Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The First International Jujube Symposium (1st IJS) sponsored by International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) will be held in Baoding (150km south of Beijing, the capital of China) in September 21～25, 2008. This symposium is to provide an international forum on jujube for exchanging information among researchers and academicians as well as related businessmen and officials.

Jujube (Ziziphus) is an outstanding multi-purpose economic plant with great potential in drought and marginal districts. Undoubtedly, it will play an increasingly important role in horticulture. China has at least 14 jujube species, of which Chinese jujube (Z. jujuba Mill.) and Indian jujube or ber (Z. mauritiana Lam.) were widely cultivated with total growing area of over 1 million hectare and total production of 2.5 million tons. Approximately 10 million farmers rely on jujube production. However, jujube is still an unknown and underutilized horticultural plant in the world. It is necessary to start up a special international symposium to facilitate the jujube industry and international cooperation. Let’s try together to make the 1st IJS a great and historic worldwide gathering on jujube.

On behalf of the organizing committee of 1st IJS, I sincerely invite you to participate in the symposium. I am looking forward to meeting you in Baoding, China.

Sincerely yours

                  Prof. & Dr. Mengjun Liu
                         Chairman of the symposium