Page 2 - Programme

Program

Sunday 27 October

18:00‐20:00 Welcome and Registration at the “Galleria d’Arte Moderna Sant’Anna”
th
19.00 Celebrating the 20 anniversary of the FAO‐CACTUSNET establishment

Monday 28 October

08:00‐09:00 Registration and Poster display
09:00‐09:40 Opening ceremony: Greetings of:
Prof. Roberto Lagalla, Rector of the University of Palermo
Prof. Ettore Barone, Chair of the Department of Agricultural and Forest Science – University of Palermo
Prof. Giuseppe Giordano, Dean of The Faculty of Agricultural Science
Prof. Leoluca Orlando, Major of Palermo
Dr. Dario Cartabellotta, Assessore Regionale alle Risorse Agricole e Alimentari della Regione Siciliana
Dr. Mahmoud Solh, Director General, ICARDA
Dr. Masahito Enomoto, Deputy Director, Plant Production and Protection Division, FAO
Dr. Ali Nefzaoui, General Coordinator Cactusnet FAO‐ICARDA
Dr. Damiano Avanzato, Chair Section Nuts and Mediterranean Climate Fruits ISHS
09:40‐ 10:10 Plenary lecture:
Twenty Years of Steady Efforts: Lessons learned and Food for Thoughts
by Ali Nefzaoui ‐ Coordinator Cactusnet FAO‐ICARDA

10:10‐10:30 COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 1: Genetic Resources and Breeding
Chair: I. Chessa

10:30‐11.00 Invited speaker
A. Gentile – Università degli Studi di Catania
Opuntia Genetic Resources and Breeding: an overview

11:00‐11:20 M. Louhaichi, S. Hassan, S. Ates, A. Nefzaoui
Screening for cold tolerant cactus species (Opuntia ficus indica) for West Asia
11:20‐11:40 E. Valadez Moctezuma, S. Samah, D. G. Santiago, E. K. Pérez Martínez, R. A. Gómez Sánchez,
V. Montes Vázquez.
Genetic diversity of Opuntia cultivars using PCR‐RFLP analysis based on fruit full gene
11:40:12:00 S. Samah, E. Ventura‐Zapata and E. Valadez Moctezuma
Morphological seed differentiation between cactus pear and Xoconostle Mexican cultivars
12:00‐12:20 A.W. El Behi, P. Inglese, F. Orlandi, G. Sortino, T. Bonofiglio, G. Liguori, B. Romano,
M. Fornaciari
Pollen morphology and reproductive performances in Opuntia ficus‐indica (L.) Mill
12:20‐12:40 N. Zoghlami, B. Bouamama, H. Zemni, A. Ghorbel
Genetic differentiation analyses in Barbary fig populations from Tunisia: conservation strategies
12:40‐13:00 Mulas M., Dessena L., Chessa I.
Cladode biomass composition of selected clones from an Opuntia spp. Collection.

13:15‐14:30 LUNCH