Each edition of the congress addresses the latest trends in the apple sector in the presence of experts from all over the world. And there will be no shortage of innovations this year too, starting with the new coordinator: Walter Guerra, head of the Pomology Working Group at the Laimburg Research Center since 2005 and the center’s deputy director since 2021, will be presenting two exciting topics and ten top-notch speakers in his debut in this role.

The first day will be chaired by Gerhard Dichgans, who was director of the trade association VOG for almost 30 years, and will focus on the latest developments in the apple sector in the United States. Following Dichgans’s introduction to the subject will be Tim Welsh of Columbia Fruit Packers, Susan Brown of Horticulture and Plant Breeding Sections Cornell AgriTech, Tom Barnes of Category Partners, LLC, and Stefano Musacchi of Washington State University. Speaking from the perspective of the farmer, the variety breeder, the marketer, and the researcher/consultant, the four speakers will dive deep into the ongoing and emerging upheavals in US apple production.