ISHS Acta Horticulturae 760: XXVII International Horticultural Congress - IHC2006: II International Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources of Horticultural Crops
PRESERVATION OF FRUIT LANDRACES OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC |
| Authors: | F. Paprstein, J. Kloutvor |
| Keywords: | local cultivars, fruit species, cultivars, conservation, in situ, on farm, genebank |
| Abstract:
At the beginning of the XXth century, many fruit landraces were widely cultivated in the Czech Republic. They were adapted to the soil-climatic conditions of particular regions. Since the last half of the last century, old fruit plantations and hedge rows were destroyed due to changes in property ownership and in priorities of agricultural production. Fruit landraces are threatened with extinction. A project to preserve these endangered Czech landraces began in 1994. The areas, which were not affected by intensive agricultural production and recreational expansion, were prioritized for collecting expeditions. Cultivar identification by morphological evaluation, including the characterization of plant and fruits was made. Important gene resources were located with a global positioning service (GPS) units and itemized in a map database. These important gene resources were subsequently planted in field collections at the Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology (RBIP) at Holovousy. In situ conservation was arranged at specific localities, such as national parks and protected landscape areas, to ensure long term preservation. At present, 834 in situ accessions are registered and preserved. In recent years, on-farm plantations have been established to preserve the continuity of local cultivars in particular areas. Three on-farm collections of fruit species are planted: Vrchlabí (45 accessions); ‘Orchard of reconciliation’ in Neratov (42 accessions); and Znojmo (13 accessions). Specific landraces are described. Old landraces, representing the most valuable genetic material of the Czech Republic, must be conserved for future generations. | |
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