Professor and Director of the Plant Biology Laboratory at the Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech of the University of Liège, Belgium.

Dr. Du Jardin's definition of biostimulants is the most accepted and distributed internationally and mentions that: “A biostimulant is any substance or microorganism that, when applied to plants, is capable of improving their efficiency in their absorption and assimilation of nutrients, tolerance to biotic or abiotic stress or improve any of its agronomic characteristics, regardless of the nutrient content of the substance "

Dr. Bryla's research has focused on irrigation and nutrient management in berry crops. The objective has been to identify the practices that increase plant growth and yield potential; improve fruit quality and food safety; promote the efficient use of water, fertilizers and soil resources, reduce problems caused by pests and plant diseases; and limit the labor requirements associated with pruning, weeding and harvesting.

The Chilean plant pathologist and researcher Dr. Andrés France from the Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) participated in the project "Development of a kit for the early detection of silver plating in fruit trees" presented at the 2018 International Phytopathology Congress (ICPP) Plant Health in a Global Economy, which brings together the world's leading exponents of the specialty. The work presented dealt with the integrated management measures for silver plating in blueberries.

The director of the Technological Center for Biological Control and in charge of the Chilean Collection of Microbial Genetic Resources expresses the need for a cultural change in producers, warning that there are diseases that can end a garden if anticipated measures are not taken. "In prevention is the secret."

Mr. Armstrong has directed the Blueberry Committee of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile -ASOEX- for more than 10 years, standing out as a benchmark for analysis of the industry in Chile and the Southern Hemisphere, providing valuable data for the Cranberry production worldwide.

The expert highlights: “Today, there are new competitors, which, supported by new varieties, are producing in areas where it was traditionally not possible to do so. If one looks at the world production of blueberries, we can realize that it has moved from the areas closest to the poles to areas closer to Ecuador. This fact makes there a more stable offer throughout the year, with more stable sales formats and prices too ”

Researcher and Academician of the University of Bonn, Germany.

With a long history, Dr. Goldbach's research has specialized in the functions of micronutrients in the metabolism of plants, the processes in the foliar surfaces and the factors that affect the permanence, penetration and translocation of nutrients; plant water balances, waste management and nutrient cycles, plant stress indicators, among others.

The academic of the Department of Plant Production, Dr. Richard Bastías, received the 2018 University of Concepción Science with Impact Award and in the UdeC Impact category, for his research on the invention of bicolor meshes of combined photo-selectivity to avoid damaging the fruit due to the action of direct solar radiation and high temperatures.

Dr. Bastías maintains that for him the transformation of knowledge into technological solutions to face problems of fruit growing is a stimulus: “I have always thought that as a country we can export something more than fruit; I call it 'fruit intelligence'.

For more than 35 years he has dedicated himself to researching the physiology of minor fruit trees, in particular blueberries, and has participated in genetic improvement programs. He was deputy director of the Frutilla working group of the International Society of Horticultural Sciences (ISHS), in which he represented Chile for 12 years and president of the Chilean Fruit Growing Society. Within his long career, he obtained in 2002 a scholarship from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Japan to study strawberry physiology at the University of Yamagata. He has published numerous articles and in mid-2018 the second revised and updated edition of the book "Blueberries" was published. Copies of this book that will be on sale at the Seminar.

Mr. Norero is an independent technical and academic advisor at the Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering and at the School of Engineering of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile where he created the first drone course for industrial use three years ago.

Motivated by the development of modern agriculture, supported by intelligent tools, for 10 years he has specialized in the development and application of unmanned aerial vehicles in the forestry and livestock area, accumulating more than 15.000 hours of exclusive dedication to the subject. He has complemented his experience by completing two diplomas in Spain specifically in this area, one at the International Campus for Security and Defense (CISDE) and the last at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forest Engineering of the University of Córdoba.

The main research area of ​​Dr. Juan Hirzel is soil fertility and plant nutrition. As a leading researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) and as a professor of the Doctorate in Agricultural Sciences of the universities of Talca and Concepción in Chile, he has collaborated in research projects for the development of methodologies for sectorized management of farms, application of techniques of multispectral image analysis to optimize crops, among others. He has also developed tools for decision making in the organic production of blueberries for export, as well as work on the effects of organic fertilizers on the vegetative, nutritional and productive parameters in blueberries.

The researcher expert in postharvest of the Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA), Bruno Defilippi, was selected to integrate the editorial committee of the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology, the most important in Biology and Post-harvest issues in the world, becoming the first researcher South American to assume this position.

In this way, the INIA researcher joins the editorial committee, composed of researchers from Europe, the United States, China and now, South America.

Industrial Civil Engineer graduated with distinction from the University of Chile and Postitulate in Retail Management of the same house of studies. He has more than 10 years of experience working in organizations and projects related to innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and business development, among them, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Laboratory of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Chile. He currently participates as Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Agronomy of the U. of Chile, as a Director member of the Network of Industrial Engineering Alumni of the U. of Chile and as Managing Partner at DynamicLab, a company dedicated to providing advice and services in digital transformation, use of big data and artificial intelligence applied to the agricultural industry, food industry, advertising media, retail and service companies.