Türkiye

Dr. Emel KAÇAL is an Associate Professor specializing in apple genetics and breeding at the Fruit Research Institute, Eğirdir, Isparta, Türkiye. She graduated from Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, in 1999, where she also completed her master’s and Ph.D., earning her doctorate in 2009 with a specialization in crop load management in apples. Dr. KAÇAL has over 23 years of professional experience in apple research, including leading numerous projects and publishing extensively on the subject. From 2001 to 2007, she was a research assistant at Süleyman Demirel University. Since 2007, she has been part of the Breeding and Genetics Department at the Fruit Research Institute, focusing on developing apple varieties resistant to scab and pear varieties resistant to fire blight. Her research interests include resistance breeding, sensory analysis, and crop load management in pome fruits. Dr. KAÇAL is actively involved in professional organizations and continues to contribute significantly to the fields of temperate fruits and plant genetics.

Dr. Şerif ÖZONGUN is the Director of the Fruit Research Institute, where he has been working as a researcher since 2001 and serving as Director since 2016. He graduated from Gaziosmanpaşa University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, in 1997. He earned his master’s degree from the same institution in 2001 and completed his Ph.D. in Horticulture at Süleyman Demirel University in 2014. Dr. ÖZONGUN specializes in the genetic resources of apples, with a focus on developing rootstocks resistant to fire blight and root rot diseases. He has been leading a breeding project aimed at improving disease-resistant apple varieties and rootstocks and has contributed to numerous studies and projects related to apples throughout his career.

Dr. Mehmet AKSU is a researcher specializing in apple and pear cultivation and breeding at

the Fruit Research Institute, Eğirdir, Isparta, Türkiye. He graduated from Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, in 2008, where he also completed his master's in 2011. In 2023, he received his PhD in the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology at the same university, specializing in gene expression analysis in stone fruit rootstocks under drought stress. Dr. AKSU has taken part in many studies on apples in his more than 26 years of professional experience. He has been working in the Breeding and Genetics department at the Fruit Research Institute since 2008, working on apple varieties resistant to scab and pear varieties resistant to fire blight. His research interests include resistance breeding in temperate climate fruits, selection using molecular markers, and gene expression analysis. He also conducted a molecular marker study on genes affecting coloration in apple flesh and skin. Dr. AKSU continues to work in the field of orchard management and plant genetics.

Dr. Kubilay Kurtulus Bastas is a Professor of Plant Protection at Selcuk University, Turkey. He completed his graduate work on plant protection and postgraduate work on phytopathology-bacteriology at Ankara University, Turkey; earned his PhD from Selcuk University in Turkey; and earned a postdoctoral degree in molecular phytopathology from Warwick University, UK. He has worked on Erwinia amylovora and onion diseases in Professor S. V. Beer’s bacteriology laboratory at Cornell University, USA. His research areas of interest are plant bacterial diseases, fire blight, seed pathology, and molecular plant bacteriology. His 10 years of teaching and 20 years of research have earned him several awards and scholarships from national (TUBITAK, TMMOB, and YOK) and international (British Council and ERASMUS) foundations. Dr. Bastas has published nearly 150 research papers and several review articles in international refereed journals. He has reported incidences in Turkey of several new bacterial pathogens in cultivations of apples, grapes, beans, berries, some ornamentals, rice, rosehips, and kiwi. He is an active member of professional bodies such as the Turkish Phytopathology Association, the National Fire Blight Working Group, the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), the American Phytopathological Society (APS), the Pathogen and Disease Detection Committee, Bacteriology Committee, and Teaching Committee.

Dr. Fatma YILDIRIM is a Professor of Horticulture Department at Isparta University of

Applied Science, Türkiye. She received her PhD degree from Ankara University in 2003, with a thesis titled “The Comparison of Different Planting Systems in Apples (Malus communis L.).” Her research interests focus on fruit production and breeding, especially deciduous fruits (apple, apricot, cherry, walnut, almond, etc.).