Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to attend the fifth International Conference "Propagation of Ornamental Plants".

The conference is being organized under the auspices of the International Plant Propagators Society, Great Britain & Ireland region and University of Forestry, Sofia. The International and Local Organizing Committees have organized a scientific program of invited speakers and will announce a call for contributed papers. This will result in a well-balanced agenda with state-of-the-art professional highlights and various social events.

The Scientific Program includes leading scientists who have been invited to present key lectures covering both basic and applied aspects of plant propagation, and will present the current advances as well as future prospects of the respective fields. The program is designed to offer professional information for plant propagators, scientists and plant breeders. We expect that the meeting will bring together young and more experienced specialists, researchers and producers.

The Scientific Program is organized in Plenary Lectures, Oral Presentations and Poster Sessions. All who attend will enjoy four professionally challenging days as they attend sessions and meet with colleagues, experts and people working in plant propagation from all over the world.

The meeting will be held in Sofia Bulgaria, one of the most ancient European capitals, where the old traditions are harmoniously merged with modern European trends. Enjoy a friendly "Opening Ceremony", a warm welcome reception, dance in a relaxing atmosphere, and spend some time visiting museums, art galleries, ancient monuments, and many other interesting sites in Sofia. You shall certainly take back home some unforgettable memories of your conference attendance!

The attractive blend of scientific presentations, sightseeing tours and nursery visits will surely encourage you to come to Sofia and be part of memorable events during the International Conference "Propagation of Ornamental Plants".

The conference will be under patronage of Mr. Nihat Kabil - Minister of Agriculture and Forests of Bulgaria.

Mr. Nihat Kabil, Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, Bulgaria - Honorary President.

Prof. Nino Ninov, Rector, University of Forestry - Chair of the organizing committee.
Prof. John Preece - Vice-chair of the organizing committee.
Dr. Ivan Iliev - Secretary of the organizing committee.

Organizing committee:
Prof. Nino Ninov (BG) - Chairman,
Prof. John Preece (USA) - Vice Chairman,
Dr. Ivan Iliev (BG) - Secretary,
Dr. Alan Hunter (IRL),
Dr. Peter Zhelev (BG),
Dr. Plamen Aleksandrov (BG),
Dr. Ivajlo Tzvetkov (BG),
Dr. Peter Kitin (JP),
Dr. Nasko Iliev (BG),
Dr. Gancho Slavov (BG),
Dr. Aleksandar Delkov (BG),
Ms. Biljana Ovcharova (BG), Dipl.
Eng. Nina Ivanova (BG),
Assist. Prof. Evgeni Tsavkov (BG).

Key speakers:
Dr. Michael Davey (University of Nottingham, UK)
Dr. Geert-Jan De Klerk
(Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands)
Prof. Toyoki Kozai (Chiba University, Japan)
Prof. John Preece (Southern Illinois University, USA)
Prof. Paul Read (University of Nebraska, USA)
Prof. Wolfgang Spethmann (University of Hannover, Germany)
Prof. Margareta Welander
(Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden)
Prof. Partick von Aderkas (University of Victoria, Canada)

International Scientific Committee:
Prof. Prem Bhalla (The University of Melbourne, Australia),
Prof. Mark Brand (University of Connecticut, USA),
Dr. Alena Gajdosova
(Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovakia),
Prof. Robert Geneve (University of Kentucky, USA),
Dr. Pramod K. Gupta (Weyerhauser Co., USA),
Prof. Hely Häggman (University of Oulu, Finland),
Prof. Michael Hall
(University of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, UK),
Dr. Katsuaki Ishii
(Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan)
Dr. Shri Mohan Jain (Helsinki University, Finland),
Prof. Young-Goo Park (Kyungpook National University, Korea),
Prof. John Preece (Southern Illinois University, USA),
Prof. Gerhard Reuther (University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden, Germany)
Prof. Rene Rohr (University of Lyon I, France),
Prof. Apostolos Scaltsoyiannes (Aristotle University, Greece),
Prof. Gabor Schmidt (Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary),
Prof. Sara von Arnold (SLU, Sweden),
Dr. Peter Zhelev (University of Forestry, Bulgaria),
Prof. Meira Ziv (Hebrew University, Israel).