International Soft Fruit Conference

ISFC – Thursday January 9, 2025
Fieldtrip – Friday January 10, 2025

International Softfruit Conference 2025

ISFC – Thursday January 9, 2025
Fieldtrip – Friday January 10, 2025

International Soft Fruit Conference Program 2024

The International Soft Fruit Conference gives an excellent opportunity to network and expand your knowledge. Our exhibition is open for visits all day and during the day, knowledge will be shared on stage by international presenters.

The speaker program of the International Soft Fruit Conference 2024 included the following topics and presenters:

(For the handouts click on the title of presentation)

The speakers program of the International Soft Fruit Conference 2025 will be added as soon as possible.

Dutch Strawberry Day
January 10, 2024
ISFC
January 11, 2024
ISFC Dinner
January 11, 2024
Field Trip
January 12, 2024

The Dutch Strawberry day is an event for the Dutch strawberry industry. Presentations this day will be in Dutch. The Dutch Strawberry day give perfect possibility to visit and catch up with Exhibitors.

Times

More about the program

08:00-08:45 Arrival of Guests & Visit Exibition

08:45-10:00 Conference Session 1

08.45-09.00

Opening

Bart Jongenelen | Manager Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

09.00-09.20

Raising the bar in soft fruits

Cindy van Rijswick | Global Strategist Fresh Produce, Rabobank

09.20-09.40

Year-round production under LED with fresh Junebearers

Vera Theelen | Senior researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

09.40-10.00

How the GPG berry portfolio will form a key part of global production over the next 5 years

Soufiane Lahtati Belkas | Business Development Manager Berries EMEA, Global Plant Genetics

11.00-12.00 Conference Session 2

11.00-11.15

Irrigating high-tech glasshouse grown strawberries

Andrew Lee | Global Technical Knowledge Manager, Grodan

11.15-11.30

Blueberry intensive growing techniques

Gondy Heijerman | Senior Researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

11.30-11.45

The progress of raspberry and blackberry breeding in Scotland

Nikki Jennings | Fruit breeder, James Hutton Ltd

11.45-12.00

Tesla and F1-hybrid strawberries

Vincent Deenen | CEO Limgroup

12.00-14.00 Lunch & Visit Exhibition

14.00-15.00 Conference Session 3

14.00-14.15

Uncovering the interaction between Phytophthora cactorum and the strawberry plant

Arne Stensvand | Research professor, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)

14.15-14.30

The future of sustainable crop protection

Maud van Well | Consultant soft fruit, Delphy

14.30-14.45

Sustainable Botrytis disease management in Rubus

MSc. Tanja Vanwalleghem | Researcher Phytopathology, PC Fruit

14.45-15.00

Recent advances in Drosophila suzukii control in fruit crops

Dr. Michelle Fountain | Head of the Pest and Pathogen Ecology department, NIAB EMR

15.00-16.00 Break & Visit Exhibition

16.00-17.30 Conference Session 4

16.00-16.20

Next Generation Growing Blackberry: what have we learned?

Pim Kleeven | Researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

16.20-16.40

Are priming agents a step forward to enhance soft fruit yield efficiency?

George Manganaris | Associate Professor, Cyprus University of Technology Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology & Food Science

16.40-17.00

Practical irrigation by using data

Wilbert Lammers | Consultant, Priva

17.00-17.30

Announcements & closing

Bart Jongenelen | Manager Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

18.00 End of Program

Meet our speakers…

Dinning & networking

Complementing the International Soft Fruit Conference is the Conference Dinner, a unique opportunity for visitors, exhibitors and speakers to be together in an informal way. Eating together with others from the international soft fruit community provides an opportunity to share knowledge, discuss business or network.

The Conference Dinner is exclusive and complimentary for visitors to the International Soft Fruit Conference. Registration is required.

Location: Van der Valk hotel in Vught
Start time: 19:30

The Van der Valk hotel in Vught is also the preferred hotel for visitors to the International Soft Fruit Conference. Look for more details at ‘where to stay’.

Excursion: Together on the road to innovation: from research to practice.

The day after the International Soft Fruit Conference we are organizing a Field Trip. Start at 7.30 am from the Van der Valk Hotel in Vught. End or program about 2:30 pm. Bus will be back in Vught around 4:00 pm.
The trip will take us to different innovative companies in the soft fruit sector. Finally, we will visit our own soft fruit research center: Delphy ISFC. There we look at different soft fruit trials with an explanation by the researchers.

Field Trip:

Innovation in research and practice
Visit growers and related companies
Experience Delphy ISFC, the international research site for soft fruit

Please note

Participation in the Field Trip is only for visitors of the International Soft Fruit Conference
Lunch and travel by bus are included
For more information about our research center Delphy ISFC: Bart Jongenelen

Dutch Strawberry Day January 10, 2024

Times

More about the program

ISFC January 11, 2024

08:00-08:45 Arrival of Guests & Visit Exibition

08:45-10:00 Conference Session 1

08.45-09.00

Opening

Bart Jongenelen | Manager Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

09.00-09.20

Raising the bar in soft fruits

Cindy van Rijswick | Global Strategist Fresh Produce, Rabobank

09.20-09.40

Year-round production under LED with fresh Junebearers

Vera Theelen | Senior researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

09.40-10.00

How the GPG berry portfolio will form a key part of global production over the next 5 years

Soufiane Lahtati Belkas | Business Development Manager Berries EMEA, Global Plant Genetics

11.00-12.00 Conference Session 2

11.00-11.15

Irrigating high-tech glasshouse grown strawberries

Andrew Lee | Global Technical Knowledge Manager, Grodan

11.15-11.30

Blueberry intensive growing techniques

Gondy Heijerman | Senior Researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

11.30-11.45

The progress of raspberry and blackberry breeding in Scotland

Nikki Jennings | Fruit breeder, James Hutton Ltd

11.45-12.00

Tesla and F1-hybrid strawberries

Vincent Deenen | CEO Limgroup

12.00-14.00 Lunch & Visit Exhibition

14.00-15.00 Conference Session 3

14.00-14.15

Uncovering the interaction between Phytophthora cactorum and the strawberry plant

Arne Stensvand | Research professor, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO)

14.15-14.30

The future of sustainable crop protection

Maud van Well | Consultant soft fruit, Delphy

14.30-14.45

Sustainable Botrytis disease management in Rubus

MSc. Tanja Vanwalleghem | Researcher Phytopathology, PC Fruit

14.45-15.00

Recent advances in Drosophila suzukii control in fruit crops

Dr. Michelle Fountain | Head of the Pest and Pathogen Ecology department, NIAB EMR

15.00-16.00 Break & Visit Exhibition

16.00-17.30 Conference Session 4

16.00-16.20

Next Generation Growing Blackberry: what have we learned?

Pim Kleeven | Researcher Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

16.20-16.40

Are priming agents a step forward to enhance soft fruit yield efficiency?

George Manganaris | Associate Professor, Cyprus University of Technology Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology & Food Science

16.40-17.00

Practical irrigation by using data

Wilbert Lammers | Consultant, Priva

17.00-17.30

Announcements & closing

Bart Jongenelen | Manager Delphy Innovative Soft Fruit Centre, Delphy

18.00 End of Program

Meet our speakers…

ISFC Dinner January 11, 2024

Dinning & networking

The Conference Dinner is exclusive and complimentary for visitors to the International Soft Fruit Conference. Registration is required.

Location: Van der Valk hotel in Vught
Start time: 19:30

The Van der Valk hotel in Vught is also the preferred hotel for visitors to the International Soft Fruit Conference. Look for more details at ‘where to stay’.

Field Trip January 12, 2024

Excursion: Together on the road to innovation: from research to practice.

Field Trip:

Innovation in research and practice
Visit growers and related companies
Experience Delphy ISFC, the international research site for soft fruit

Please note

Participation in the Field Trip is only for visitors of the International Soft Fruit Conference
Lunch and travel by bus are included
For more information about our research center Delphy ISFC: Bart Jongenelen