On July 1, the 7^th International Horticulture Research Conference was held online. There were over 7,500 experts and scholars from well-known universities and scientific research institutions of 59 countries and regions who registered and attended the meeting, including America, Britain, Canada, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, etc.

　　Sponsored by NWAFU and Horticulture Research journal and organized by College of Horticulture and State Key Laboratory of Stress Biology for Arid Areas, the conference aimed at showing the latest international research progress and results in the field of horticulture and promoting the in-depth exchange and substantive cooperation between domestic and foreign researchers in related fields. The symposium was divided into five aspects, namely the growth and development of horticultural plants, abiotic and biotic stress resistance, breeding, genome, and post-harvest physiology and quality management.

　　At the opening ceremony on July 1, Luo Jun, vice-president of NWAFU, delivered an opening address which was then followed with two speeches from Cheng Zongming, editor-in-chief of Horticulture Research, and Ma Fengwang, dean of College of Horticulture. Professor Guan Qingmei was the chairman of the organizing committee. In the next following days, there will be 7 invited lectures given by specialists including Yang Xiaohan (professor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Zachary Lippman (professor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Harry J. Klee (member of National Academy of Sciences and professor of University of Florida), Huang Sanwen (researcher of Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Yang Shuhua (professor of China Agricultural University), Zhu Jiankang (researcher of Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology,CAS), and Zhao Yunde (professor of University of California, San Diego). Also, 53 specialists from more than 10 countries are going to give their plenary lectures; among those, there will be 7 experts from NWAFU sharing advanced technology and research achievements in the field, i.e., Ma Fengwang, Guan Qingmei, Zhang Dong, Liu Changhai, Wang Zhigang, and Zhai Rui.

　　Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 7^th International Horticulture Research Conference was held online. Despite the geographical distance and time difference, a great number of friends from the academia of horticulture joined this large-scale event, which not only played an important role in stimulating the global cooperation and development in terms of horticulture, but also increased the influence and competence of horticultural discipline of NWAFU, deepening the collaboration between NWAFU and institutions from home and abroad.

　　Translated by Tian Yiyun

　　Proofread by Yan Xianhui