Articles
CONSERVATION, CHARACTERIZATION, DOCUMENTATION AND UTILIZATION OF HORTICULTURAL GENETIC RESOURCES CARRIED OUT BY THE ITALIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Article number
918_6
Pages
65 – 70
Language
English
Abstract
Following Italys ratification of the FAO International Treaty on PGRFA in 2004, the Ministry of Agriculture (MiPAAF), launched an open-ended project targeted at the implementation of this Treaty, giving priority to the safeguarding, characteriza¬tion, evaluation, utilization and documentation of plant species of agricultural interest.
This project is particularly devoted to the research units of the Agricultural Research Council (CRA) belonging to the same Ministry.
Sixteen of these institutions are involved in horticultural crops of current and potential interest for the Italian economy; 29 of these crops are fruit species (including grape, olive and Citrus), 14 are vegetables, 102 are medicinal and aromatic plants, and 6 are ornamental species.
Currently, 19,500 accessions of horticultural crops are maintained, of which 12,569 are fruits, 3,463 vegetables, 155 medicinal and aromatic plants and 3,313 belong to ornamentally used species.
Vegetative and generative conservation methods (in vivo and as seeds) are most common, but steady research on specific protocols for other techniques, such as in vitro conservation and cryopreservation, allow for a constantly increasing rationalization of the collections.
Accurate characterization and documentation of the conserved material as well as the free access to this information are crucial for the promotion of global exchange of germplasm for food safety and sustainable agriculture.
Characterization comprises not only morphological and agronomical traits, but also biochemical and molecular analysis of the accessions.
As far as possible, the descriptors used are those adopted at the international level (FAO/IBPGR). The collected data and research results are available through the National Inventory on plant genetic resources conserved ex situ in Italy.
According to the policy of the Ministry, the economic evaluation of autochthonous varieties is one of the main objectives and several positive results have been achieved so far.
This project is particularly devoted to the research units of the Agricultural Research Council (CRA) belonging to the same Ministry.
Sixteen of these institutions are involved in horticultural crops of current and potential interest for the Italian economy; 29 of these crops are fruit species (including grape, olive and Citrus), 14 are vegetables, 102 are medicinal and aromatic plants, and 6 are ornamental species.
Currently, 19,500 accessions of horticultural crops are maintained, of which 12,569 are fruits, 3,463 vegetables, 155 medicinal and aromatic plants and 3,313 belong to ornamentally used species.
Vegetative and generative conservation methods (in vivo and as seeds) are most common, but steady research on specific protocols for other techniques, such as in vitro conservation and cryopreservation, allow for a constantly increasing rationalization of the collections.
Accurate characterization and documentation of the conserved material as well as the free access to this information are crucial for the promotion of global exchange of germplasm for food safety and sustainable agriculture.
Characterization comprises not only morphological and agronomical traits, but also biochemical and molecular analysis of the accessions.
As far as possible, the descriptors used are those adopted at the international level (FAO/IBPGR). The collected data and research results are available through the National Inventory on plant genetic resources conserved ex situ in Italy.
According to the policy of the Ministry, the economic evaluation of autochthonous varieties is one of the main objectives and several positive results have been achieved so far.
Authors
P. Engel , C. Fideghelli
Keywords
FAO International Treaty, plant genetic resources, horticultural crops, recovery, safeguard
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