Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) hosted the Inaugural Conference of the International Plant Grafting Society and an International Symposium on Plant Grafting from May 8 to 9, bringing experts, scholars, and industry representatives to discuss leading research and industry development in plant grafting.
Participants from countries including Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, New Zealand, and China attended the event, where the International Plant Grafting Society was officially established.
Qing Ping, vice-president of HZAU, said plant grafting is one of the oldest and most widely used techniques in horticulture and is now entering a new phase of scientific development. With advances in plant signal transduction, cross-tissue material transport, and stress adaptation, grafting has become not only a traditional cultivation technique but also an important system for studying plant life processes.
Xu Qiang, director of the National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation and Utilization of Horticultural Crops and dean of the College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, said grafting has a history of more than 3,000 years and has become an important model system in modern plant biology. He said the new society aims to promote international collaboration, integrate research resources, unify experimental standards, and support open knowledge sharing.
The society's secretariat will be based at the national key laboratory. Xu will serve as president, with Olaf Schelezki from Lincoln University in New Zealand and Ferdinando Branca from the University of Catania in Italy as co-presidents. Lin Zongcheng will serve as secretary-general.
The society, jointly initiated by HZAU and Lincoln University, has attracted 92 researchers from 50 research institutions in nine countries. It will focus on leading scientific issues and needs in plant grafting, while developing an open platform for international cooperation.

Experts attend the Inaugural Conference of the International Plant Grafting Society and International Symposium on Plant Grafting at Huazhong Agricultural University. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]

Participants visit laboratory platforms during the international symposium on plant grafting at HZAU. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]