Plant Nursery Area at Macfrut 2025

Innovations in the plant nursery industry on show at the trade fair for the global fruit and vegetable supply chain (Rimini Expo Centre, 6-8 May 2025). New events: international symposium on varieties and two round tables. Fruit and vegetable nurseries are strategically important for Italy: worth over €600 million, around 1,000 companies and 16,000 hectares.

Today, fruit and vegetable growing is all about innovative varieties. The Plant Nursery Area, an exhibition of the latest innovations in the plant nursery industry, will serve as a meeting place for knowledge sharing and discussion between breeders, publishers, nurserymen, growers, specialists and researchers. It will take place during Macfrut, the trade fair for the global fruit and vegetable supply chain, which will be held at the Rimini Expo Centre from Tuesday 6 to Thursday 8 May 2025.   

Now in its third edition and coordinated by Stefano Lugli of SL Fruit Service, it has become a leading international exhibition thanks to its vertical approach and its focus on the Italian fruit and vegetable nursery sector, which plays a strategic role in Italian production chains. Here are some figures that illustrate the importance of this sector: the fruit and vegetable nursery industry produces over €600 million worth of produce, with 50% of production exported, involving around 1,000 companies with a cultivation area of 16,000 hectares (source: CIVI Italia).  

In this dynamic sector, innovation in new varieties, breeding, rootstocks, research and new commercial strategies is paramount: these topics will be the focus of the Plant Nursery area, which will host two events at Macfrut 2025, organised in collaboration with SOI and CIVI Italia.  

The first event, the international symposium ‘VIP’ (Varieties International Project) on genetic innovations in varieties, will consist of four in-depth seminars providing insights into the latest results achieved by international public and private breeding projects. The latest advances in the sector in Actinidia, citrus, stone and pome fruit varieties will be presented with the participation of the world’s leading experts, breeders and publishers. 

The second event features two round tables on the use of modern technology in nursery production and new ways of managing the commercial aspects of varietal innovation in the fruit and vegetable supply chain, as well as qualification and certification processes in the global plant nursery market.  

‘In the global marketplace,’ says Stefano Lugli, ‘innovative varieties are increasingly becoming an essential means of making fruit and vegetable production more environmentally sustainable and resource efficient, thereby increasing company profits and competitiveness, and bringing the supply of new genetic findings in line with the quality requirements of markets and consumers.’  

Lugli then talks about the Plant Nursery Area at Macfrut 2025: ‘In addition to conferences, visitors will have the opportunity to discuss genetic innovation with breeders and publishers at a dedicated desk area within the Plant Nursery Area. The dynamic area will also feature a learning area where visitors can learn more about the latest technological innovations in the plant nursery sector. By engaging in direct dialogue with experts from the exhibiting companies who will be presenting the latest innovations in the sector at the trade fair, Macfrut 2025 participants will be able to expand their knowledge and obtain the technical information they need to effectively implement and manage new fruit growing systems.’

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