After three years of virtual Conferences and Congresses, it will be a real pleasure to welcome you to the next CORESTA Agro-Phyto Conference (AP2023) to be held in Cancún, Mexico, from 15-19 October 2023.

Located in the state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatán Peninsula in eastern Mexico, Cancún used to be a small fishing village in the mid-sixties. Today it is a vibrant city with a population of more than eight hundred thousand people and is globally recognised as a top tourist destination.

Mayan culture flourished in the Yucatán Peninsula and it has historically been renowned for its global scientific and technological contributions to modern civilization. The use of rolled tobacco is also known to have been practiced in the Yucatan Peninsula and the word “sikar” may be the origin of the English words “cigar” and “cigarettes”.

The mission of CORESTA is to promote and facilitate international cooperation and best practices in scientific research relative to tobacco and its derived products. Its vision is to be recognised as an authoritative source of publicly available, credible science and best practices.

The AP2023 Conference is being organised by CORESTA and follows on from the SSPT2023 Conference organised by Mother Murphy’s Laboratories.

The objective of the CORESTA AP2023 Conference is to provide the scientific community with opportunities for discussions with international specialists leading to fruitful collaborations, and multiple occasions for interactions and networking. We also strive to offer scientists the chance to share their knowledge and experience, and the CORESTA Agronomy & Leaf Integrity and Phytopathology & Genetics Study Groups are preparing an attractive scientific programme with high level scientific presentations and thematic workshops. We thank all presenters who will contribute to the quality of the programme and all participants who will attend in an open and cooperative spirit.

We are confident that the venue and the programme will meet your expectations, and we look forward to welcoming you in this unique environment and to working together to advance science and knowledge.