International Society for Horticultural Science - ISHS

Sections and Commissions establish Working Groups that focus on specialized subject areas. Working Groups have an elected Chair and membership comprised of eminent horticulturists/horticultural scientists. Currently there are more than 140 such Working Groups and others are formed when a need is identified.

The success of the ISHS, in relation to its effective communication and leadership of international co-operation, is largely through the 50 or more specialized symposia held annually. These are organised locally in a country, each with a convener, an organising committee, a scientific committee and an editorial board. Designed to be self-financing, these symposia normally concentrate on a technical subject – a crop or research area. Invited speakers present papers, research findings are debated, discussions held, visits arranged and the editor compiles a monograph published as a volume of Acta Horticulturae. These publications are available, at cost, to all ISHS members attending symposia and are archived in many academic/research libraries. The entire Acta Horticulturae library is available online and services the needs of thousands of researchers worldwide who use the www.actahort.org site.

The European Journal of Horticultural Science (eJHS) published by the ISHS in collaboration with the German Society of Horticultural Science (DGG) accepts original research articles and reviews on significant plant science discoveries and new or modified methodologies and technologies with a broad international and cross-disciplinary interest in the scope of global horticulture. The Journal focuses on applied and fundamental approaches to carry oriented research on aspects of the entire food value chain, ranging from breeding, production, processing, trading to retailing of horticultural crops and commodities. ISHS members benefit from discounted submission fees. eJHS is available in print + online Open Access.

Fruits, The International Journal of Tropical and Subtropical Horticulture another leading scientific journal, published by the International Society for Horticultural Science in collaboration with CIRAD (France); the journal publishes original articles and reviews on tropical and subtropical horticultural crops. Fruits is available online and in print. ISHS membership advantages include a reduces subscription fee as well as a discount on the optional open access article process charges for Fruits.

The other avenue for regular communication is Chronica Horticulturae, the quarterly publication of ISHS. In addition to containing a calendar of events, announcements, news items and details of forthcoming events, Chronica Horticulturae reports on the activities of Sections, Commissions and Working Groups.

A major benefit of ISHS membership is the privilege of attending the International Horticultural Congress every four years at discounted rates. On average, congresses are attended by some 3,000 delegates. They are carefully planned over many years to address all areas of horticultural science of interest to members. The Congress provides opportunities for individuals to present posters or make oral presentations of their current research work. Thus, information is shared with a wide audience. There are numerous social gatherings, sight-seeing opportunities, and the chance to see local horticultural industries during specialized field trips.