The Iranian Society for Ornamental Plants to host its 5th International Congress on Ornamental Horticulture in September

SHIRAZ, Iran: The Iranian Society for Ornamental Plants (ISOP), Shiraz University, the Ornamental Plants Research Centre (OPRC) and Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture are pleased to announce the 5th International Congress on Ornamental Horticulture, to take place in Shiraz, Iran between 13-15 September 2022.

Held in Shiraz, a fabled city in south-western Iran – whose name is synonymous with poetry and gardening – the three-day event aims to develop, promote and share knowledge and expand communication between national and international experts and researchers in the field of ornamental horticulture. The Congress will encourage applied research to help solve national problems in ornamental plants production and trade.

The organisers believe the scientific congress will play a prominent role in harmonising activities in academic research and professional production of ornamentals.

The ISOP Congress is held every second year for the presentation of papers on different aspects of professional flower and plant growing. These meetings attract many participants from all parts of the world and have made valid contributions to the development of Iran’s flower industry. Last year, industry representatives and reseachers from seven countries participated in ISOP’s congress.

On behalf of the organizing committee, Dr. Pejman Azadi said that to mark the occasion international flower businesses are once again cordially invited to participate.

ISOP President Pejman Azadi will kick off the event with his thoughts about ornamental horticulture in Iran.

In addition, the conference agenda includes presentations from respected leaders from within the global ornamental horticulture industry. They will focus on plant breeding and propagation (tissue culture and biotechnology), plant nutrition and growing media, plant physiology and postharvest practices, landscaping, low-input plants, biodiversity and germplasm conservation, greenhouse construction and automation, flower and plant trade, e commerce, export strategies, consumer behaviourk, optimal water use, plant health, sustainability, biotic and abiotic stress, and strategies fo for strenghtening the role Iranian gardens play in driving both domestic and inbound tourism.

The nation’s stunning gardens such as Eram Gardens (Shiraz),  Ghavan Orange Gardens (Shiraz), Dolat-Abad Gardens (Yazd), Golestan Palace Gardens (Tehran), and Chehel-Sotoun Gardens (Isfahan) are a proven tourism draw which have insipired vistiors fro generations.

Iran is in the arid zone, some 65% of its territory has an arid or hyper-arid climate. Roughly 12 per cent of Iran’s land is cultivable with the western and northwestern portions of the country having the most fertile soil and the highest potential for production of ornamentals.

Open-field growing of cut flower crops is practiced mostly in Mazandaran, Markazi, Tehran, Khuzestan, Alborz and Fars provinces. Recently, commercial flower growing has expanded into some of the nation’s other 31 provinces. The provinces of Tehran, Markazi, Khuzestan, Mazandaran, Alborz and Isfahan host the largest concentration of greenhouses in Iran.

Currently there are an estimated 10,000 flower and plant nurseries in Iran with approximately 3,500 hectares in outdoor production and 2,200 hectares under protection (95 per cent plastic tunnels and 5 per cent glasshouses).

In Iran’s ornamental horticulture, greenhouses produce three main product groups: fresh cut flowers (1800ha), potted plants (300ha) and young plants (100ha).

For more information about the congress visit: http://www.isopcongress.ir/en//

Contact ISOP President Pejman azadip22@gmail.com to secure your place at the congress.