It is my privilege and honour to invite you to the 3^rd International Symposium on Fusarium Head Blight, to be held in Szeged, Hungary, on September 1-5, 2008.

The Fusarium meetings have a long history. They started in Europe by the initiation of Professor Jerzy Chelkowski in 1987 in Warszawa, Poland, and now the 10th European Fusarium Seminar follows. In the US the National Fusarium Head Blight Forums started in 1998, and the Canadian Workshop of Fusarium Head Blight was organized first in 1999. As the problem is global, the International Fusarium Head Blight Forums were organized in 2000 in Suzhou (China), 2004 (Orlando USA) and this year with the cooperation of these organizations in Szeged, Hungary. 

The Fusarium science is rapidly growing; many branches have excellent results in the past years. The Szeged Symposium will be also an occasion to share the recent developments and ideas in this very important field, enrich each other with the new insights and new connections by polishing up old and making new friendships.

In the name of the IOC I invite you to enjoy this meeting, enjoy the presentations, enjoy the city and learn from each other.

Prof. Dr. Ákos Mesterházy
President of IOC