research, especially dwarfing rootstocks, clonal plant propagation techniques including micropropagation and cutting propagation, and fruit tree biotechnology. His recent work includes the improvement of micropropagation protocols for the persimmon dwarfing rootstock ‘MKR1’ and its application to more efficient orchard management. He has received several awards for his research, including High Step Researcher (University of Miyazaki, 2019). He has also authored or co-authored numerous scientific papers and book chapters, including “Compendium of transgenic crop plants: Transgenic tropical and subtropical fruits and nuts” (2008), “Biotechnology of Fruit and Nut Crops, 2nd Edition” (2020), and “The Persimmon Genome” (2022). His work has been cited 1340 times according to ResearchGate, indicating his significant impact in the field of horticultural science.
Professor in the Faculty of Agriculture at Yamagata University, Japan. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies (master course) in agriculture at Kyoto University. Then he received his Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kyoto University in 2002. He began his career in 1984 as a researcher at the Yamagata Prefectural Horticultural Experiment Station, Japan. In 1987, he transferred to Yamagata University, where he remains to this day. He specializes in horticultural science, particularly postharvest biology and technology. Using European pear fruit as his research material, he has elucidated the mechanisms by which fruit loses its ability to ripen after long-term storage, and the mechanisms by which fruit does not fully ripen on the tree. He also conducts research on cherry storage and was convener, together with Dr. Tao and Dr. Taira, of the8th International Cherry Symposium held in Yamagata in 2017. He is actively involved in various academic societies related to horticulture and food preservation.
George Manganaris is founder and Director of CUT Fruit Sciences & Posharvest Group (www.fruitsciences.eu) at Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). His main scientific interests include the quality evaluation/phytochemical profile of fruit crops with the employment of physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches, the elucidation of fruit ripening syndrome with emphasis in the development of physiological disorders and overall the postharvest maintenance of fresh produce. He is Council Member and elected Vice Chair at the Division Temperate Tree Fruits at ISHS. In the past he has organized three ISHS symposiums and has acted as editor of the Proceedings of the X ISHS Peach Symposium (Acta Horticulturae 1352), V International Postharvest Unlimited Symposium (Acta Horticulturae 1079) and the III International Horticulture in Europe Symposium (Acta Horticulturae 1242). To date, Dr. Manganaris is the author of more than 100 contributions in refereed journals (4400 citations, h-index=33). As Editor-in-Chief of Scientia Horticulturae, he channels over six years of academic leadership to elevate scientific discourse in horticulture.
Rod Drew is an Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, in Australia. He has been actively involved in ISHS for >35 years. He was President of ISHS, 2014-2018 and President, 29th International Horticulture Congress, 17th – 22nd August 2014, Brisbane. He represented Australia on the ISHS council and served as Chairman of ISHS Commission Biotechnology and Molecular Biology from 2002 to 2010. He was Convenor and/or Chair of Organising and Executive Committees of 20 ISHS symposia. Rod has been invited to serve on >50 International Advisory Committees and Scientific Committees on Congresses (ISHS, Asian Horticulture Congresses, Asian Crop Science Conference), Conferences and Symposia in Australasia, Europe, North and South America. He has been an invited Professor at Universities in Belgium, Japan, China and the USDA in Hawaii. He was Chairman of Board of Global Horticulture Initiative, 2015- 2016, that was developed by former ISHS President, Dr. Norm Looney. Rod’s research interests include Plant Tissue Culture and Plant Biotechnology where he specialised in Tropical Fruit Crops. His Doctor of Science Award from the University of Queensland comprised 100 publications on “Carica papaya as Model for Biotechnology on Tropical Fruit Species”. He has published >200 invited reviews and book chapters, journal and conference papers. He has been editor of 12 volumes of Acta Horticulturae.
Sota Koeda received his Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from Kyoto University in 2011. He then started his career as an assistant professor at Kyoto University. In 2015, he joined the faculty of agriculture at Kindai University in Japan and is currently an associate professor in the laboratory of horticulture science. He has more than 40 publications in SCI journals related to horticulture, plant science, genetics, and virology. In 2020, Sota was honored to receive the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science Young Scientist Award. His research group mainly focuses on host resistance to plant viruses for better control of viral diseases in vegetables. Through his research, he has developed collaborative networks with many countries such as Indonesia, India, Taiwan, South Korea and Spain. The main focus of his research group is resistance breeding against begomovirus in Solanaceae and Cucurbit vegetables. His research group has recently identified the begomovirus resistance genes in pepper and cucumber for the first time.
Dr. Derek Barchenger serves as Senior Scientist – Pepper Breeding at the World Vegetable Center in Taiwan, where he leads the global pepper breeding and improvement program. Derek joined WorldVeg as a Borlaug Fellow in Global Food Security in 2016 and was hired as a Postdoctoral Scientist in August 2017.
Throughout his career, Derek has contributed to the scientific community, co-authoring more than 70 publications in SCI journals, in addition to authoring three book chapters and one book, as well as the Global Conservation Strategy for Capsicum. His research primarily focuses on developing disease-resistant and heat-tolerant pepper cultivars in diverse market segments, aiming to enhance crop resilience and productivity, resulting in higher farmer income and increase consumer access. The majority of the pepper breeding research at WorldVeg addresses challenges facing smallholder chilli farmers. However, significant efforts are also made in the improvement of sweet and bell pepper for tropical production, as well as on high performing and disease resistant habanero for Sub-Saharan African and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Derek currently serves on the Standing Committee on Plant Breeding Innovations as part of the Asia Pacific Seed Association and is actively involved in the America Society for Horticultural Sciences, serving on multiple committees. In 2023, Derek was honored to receive the American Society for Horticultural Science Early Career – Research, Innovation, and Creativity Award. Currently, Derek and his colleagues are organizing the 27th International Pepper Conference, which will be held in January, 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Wei Li received his Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of Connecticut in 2017. He is currently a Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and Vice Dean of the College of Horticulture at China Agricultural University. His research primarily focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of key traits in apple rootstocks. By integrating transgenic and genome editing technologies with other modern molecular breeding methods, he has developed innovative breeding strategies and techniques for rootstocks. His work has significantly advanced the field of horticultural science, particularly in the development of improved apple rootstock varieties
To date, Professor Li has published 15 papers as the first or corresponding author in high-impact journals such as Nature Genetics and Plant Biotechnology Journal. He has served as the Vice President and Secretary-General of the Apple Branch of the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science and Deputy Secretary-General of the Molecular Breeding Branch of the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science. Additionally, he is an editorial board member for Horticultural Plant Journal, Fruit Research, and the Journal of Plant Resources and Environment. Recognized for his outstanding contributions, he is a recipient of the National Outstanding Youth Science Foundation in China.
Zhenhai Han received his Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from Beijing Agricultural University in 1990. He is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, where he has also served as Dean. He is a Council Member of the International Society for Horticultural Science and Vice President of the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science. With a focus on fruit tree physiology and molecular biology, Professor Han identified the first iron deficiency chlorosis-resistant apple genotype, Malus xiaojinensis, and proposed two mechanisms for iron absorption in apple genotypes. He developed standardized screening methods for iron-efficient genotypes and established a stem-tip culture technique for clonal propagation. He has authored and edited 12 books, published over 430 papers, research reviews, and abstracts, and led more than 30 national and provincial projects. He has served as the director of four provincial and ministerial-level laboratories and co-convened four international congresses. Recognized for his contributions, he has received the National Science and Technology Progress Award (Second Class), six provincial awards, and holds 16 patents. He is also a selected member of the National “Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Project” and a “Cross-Century Talent” by the Ministry of Education, China.
Hirokazu TSUKAYA, Ph.D.Education and Career:
He earned his Ph.D. in Science from the University of Tokyo in 1993, focusing on the morphogenesis of inflorescence in Arabidopsis. After roles at the University of Tokyo and the National Institute for Basic Biology, he has served as a Professor at the Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, since 2005.
Research Focus:
He specializes in plant molecular and developmental genetics, emphasizing leaf morphogenesis and its diversity. His groundbreaking work has significantly advanced the understanding of genetic pathways that regulate leaf shape, size, and development. His research extends to fieldwork in tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, studying unique plant species and ecological interactions.
Awards and Honors:
He has received numerous accolades, including:
• The Medal with Purple Ribbon (2021)
• Kumagusu Minakata Prize (2023)
• Botanical Society of Japan Academic Prize (2016)
Editorial Roles:
He has contributed extensively to the scientific community as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Plant Research (2009–2013) and as an editor or advisory board member for journals like PLOS ONE, Development, Growth & Differentiation, and Frontiers in Plant Development.
Publications and Outreach:
Beyond academia, he is renowned for his engaging editorials and books on botany, such as Control of Plant Organ Size and Shape, The World of Gap Plants (Japanese) and Durian: The King of Fruits (Japanese), aimed at popularizing plant science. His work bridges the gap between scientific research and public understanding, making him a prominent figure in botanical education and outreach.
Alexander Vainstein, Ph.D.
Ayumi Deguchi, Ph.D.Education and Career
A Ph.D. in Agricultural Science was earned from Kyoto University, followed by a research position at Ryukoku University’s Center for Research on Food Palatability. In March 2017, a transition was made to Chiba University, with ongoing work in research and teaching in plant sciences.
Research Focus
Research explores the genetic and molecular mechanisms of flower color, particularly pigment synthesis such as anthocyanins. Special focus is placed on uncovering the mechanisms behind “”black flower”” coloration and examining how environmental factors and viral infections influence ornamental traits through epigenetic regulation. Dahlia, Dianthus, and Catharanthus roseus serve as primary research subjects. Additionally, studies investigate the formation mechanisms of anthocyanic vacuolar inclusions (AVIs), which contribute to antique flower coloration in petals. As a member of the Research Center for Space Agriculture and Horticulture, Chiba University, research has also begun on breeding crops optimized for cultivation in space.
Editorial Roles
As an editorial board member of Horticultural Research (Japan), contributions are made to the dissemination of horticultural science research.
Researches
– The foundation establishment of African violet as a model plant
– Development of gene identification techniques using epigenetic flower color and morphology variations in African violet
– Study on the Suppression of Mutation Occurrence During the Propagation of African violet
– Identification of the Gene Responsible for the Gigantism of African violet
– Development of environmentally friendly horticultural production technologies
– Development of low-energy input horticultural production technologies
– Study on Regional Revitalization Using Horticultural Plants
Awards
– Horticultural Society of Japan Encouragement Award
– Horticultural Society of Japan Paper Award (2 times)
Research achievements
https://researchmap.jp/read0057420?lang=en
Zhanao Deng, Ph.D.Research Focus
Dr. Deng’s research centers on plant breeding and genetics, with an emphasis on developing new caladium varieties with novel leaf colors and patterns, increased tuber yield, improved disease resistance, enhanced stress tolerance, and superior plant performance. Additionally, he has focused on sterilizing lantana, nandina, porterweed, and privet to reduce invasive potential and introducing sterile, non-invasive varieties. In recent years, his breeding efforts have expanded to include blackberries and raspberries, targeting the development of low-chill varieties. Dr. Deng leverages a comprehensive set of genetic, genomic, and biotechnological tools to advance his research objectives. His current projects include genome sequencing and analysis to understand the genetic basis of critical horticultural traits, genomics-assisted selection to enhance breeding efficiency, ploidy manipulation and mutagenesis to enhance ornamental values and herbicide tolerance in plants, and genome editing to improve disease resistance in citrus plants.
Sadafumi Uchiyama is the president of Uchiyama Design Studio and Curator Emeritus of Portland Japanese Garden.
Dr. Peter Irga is a leading researcher in the field of green walls, green roofs and urban green infrastructure. As a Senior Lecturer of Nature-based Solutions at the University of Technology Sydney, his work focuses on botanical-based air treatment technologies (or Active Green Walls), advancing them to the point of becoming an emergent technology with multiple projects worldwide. His work has earned him the prestigious Tall Poppy Science Award and has positioned him as a key advisor to international organizations such as the UN FAO and the World Economic Forum.
Dr. Shoko Hikosaka is an associate professor of laboratory of “”Plant Environmental Engineering”” in Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University.Her main research topics are “Efficient production of value-added plants under controlled environments” including the functional compounds production under environmental stress in greenhouses and plant factories, and food production in lunar farming. In addition to these core areas, her work also encompasses proposals for “Energy and resource-circulating urban models utilizing greenhouses and plant factories”, including carbon balance evaluations of rooftop and vertical greening on buildings, and strategies for high-efficiency water resource utilization in plant production. The plant materials for these studies include not only horticultural crops but also field crops, medicinal and herbal plants, micro-propagated plants, and genetically modified plants. She has examined plant responses from various perspectives—such as growth rate, water potential, secondary metabolite accumulation, and gene expression etc.
Professor Sin-Ae Park is currently a professor at the Department of Bio & Healing Convergence, Graduate School, Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea. She received her Ph.D. in Social Horticulture and Horticultural Therapy from Kansas State University in the United States and completed her postdoctoral research at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Takeuchi is an associate professor in the Laboratory of Environmental Planting Science at the Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University. Her professional background includes over 20 years as a landscape planner for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, where she was involved in urban landscape planning, and the practical design, construction, management, and operation of parks and historic gardens in the capital city of Tokyo.
Dr. Luis Pérez-Urrestarazu is an Agricultural Engineer, and Full professor at the University of Seville (Spain), teaching in the area of agroforestry engineering. In the last 20 years, he has worked in water resources management for irrigation, aquaponics and Urban Greening. Particularly, he has been researching on several aspects of vertical greening systems, such as their performance, optimization of irrigation and lighting conditions, substrates, ecosystem services provided, uses for improving indoor air quality, irrigation with grey water, etc. He holds 3 patents on living walls. He is the Director of the research group AGR-268 – Urban Greening and Biosystems Engineering since April 2012 and Dean of the School of Agricultural Engineering since October 2020.
Topic: Insights into Nature-Based Healing: Current Practices and Future Perspectives from Field Experiences
Fumie Tazaki is a lecturer at the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Osaka Kawasaki Rehabilitation University, Japan. Her background is in Landscaping, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Occupational Therapy, and she practices Horticultural Therapy. She received her Master’s degree in Medical Science from Wakayama Medical University. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science.
Takuya Kenmochi is currently a lecturer at the Graduate School of Landscape design and Management, University of Hyogo. While working as a horticultural therapist at a psychiatric hospital, he completed his doctoral studies in Department of Occupational therapy at the Graduate School of Medicine at Nagoya University. After practicing horticultural therapy at elderly care facilities and using green spaces to develop communities, he joined his current organization in 2022. At his current organization he is training horticultural therapists and conducting research on the effects of horticultural therapy. His specialty is horticultural therapy in the field of psychiatry, and he also conducts research on greening medical and welfare facilities and community building using green spaces. He is a board member of the Japanese Horticultural Therapy Association.
Dr. Zhangjun Fei is a Professor at Boyce Thompson Institute and an adjunct Professor at School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University. Dr. Fei earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from China Agricultural University and his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Dr. Fei joined Boyce Thompson Institute as an Assistant Professor in 2006 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and Full Professor 2019. He was a recipient of the US Secretary of Agriculture’s Honor Award for increasing global food security in 2014 and has been recognized as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher since 2019.
Dr. Kunihisa is a principal researcher at the Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO, Japan. After graduating from Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, she conducted research on strawberry genomics as a researcher at Institute of Vegetable and Tea Science, NARO.
Dr. Takada is a group leader at the Institute of Fruit Tree and Tea Science, NARO, Japan. After graduating from Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, he conducted research on fruits breeding as a researcher at National Institute of Fruits Tree Science, NARO. He received his PhD at the graduate school of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo in Agriculture in 2018.
Atsushi Kono is a principal scientist at NARO. Kono received his PhD at the graduate school of Science, The University of Tokyo in plant molecular biology in 2006. He joined and worked in NARO subsidiary in Higashihiroshima from 2006 to 2018, he became a co-breeder of three grapevine and six persimmon cultivars. His research interest was in grapevine disease resistance (anthracnose and donwy mildew) as well as persimmon DNA markers for astringency. During the career, he was a visiting scientist in Prof. Bruce Reish’s lab at Cornell university (New York State Experimental Station) in Geneva, NY, in 2012-2013 studying grapevine downy mildew resistance. After working at the NARO headquarters for one year and at the government ministry for two years, he has been working on stone fruit breeding in Tsukuba since 2022. Kono focuses on fruit tree breeding as well as related research such as disease resistance including methodology for resistance evaluation, and developing and optimizing DNA markers for real breeding.
Dr. Hasegawa is an executive researcher at the Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, NARO, Tsukuba, Japan. After graduating from Kyoto University, he worked as an assistant professor at Kyushu Tokai University and an associate professor at Hokkaido University before joining NARO in 2016.
He is a crop physiologist and specializes in environmental crop responses. He recently served as a Coordinating Lead Author of the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
Fabrizio Costa is an Associate Professor at the University of Trento (C3A-Center for Agriculture, Food and Environment). He earned a PhD. in Fruit Crop Science at the University of Bologna. During his post-doctorate he was Visiting Scientist at the Plant Research International of the University of Wageningen (the Netherland) and the Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY, USA), where he conducted studies of QTL mapping for fruit quality and the transcriptional profiling of the apple ripening. Fabrizio Costa has actively participated in several national and European projects, as well as in the genome sequencing program of grapevine and apple conducted at the Edmund Mach Foundation, where he was a researcher in the field of genetics and fruit genomics. He is the author of several publications in various journals of international interest in the field of Plant Science and Plant Genetics. He has served as scientific reviewer for international projects and he is a member of the editorial board in journals of significant importance in the field of plant genetics and plant science.
The research activity of the Costa lab is focused on the study of the fruit ripening processes and the employment of multidisciplinary System Genetics approach to unravel the genes involved in the control of important fruit quality features and the development of postharvest disorder. The final goal is the exploitation of the genetic variome towards the design of new molecular markers useful to support breeding for the development of superior varieties.
Tetsuya Higashiyama began his pioneering work on live-cell analysis of plant reproduction at The University of Tokyo, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1999. After serving as an assistant professor in the same department for several years, he joined Nagoya University as a full professor in 2007. During his time at Nagoya, he and his colleagues established the interdisciplinary Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM), which brought together biologists and synthetic chemists to advance research on key cell-to-cell signaling molecules in plant reproduction. In 2022, after holding joint appointments at both Nagoya University and The University of Tokyo for three years, Professor Higashiyama fully returned to The University of Tokyo. He currently leads the International Leading Research Program, “Key-Molecule Network in Plant Reproduction (KEPLR),” which involves collaboration with nine principal investigators in Japan and over 20 principal investigators in Europe.
Recent Representative Awards:
2017, Kihara Memorial Foundation Academic Award
2018, Inoue Prize for Science
2018, Chunichi Cultural Prize
2018, Botanical Society of Japan Academic Prize
2020, The Asahi Prize
2024, The Japanese Society of Plant Morphology Award
Prof. Dr. Richard G.F. Visser is a leading authority in plant breeding and currently serves as a Professor of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University. His research focuses on (i) breeding crops for controlled environmental agriculture and (ii) improving the efficiency and efficacy of breeding programs by deploying new technologies such as genomic information, gene editing techniques, and artificial intelligence. With over 650 publications, 46,600 citations, an H-index of 110, 25 patents, and the supervision of 170 PhD theses, Prof. Visser has made transformative contributions to plant and agricultural Science.
Since 1998, Prof. Visser has held pivotal academic roles, including Chair and Head of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research (2005–2024), Honorary Professor at the Industrial Crop Research Institute of Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China (2016–2024), and Dean of Research at Wageningen University (2016–2018). He has also served as an editor for leading journals, including Euphytica (2002–present), Theoretical and Applied Genetics (2008–present), and Horticultural Plant Journal (2015–present), furthering the dissemination of innovative research in plant breeding.
As shown below, Prof. Visser has served or is currently serving on the membership of numerous organizations: member of the Singapore Food Agency’s Scientific Advisory Panel (2023-2025), Honorary board member and advisor of Shouguang Vegetable Industry Holding Group (China/The Netherlands (2019-2024), elected member of Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij der Wetenschappen (2015 for life), board member (2012- present), President (2016-2020) and past President (2020-2024) of EUCARPIA, member of the Academic Board of Wageningen University (2010-2018), and board member and vice chair of the Board for Variety Protection in the Netherlands (2002-2021).
Yves Desjardins was full professor at Laval University, affiliated with the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods. As the Symrise-NSERC Chair on the prebiotic effects of fruits and vegetables, his research primarily centered on the impact of polyphenols in promoting gut microbial homeostasis, supporting gut barrier integrity, and maintaining overall health. He was PI on numerous preclinical and clinical studies focused on type-2 diabetes, cognitive decline, low-grade inflammation, urinary tract infections, and cancer. He published more than 160 articles in peer reviewed journals cited more than 5500 times in the last 5 years (h-index 56).
Dr. Desjardins has been an active ISHS member since 1986. He organized the first International Symposium on Health Effects of Fruits and Vegetables in Québec City (FAVHEALTH 2005) under the auspices of ISHS, which led to the creation of the ISHS FAVHEALTH division shortly after. He chaired the IHC-2010 OECD Symposium – “Emerging Topics in Health Effects Fruit and Vegetables”, organized the ISHS International Strawberry Symposium in 2016 and the International Congress on Polyphenols and Health in 2017. He was ISHS Board Member responsible for publications from 2010 to 2018. He received honorary memberships from the Italian Society for Horticulture Science (2013) and ISHS (2018) for is outstanding service to the Society.
