Articles
The wild and growing germplasm for innovating vegetable farming systems in the Mediterranean region
Article number
1453_17
Pages
121 – 134
Language
English
Abstract
The genetic reservoir offers significant potential to diversify vegetable products and their quality, while enhancing the resilience and sustainability of farming systems.
The Mediterranean area, besides being of great importance for vegetable growing, is an origin and diversification centre of several cultivated species.
In this area ancestors of several crops are widespread and some of them are harvested in the wild and/or occasionally grown in small farms for commercial purposes.
Among the centers described by Vavilov, the Mediterranean countries, and in particularly Italy, have an ancient history for vegetable growing and production and it has been expressed during the time by the great diversity in terms of species, types, landraces and cultivars utilized.
This great agrobiodiversity supports the great richness of traditional foods which render very famous Mediterranean cuisine.
The objective of the current research is to explore the available information on underutilized Mediterranean species to improve their relative level of the data present into the literature.
The material on the species’ requirements and on their adaptability varies and is often inadequate.
For the wild and the exotic species, the varieties available are often insufficient, representing pre-breeding materials, whereas for the other groups of species, specific varieties will be selected for different farming systems (e.g., open air, greenhouse, vertical farming). Data concerning the wild species is almost nil and the attention turns to the bio-morphological studies of the plant and the chemical composition of the edible organ, whereas for minor species we can at least find previous references about their growing both in the open air and/or in the greenhouse.
In cold greenhouse conditions we need species to grow by selected cultivars resistant against biotic and abiotic stresses providing the consumer request, implementing the growing techniques for increasing the yield and the quality of the produce.
The contribution of the new species could overcome the agronomic issues, such as in the Mediterranean areas the rest periods during summertime and soil-borne pests and diseases.
In this frame the work in progress will be illustrated in view to exploit wild and growing Mediterranean germplasm for supporting the innovation of the environmentally friendly vegetable chains for improving human wellbeing.
The Mediterranean area, besides being of great importance for vegetable growing, is an origin and diversification centre of several cultivated species.
In this area ancestors of several crops are widespread and some of them are harvested in the wild and/or occasionally grown in small farms for commercial purposes.
Among the centers described by Vavilov, the Mediterranean countries, and in particularly Italy, have an ancient history for vegetable growing and production and it has been expressed during the time by the great diversity in terms of species, types, landraces and cultivars utilized.
This great agrobiodiversity supports the great richness of traditional foods which render very famous Mediterranean cuisine.
The objective of the current research is to explore the available information on underutilized Mediterranean species to improve their relative level of the data present into the literature.
The material on the species’ requirements and on their adaptability varies and is often inadequate.
For the wild and the exotic species, the varieties available are often insufficient, representing pre-breeding materials, whereas for the other groups of species, specific varieties will be selected for different farming systems (e.g., open air, greenhouse, vertical farming). Data concerning the wild species is almost nil and the attention turns to the bio-morphological studies of the plant and the chemical composition of the edible organ, whereas for minor species we can at least find previous references about their growing both in the open air and/or in the greenhouse.
In cold greenhouse conditions we need species to grow by selected cultivars resistant against biotic and abiotic stresses providing the consumer request, implementing the growing techniques for increasing the yield and the quality of the produce.
The contribution of the new species could overcome the agronomic issues, such as in the Mediterranean areas the rest periods during summertime and soil-borne pests and diseases.
In this frame the work in progress will be illustrated in view to exploit wild and growing Mediterranean germplasm for supporting the innovation of the environmentally friendly vegetable chains for improving human wellbeing.
Authors
F. Branca, M. Spatafora, G. Garcia, L. Ciccarello, N. Al Achkar, A. Tribulato, D. Arena
Keywords
agrobiodiversity, wild, exotic, minor, cultivated plant, genetic reserve
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