The conference programme starts with a welcome reception May 18^th at 20:00; and ends Friday May 22^nd around lunch time. A post symposium tour ending at the Oslo airport; (Gardermoen) will be offered. More details to come. 

May 17  

May 17^th is the constitution day in Norway, one of our biggest holidays of the year. We suggest you travel to Norway the day before and enjoy the celebration in either Bergen or Oslo. There will be big parades and a lot to explore.  

In Lofthus there will be a celebration as well, in a smaller scale. During the day, the celebration will be focused around children,whereas in the evening party for the adults  is normally organized in the form of a community dance. 

If you are eager for athletic challenges, we suggest joining the celebration of May 17^th at Finse with a cross-country ski trip on the glacier Hardangerjøkulen. Link to the event in 2025: https://www.dnt.no/hytter/betjente/finsehytta/arrangementer/172.-mai 

 Daytime May 18^th. Travel to Lofthus or enjoy the area (see the tab "venue and travel" for alternatives and more information) 

Overview of the preliminary conference programme: 

Monday 18^th: Welcome reception at 20:00 

Tuesday 19^th: Full day of conference programme 

Wednesday 20^th: Half day presentations/half day trip in the area 

Thursday 21^st: Full day conference programme 

Friday 22^nd: Half day conference, closing ceremony 

Optional postharvest tour to eastern part of Norway ending at Oslo Airport Gardermoen will start after the official conference closing

VENUE 

We are proud to welcome you to our beautiful conference hotel, Ullensvang Hotel in the village of Lofthus in Ullensvang municipality. NIBIO's closest research facilities focused on fruit research, are located in the same village. Our personnel with local knowledge will do their best to ensure an interesting stay in the area. 

Home page hotel: https://www.hotelullensvang.no/ 

Home page NIBIO Ullensvang: https://nibio.no/en/about-eng/addresses/ullensvang?locationfilter=true 

More about the venue area: 

Link: 

https://hardangerfjord.com/ 

What to do at Lofthus with some extra time and energy: 

-swim in the fjord/the hotel swimming pool which is connected to the fjord 

-cider tasting 

-hiking 

-day trip: https://hardangerfjord.com/en/attractions/hm-queen-sonjas-panoramic-hiking-trail-1038523 

TRAVEL

Lofthus in Ullensvang is in the fjord district of western Norway. There are several travel options to consider. 

The main airports are Flesland, Bergen (link to direct flights: https://avinor.no/flyplass/bergen/?#directflights) and Gardermoen, Oslo (link direct flights: https://avinor.no/flyplass/oslo/?directflights=) 

Note that there are two airports in Oslo – Gardermoen (OSL) and Sandefjord/Torp (TRF). Flights to Torp are often cheaper than Gardermoen, but transit to the center of Oslo (to catch a train or bus to Lofthus) takes longer and is less convenient. 

Travel time from Bergen to Lofthus: 3 to 5 hours. 

Travel time from Oslo to Lofthus: 5 to 8 hours,  

OBS. Optional post symposium tour ending at Gardermoen airport in Oslo will be organised. Consult the program before deciding travel options. 

Travel options from Bergen: 

Check https://reise.skyss.no/planner/travel-plans?timetype=DEPARTURE&ts=2025-06-14T05:17:25Z&service-modes=bus,expressbus,airportbus,train,passengerboat,carferry,tram,others&min-transfer=2&walk-speed=normal for travel options from Flesland to Lofthus.  

Webpage for the boat from Flesland to Rosendal: https://rodne.no/en

Webpage for the train from Bergen to Voss: https://www.vy.no/en

Webpage for the bus schedule: https://www.skyss.no/ 

Rental car options at Flesland: https://avinor.no/en/airport/bergen-airport/to-and-from-the-airport/car-rental/

More travel information can also be found at the Airport webpage: https://avinor.no/en/airport/bergen-airport/

The alternatives are in summary: 

1. By boat and bus. (Flesland-Rosendal-Odda, arrival May 18^th at 19:30 demands pick up by car to join the welcome reception, use the contact form to request this) 

1. By light bane, train and bus (Flesland-Bergen city-Voss-Lofthus) 

1. By rental car (Four alternative routes, E16 via Voss, Fv7 via Hardanger bridge, Fv49 via ferry Tørvikbygd-Jondal or Fv48 via ferry Gjermundshavn-Årsnes).  Free parking at the hotel. 

Important: On request we can organize a separate direct bus transport from the airport participants on May 18^th if you arrive before 15:00. Use the contact form to request that. If more than 40 people want this option, we will organize it.  

Travel options from Oslo: 

Check: https://entur.no/ for travel options from Gardermoen to Lofthus. 

Webpage for the train from Gardermoen/Oslo to Voss: https://www.vy.no/en

Webpage for the direct bus to Odda: https://reiseplanlegger.nor-way.no/   

Local buses: https://www.skyss.no/en

Rental car options at Gardermoen: https://avinor.no/en/airport/oslo-airport/to-and-from-the-airport/car-rental/

More travel information can also be found at the Airport webpage: https://avinor.no/en/airport/oslo-airport/

The alternatives are in summary: 

1. By train and bus. (Oslo-Voss-Lofthus or Oslo-Geilo-Lofthus) 

1. By bus (Oslo-Odda-Lofthus) 

1. By rental car (Two alternative driving routes, Rv7 Hardangervidda or E134 Haukeli).  Free parking at the hotel. 

CONTACT - Questions please write to isphpp2026@nibio.no

Abstracts within the following topics are welcome:

• Integrated management
• Plant and pathogen interactions
• Postharvest technologies
• Postharvest treatments
• Novel technologies
• Diagnostics
• Biocontrol, control and communities
• Pathogen genomics
• Microbiome
• Disease cycles

 Guidelines: 

All abstracts and manuscripts must be submitted through the following ROSA (Responsive Online System for Acta Horticulturae submission and review) link: https://www.actahort.org/members/symposiar?nr=887  

ISHS online submission procedure: https://www.ishs.org/sites/default/files/page-documents/onlinesubmissionauthorsguide.pdf 

Acta Horticulturae guidelines: https://www.ishs.org/authors 

• Only abstracts submitted in English will be reviewed. 

• Abstracts must not exceed 300 words. 

• Abstracts must not contain tables, pictures or graphs. 

• All abbreviations must be spelled out on first use. 

• Abstracts should be thoroughly checked for spelling and grammar. 

• An abstract submission charge is due upon submission of an abstract and applies to the presenting author only. For ISHS Individual members, the abstract submission charge is fully waived.  
  Those who do not hold a user account with ISHS yet: create an ISHS user account first at https://www.actahort.org/members/newmember?asc=1 . After payment and activation of your user account, you can start your abstract submission. 

• Abstracts must always be submitted by the presenting author, using their own personal ISHS user account. Submitting an abstract on behalf of, or using the ISHS user account of another author is strictly prohibited. 

• Abstracts must be submitted by December 1 for consideration by the Scientific Committee. Authors will be notified of provisional acceptance of abstracts by January 15 and will also be notified if the abstract has been selected for an oral or poster presentation.  

• All oral presenters, including invited and keynote speakers, must submit a manuscript for Acta Horticulturae according to the Acta Horticulturae guidelines (https://www.ishs.org/authors) by May 25. (Alternatively, presenters have the option to submit a full scientific manuscript on the topic presented at the symposium, for publication in the ISHS Scientific Journal eJHS in lieu of submitting a manuscript for Acta Horticulturae. Papers submitted in this manner will go through the standard procedures for peer-reviewed journal papers.) Oral presenters who fail to submit a manuscript for publication in Acta Horticulturae or the ISHS Scientific Journal may be refused the floor for making their oral presentation. Authors of posters are strongly encouraged to prepare and submit a manuscript for Acta Horticulturae. 

• Presenting authors of abstracts accepted for presentation (both oral/poster) must register for the symposium by February 15. Failing to register for the symposium will result in your abstract being withdrawn from the symposium program and your manuscript being withdrawn from the Acta Horticulturae symposium proceedings.  

• Failing to present (oral/poster) at the symposium will result in your manuscript being withdrawn from the Acta Horticulturae symposium proceedings. 
  
  
  

- info on ISHS membership, https://www.ishs.org/members

- info on ISHS Young Minds Awards, https://www.ishs.org/young-minds-award

Editors: 

Jorunn Børve, Jorunn.borve@nibio.no 

Belachew Asalf Tadesse, belachew.asalf.tadesse@nibio.no 

Arne Stensvand, arne.stensvand@nibio.no