Biotechnology of Fruit and Nut Crops

Author Biography

Richard E Litz (Edited By) Richard Litz is a professor emeritus in the Department of Horticultural Sciences of the University of Florida. From 1976 until his retirement in 2011, he was at the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, where he developed and led a research programme that focused on biotechnology of tropical fruit crops, e.g., avocado, carambola, litchi, longan, mango and papaya. His laboratory hosted postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists from 16 countries in the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa and Asia. He has edited seven books about biotechnology of fruit crops and also about mango and has authored more than 150 refereed publications and book chapters. In retirement, Richard lives in a village on the coast of Maine. Fernando Pliego-Alfaro (Edited By) Fernando Pliego-Alfaro is Professor of Plant Physiology at the the Botany and Plant Physiology Department, Faculty of Sciences (University of Malaga) and researcher of the Subtropical Fruit Crops Department at Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterranea La Mayora (IHSM). His research has focused on the development of regeneration and transformation protocols of subtropical and temperate fruit crops such as avocado, olive and strawberry, contributing to establish the bases for biotechnological breeding. His current interests focus on improving tolerance of these crops to soil borne pathogens. He has been involved in numerous research projects and has authored more than 150 refereed publications and book chapters; his postgraduate training activities include supervision of 20 Ph.D. and numerous M. Sc. thesis, of students from different countries. Jose Ignacio Hormaza (Edited By) Jose I. Hormaza is a Research Professor and Head of the Subtropical Fruit Crops Department at the Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterranea La Mayora (IHSM), a joint Research Institute between the Spanish Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) and the University of Malaga. His research program focuses on genetic diversity, germplasm characterization, conservation and utilization, and reproductive biology in tropical, subtropical and temperate fruit tree crops. During his scientific career, he has been involved in numerous national and international research projects. He has authored more than 150 refereed publications and book chapters, supervised more than 15 Ph.D. students and several postdocs and exchange students with other countries from the Americas, Africa and Asia.