2nd Announcement and Call for Papers
An invitation and warm welcome
Traditionally, the Symposium will take place one day before the well-known International Horti Fair, which is held from 12-15 October 2010. The symposium is subtitled
In the past, Commission II of the International Peat Society (IPS) and the Dutch National Committee of IPS (Nederlands Veengenootschap) have organized a number of symposia on peat in horticulture with specific topics which have attracted experts from near and far. With great pleasure we can announce that also the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) is recognizing this symposium.
The IPS, the Dutch National Committee of IPS and the ISHS are honoured to invite everyone interested in the use of growing media and their characteristics to attend this international symposium which will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The organizers aim at getting together
• peat and growing media producers
• microbiologists
• growing media quality managers
• researchers in the fields of growing media
• suppliers of growing media constituents and additives
• experts from quality assurance organizations
• growers interested in what life in growing media is all about.
This symposium will be held at the Hotel Novotel Amsterdam City. Being a metropolis, Amsterdam is easy to get to from anywhere.
Scope and Foci
Physical and chemical characteristics of growing media have been studied by many these past decades. Less attention has been given to biological, in particular, microbiological properties although fungi, bacteria and other organisms in growing media i.e. nematodes and sciarid fly larvae can have a strong impact on horticultural crops. Such organisms may be beneficial, hazardous or indifferent to the crops we grow, the environment or human health. For these reasons we need to better understand the biological side of our growing media.
Call for papers
This 6th Peat in Horticulture Symposium is unique as lectures will focus on biological aspects directly connected to growing media and constituents thereof.
The Organizing Committee kindly invites you to submit abstracts on topics such as
• Microbial populations
• Substances indigenous to growing media constituents affecting the biology of growing media
• Disease suppressive and conducive growing media constituents
• Saprophytic and pathogenic microorganisms
• Microbial quality of growing media
• Microbial/chemical and microbial/physical interactions
• Storage and use related topics
• Self-heating of peat,
• Nematodes, sciarids, etc.
• Biocontrol agents and biostimulants in growing media
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Here are few picture examples of the ‘Life in Growing Media’
that we will focus on:
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| Peat cup (Peziza ostracoderma), a common saprophytic fungus in pots (Jacek Stepowski, Poland) |
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| Various fungi, bacteria and yeast populations on a growing medium extract (Sylvia Schnell, Germany) |
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| Nematodes in growing media (Jens Nienberg, Germany) |
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| A common pest: sciarid fly larvae (Jens Wienberg, Germany) |
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| A more seldom saprophytic mushroom on growing media: Fried-chicken mushroom (Lyophyllum decastes) (Pia Holmberg, Sweden) |