and Ornamental Crops-Germany are pleased to welcome you to the International Symposium on Vegetable Grafting held in Viterbo, Italy, from October 3 to 5, 2011. The symposium takes place in the Grand Hotel Terme Salus Pianeta Benessere (Viterbo) located in the heart of Tuscia territory that was the ancient home of the Etruscans in the 8 th century BC, and elected Papal seat in the Middle Ages. The symposium intends to reflect on the recent advances in vegetable grafting from different points of view in order to integrate this modernized technology as an effective tool for sustainable horticultural production. The symposium is comprised of scientific sections, with oral and poster presentations, addressing the advancement in grafting techniques, genetics, rootstock breeding, scion-rootstock interaction, phytopatological, physiological, and agronomical aspects of grafted plant response under open field and greenhouse conditions. In addition, the symposium includes a technical tour in the province of Latina, which is one of the most important vegetable production areas in Italy. This tour will provide an opportunity to see the benefits of using grafted plants in terms of increased productivity, and improved tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. We hope that the high scientific level of the symposium together with the beauty of Tuscia territory make it an unforgettable event.

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The microbiological and safety conditions of green table olives sold on the Italian market were evaluated on 40 samples, 20 loose and 20 packed in containers, purchased at street markets and supermarkets. The olives were analyzed for microflora and food safety indices, and for aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A occurrence, and the results showed acceptable security. There was wide heterogeneity in the microflora, the numerical values being in relation to the olive type. The microbial population was dominated by the yeasts and lactic bacteria responsible for the fermentation process, and their numbers, together with the metabolic activity, led to conditions unfavorable for the development of pathogenic microflora; hence, such microflora were always absent. However, fecal coliforms were occasionally found in cracked olives. Lactic Acid Bacteria and yeast classification was performed at the species level by molecular techniques. The mycotoxin aflatoxin B1 was detectable in 25% of the olive samples, in the range of 0.40–0.55 μg/kg, while ochratoxin A, present in 58% of the samples, was in the range of 0.20–3.90 μg/kg

A number of pistachio oils were selected in order to test the efficacy of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation dispersion (NMRD) technique in the evaluation of differences among oils (1) obtained from seeds subjected to different thermal desiccation processes, (2) retrieved from seeds belonging to the same cultivar grown in different geographical areas and (3) produced by using seed cultivars sampled in the same geographical region. NMRD measures relaxation rate values which are related to the dynamics of the chemical components of complex food systems. Results not only allowed to relate kinematic viscosity to relaxometry parameters but also were successful in the differentiation among the aforementioned oils. In fact, from the one hand, the larger the kinematic viscosity, the faster the rotational motions appeared as compared to the translational ones. On the other hand, relaxation rate curves (NMRD) varied according to the oxidative stresses and chemical composition of each sample. The present study showed for the first time that NMRD is a very promising technique for quick evaluations of pistachio oil quality without the need for time-consuming chemical manipulations.