THEME

Towards a Resilient and Prosperous Future

SUB-THEMES

Breeding and plant improvement

  • Botany
  • Histology
  • Biotechnology
  • Genetics and breeding
  • Variety/cultivar selection

Pre-harvest management

  • Crop protection
  • Chemical registration
  • Nutrition
  • Irrigation (water management)
  • Pruning and bagging
  • Precision/novel agriculture technologies
  • Maturity indexing

Postharvest management and logistics

  • Innovative packaging and alternatives to plastic packaging (e.g., coatings)
  • Phytosanitary measures
  • Food safety (MRLs)
  • Post-harvest diseases
  • Cold chain management
  • Quality measurement (e.g., non-destructive technology)
  • Remote sensing and automated process control

Health benefits of pomegranate and emerging crops

  • Phytochemicals and functional properties
  • Gut-microbiota
  • Cosmetics, nutraceutical, and pharmaceuticals
  • Stability, bio-accessibility, and bioavailability
  • Clinical applications
  • Allergy

Pomegranate agro-processing and value addition

  • Minimally processed fruit and preservation
  • Innovative processing techniques and optimisation (liquid and solid states)
  • Functional products and storability (oil and solid-states including powder, dried fruit, etc.)
  • Food authentication
  • Utilization of fruit waste
  • Nanotechnology

Markets and economics

  • Market access and prospects
  • Promotion and branding

Climate change and sustainability

  • Impact of covid-19/pandemics (adaptation and security)