The Symposium gathered 208 experts from public institutions and private companies from 21 countries. The scientific part included 8 keynote presentations, 30 oral presentations, and 9 poster presentations divided into four sessions and two workshops:
Session 1 dealt with the “Current situation of sunflower broomrape around the world”, with a keynote presentation by ISA President Dr. Yalçin Kaya and oral presentations reporting current situation of sunflower broomrape in 12 countries.
Session 2 was titled “Knowing the parasite: Biology and genetics of Orobanche”, which started with a keynote presentation by Dr. Philippe Delavault.
Session 3 covered “Genetic resistance to sunflower broomrape”, and included a keynote presentation by Dr. Maria Pacureanu-Joita and Dr. Begoña Pérez-Vich.
Session 4 dealt with “Herbicide tolerance and other control measures against sunflower broomrape”, with a keynote presentation by Dr. Mariano Bulos and Dr. Mariano Altieri.
The workshop “Sunflower broomrape research in the private sector” included keynote presentations by Dr. Rita Szalay of Limagrain Europe as well as Dr. Luis C. Alonso and Dr. Branislav Dozet of Syngenta Seeds.
Finally, a Workshop titled “Public-private international collaboration in sunflower broomrape research” had keynote presentations by Academician Dr. Dragan Škorić and Dr. Dragana Miladinovic.
The scientific program was complemented by a technical visit to sunflower broomrape demonstrative fields in Seville.
Despite the high number of participants, the symposium was characterized by a friendly environment in which we enjoyed informal and relaxed discussions on sunflower broomrape as well as Andalusian wines and tapas in the Royal Stables of Córdoba, Bodegas Delgado of Puente Genil, Bodegas Campos of Córdoba, and Club Pineda of Seville. We also had a guided visit to Reales Alcazares of Seville after the field trip.
Following this International Symposium, the Spanish Sunflower Association will organize a Technical Meeting on June 26th in Carmona, Seville, to inform local stakeholders of the sunflower sector on the current state of the art of sunflower broomrape, with emphasis on the present situation and prospects of sunflower broomrape in Spain.
The Organizing Committee
The Spanish Sunflower Association
