BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
European landraces:
on-farm conservation,
management and use
M. Veteläinen, V. Negri and N. Maxted (Eds)
(XURSHDQ
&RRSHUDWLYH
3URJUDPPH
IRU3ODQW
*HQHWLF
5HVRXUFHV
(&3*5
Bioversity Technical Bulletins are published by Bioversity International
with the intention of putting forward definitive recommendations for techniques in
genetic resources. They are specifically aimed at National Programmes.
Previous titles in this series:
A protocol to determine seed storage behaviour (IPGRI TB No. 1, 1996)
T.D. Hong and R.H. Ellis
Molecular tools in plant genetic resources conservation: a guide to the
technologies (IPGRI TB No. 2, 1997)
A. Karp, S. Kresovich, K.V. Bhat, W.G. Ayad and T. Hodgkin
Core collections of plant genetic resources (IPGRI TB No. 3, 2000)
Th.J.L. van Hintum, A.H.D. Brown, C. Spillane and T. Hodgkin
Design and analysis of evaluation trials of genetic resources collections
(IPGRI TB No. 4, 2001)
Statistical Services Centre and University of Reading
Accession management: combining or splitting accessions as a tool to
improve germplasm management efficiency (IPGRI TB No. 5, 2002)
N.R. Sackville Hamilton, J.M.M. Engels, Th.J.L. van Hintum, B. Koo and M. Smale
Forest tree seed health (IPGRI TB No. 6, 2002)
J.R. Sutherland, M. Diekmann and P. Berjak
In vitro collecting techniques for germplasm conservation (IPGRI TB No. 7, 2002)
V.C. Pence, J.A. Sandoval, V.M. Villalobos A. and F. Engelmann
Análisis estadístico de datos de caracterización morfológica
(IPGRI TB No. 8, 2002)
T.L. Franco y R. Hidalgo
A methodological model for ecogeographic surveys of crops
(IPGRI TB No. 9, 2005)
L. Guarino, N. Maxted and E.A. Chiwona
Molecular markers for genebank management (IPGRI TB No. 10, 2005)
D. Spooner, R. van Treuren and M.C. de Vicente
In situ conservation of wild plant species: a critical global review of good
practices (Bioversity TB No. 11, 2006)
V.H. Heywood and M.E. Dulloo
Crop genetic diversity to reduce pests and diseases on-farm. Participatory
diagnosis guidelines. Version 1. (Bioversity TB No. 12, 2007)
D.I. Jarvis and D.M. Campilan
Developing crop descriptor lists: guidelines for developers
(Bioversity TB No. 13, 2007)
Data analysis manual for coconut reseachers (Bioversity TB No. 14, 2008)
P.N. Mathur, K. Muralidharan, V.A. Parthasarathy, P. Batugal and F. Bonnot
Copies can be obtained in PDF format from Bioversity’s Web site
(www.bioversityinternational.org) or in printed format by sending
a request to bioversity-publications@cgiar.org.
European landraces:
on-farm conservation,
management and use
M. Veteläinen, V. Negri and N. Maxted (Eds)
Bioversity International is an independent international scientific organization
that seeks to improve the well-being of present and future generations of people
by enhancing conservation and the deployment of agricultural biodiversity
on farms and in forests. It is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public
and private members who support efforts to mobilize cutting-edge science to
reduce hunger and poverty, improve human nutrition and health, and protect the
environment. Bioversity has its headquarters in Maccarese, near Rome, Italy, with
offices in more than 20 other countries worldwide. The organization operates
through four programmes: Diversity for Livelihoods, Understanding and
Managing Biodiversity, Global Partnerships, and Commodities for Livelihoods.
The international status of Bioversity is conferred under an Establishment
Agreement which, by January 2009, had been signed by the Governments of
Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile,
China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco,
Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Senegal, Slovakia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Ukraine.
Financial support for Bioversity’s research is provided by more than 150 donors,
including governments, private foundations and international organizations. For
details of donors and research activities please see Bioversity’s Annual Reports,
which are available in printed form on request from bioversity-publications@cgiar.
org or from Bioversity’s Web site (www.bioversityinternational.org).
The geographical designations employed and the presentation of material
in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on
the part of Bioversity or the CGIAR concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its
frontiers or boundaries. Similarly, the views expressed are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations.
Mention of a proprietary name does not constitute endorsement of the
product and is given only for information.
Citation: Veteläinen M, Negri V and Maxted N. 2009. European landraces onfarm conservation, management and use. Bioversity Technical Bulletin No. 15.
Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.
Cover illustration: Mr Raffaele Latassa harvesting seed of a local leafy kale
(Brassica oleracea) at his garden in Bivongi, Calabria, Italy. Courtesy of © Lorenzo
Maggioni, Bioversity International.
ISBN 978-92-9043-805-2
Bioversity International
Via dei Tre Denari, 472/a
00057 Maccarese
Rome, Italy
© Bioversity International, 2009
Bioversity International is the operating name of the International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute (IPGRI).
Introduction to the Series
The Technical Bulletin series is targeted at scientists and technicians
managing genetic resources collections. Each title will aim to provide
guidance on choices while implementing conservation techniques
and procedures and the experimentation required to adapt these to
local operating conditions and target species. Techniques are discussed and, where relevant, options presented and suggestions made
for experiments. The Technical Bulletins are authored by scientists
working in the genetic resources area. Bioversity welcomes suggestions of topics for future volumes. In addition, Bioversity would
encourage, and is prepared to support, the exchange of research
findings obtained at the various genebanks and laboratories.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
v
Contents
Foreword
Devra Jarvis
ix
SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION
1
1. European Landrace Conservation: an Introduction
Valeria Negri, Nigel Maxted and Merja Veteläinen
1
2. Evolution, Status and Perspectives for Landraces
in Europe
Karl Hammer and Axel Diederichsen
23
SECTION 2 - LANDRACE INVENTORIES
45
3. Landrace Inventories: Needs and Methodologies
Nigel Maxted, Merja Veteläinen and Valeria Negri
45
4. Bulgarian Landrace Inventory – Significance and Use
53
Lilia Krasteva, Tsvetelina Stoilova, Kana Varbanova and Stefan Neykov
5. Landrace Inventory of Denmark
Gert Poulsen
69
6. Cereal Landrace Inventories in Finland
Maarit Heinonen and Merja Veteläinen
70
7. Landrace Inventory in Germany – Preparing the National
Implementation of the EU Directive 2008/62/EC
Lothar Frese, Ursula Reinhard, Hans-Joachim Bannier and
Christoph Ulrich Germeier
8. Inventory of Greek Landraces
Andreas Katsiotis, Penelope Bebeli, Athanasios Mavromatis and
Athanasios Tzivelikas
9. Inventorying and on-farm Maintenance of Hungarian
Landraces
László Holly, Atilla Simon, István Már, G.M. Csizmadia, Zs. Kollár
and Zs. Hock
79
97
104
vi
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
10. Landrace Inventories in Italy and the Lazio Region
Case Study
Oriana Porfiri, Maria Teresa Costanza and Valeria Negri
117
11. Landrace Inventory for Portugal
Pedro M.R. Mendes Moreira, Maria Manuela Veloso
124
12. Landrace Inventory for Romania
Silvia Strajeru, Manuela Ibanescu and Dana Constantinovici
137
13. Cultivated Plant Inventory of Russia
Tamara Smekalova
143
14. ‘Swedes Revisited’: a Landrace Inventory in Sweden
Jens Weibull, Eva Jansson and Katarina Wedelsbäck Bladh
155
15. Landrace Inventory of the UK
Maria Scholten, Niall Green, George Campbell, Nigel Maxted,
Brian Ford-Lloyd, Mike Ambrose and Bill Spoor
161
SECTION 3 - CASE STUDIES
171
16. Tomato Varieties ‘Muchamiel’ and ‘De la Pera’
from the South-east of Spain: Genetic Improvement
to Promote On-Farm Conservation
Juan José Ruiz and Santiago García-Martínez
171
17. ‘Fagiolina’ (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata (L.)
Walp.) from Trasimeno Lake (Umbria Region, Italy)
177
Valeria Negri
18. The ‘Farro’ (Triticum dicoccon Schrank) from
Monteleone di Spoleto (Valnerina Valley, Umbria)
Renzo Torricelli, Lorenza Quintaliani and Mario Falcinelli
183
19. Grindstad Timothy: the Landrace that Became a
Major Commercial Variety
Petter Marum and Kristin Daugstad
187
20. On-Farm Management of Vegetables in Switzerland
Beate Schierscher-Viret, Geert Kleijer and Christoph Köhler
191
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
vii
21. Thatching with Long-straw Wheat in Relation to
On-Farm Conservation in England
Mike Ambrose and Stephen Letch
197
22. Regional and Crop-Specific Survey: Grapevine
Landraces in Douro and Colares, Portugal
Silvana Cardoso and Nigel Maxted
203
23. Community-based Landrace Conservation: Lentils
of Eglouvi, Lefkada
Leonidas Nikolaou and Nigel Maxted
223
24. Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme
233
Niall Green, George Campbell, Rachel Tulloch and Maria Scholten
25. On-Farm Conservation of Crop Landraces in
Georgia
Mariam Jorjadze and Taiul Berishvili
244
SECTION 4 – PROMOTING LANDRACE USE
251
26. New Markets and Supply Chains for Scottish
Bere Barley
Peter Martin, John Wishart, Arthur Cromarty and
Xianmin Chang
27. The Origin and Special Cultivation Features of the
Northern Local Potato Strain ‘Puikula’
Antti Hannukkala
251
264
28. Farm Seed Opportunities: a Project to Promote
Landrace Use and Renew Biodiversity
266
Veronique Chable, Isabelle Goldringer, Julie Dawson, Riccardo
Bocci, Edith Lammerts van Bueren, Estelle Serpolay, Juan Manuel
González, Thais Valero, Thomas Levillain, Joost W. Van der Burg,
Michel Pimbert, Silvio Pino and Chris Kik
29. On-farm Conservation Portugal – Vaso Project –
a Long-term Conservation Programme
Pedro M.R. Mendes Moreira, Silas E. Pêgo and
Maria Carlota Vaz Patto
275
viii
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
30. The Crab Apple Malus sylvestris – Basis for a
Delicious Fruit Tea
Monika Höfer
283
SECTION 5 - NATIONAL POLICIES
287
31. The European Seed Legislation on Conservation
Varieties
Franco Lorenzetti and Valeria Negri
287
32. National Policies and Support Systems for Landrace
Cultivation in Finland
Kaarina Paavilainen
296
33. The Italian Laws on Conservation Varieties and the
National Implementation of Commission Directive
2008/62 EC
Franco Lorenzetti, Silvia Lorenzetti and Valeria Negri
300
SECTION 6 – GENERAL DISCUSSION
305
34 A European Strategic Approach to Conserving Crop
Landraces
Merja Veteläinen, Valeria Negri and Nigel Maxted
305
Photo collection
326
Index
331
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Foreword
The need to develop work on on-farm conservation of crop genetic diversity
in the form of traditional crop varieties, or landraces (in the sense of Harlan)
is emphasized in the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), Agenda
21, and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (ITPGRFA), all of which confirm on-farm conservation as an
essential component of sustainable agriculture. The adoption of the CBD
Programme of Work on Agricultural Biodiversity in 2000 (Decision V/5,
annex 5) has substantially expanded the work on on-farm conservation
throughout the world, including in Europe.
Efforts to measure landrace diversity within European production
systems have shown that crop landraces are not only complex and highly
varied in their genetic structure, but dynamic and evolving entities,
characteristics that are now being recognized in designing policies to
support their maintenance. Increasingly, attention is now being paid to how
increasing the levels of genetic diversity within production systems can be
a means of reducing risk to changes in pest and disease and precipitation
regimes, particularly in light of the predicted effects of climate change.
Actions are being taken in Europe to make landraces more competitive with
modern varieties. Interventions to increase competitiveness have included
better characterization of local materials, improvement through breeding and
processing, greater access to materials and information, increasing consumer
demand, and more supportive policies and incentives.
One area of importance in the on-farm conservation of landraces has
been the recognition of the central importance of maintaining local seed
systems. Significant work has been undertaken to understand the value
of local seed systems, including investigating ways that allow continual
migration and selection of landrace populations to generate the qualities
needed in local planting materials.
A second important element in European landrace conservation
efforts has been the collaboration between partners from the formal and
informal sectors, with the best results driven by a clear appreciation of
the central role of the farmer in managing crop genetic diversity. These
programmes have given importance to adopting working practices that
are fully participatory and start from a desire to reflect farmers’ needs and
concerns in diversity management.
This Technical Bulletin provides a wealth of information on landrace
inventories in Europe, on landrace management within a European
context, and the promotion of landrace use, together with the development
of European national policies to support the conservation and use of
landraces in production systems for sustainable agriculture.
Devra Jarvis
Bioversity International
ix
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Section 1 - Introduction
1. European Landrace Conservation: an Introduction
Valeria Negri¹, Nigel Maxted² and Merja Veteläinen³
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi, Borgo XX Giugno
74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail vnegri@unipg.it
² School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15
2TT, UK
³ MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Biotechnology and Food Research, Genetic
diversity H-house FIN-31600, Jokioinen, Finland
1.1 Establishing the context
European agriculture, like agriculture of other areas of the world,
went through a significant change during the twentieth century. At
the beginning of the last century the population was largely rural
and agriculture was based on traditional systems, where most of
the productive factors (seed included) came from the farm itself. At
present, the percentage of the population involved in agriculture
is less than 4% and agriculture is a sort of industrialized process
based on productive factors which mostly come from outside the
farm (machinery, fuel, chemicals and seeds of cultivars that were
developed by smart breeding techniques). As for seed in particular,
genetically uniform commercially bred cultivars now dominate
agricultural production in Europe. They have generally replaced
the more genetically variable crop varieties traditionally grown by
European farmers, but have not completely wiped them out.
Traditional crop varieties, generally known as ‘landraces’, but
also called ‘farmer varieties’, ‘local varieties’, or ‘primitive varieties’,
have been continuously maintained by European people within their
local biological, cultural and socio-economic context.
This volume, although far from giving an exhaustive picture,
aims to acknowledge the existence of landraces in Europe, to point
out their importance and to safeguard needs and show activities
that can promote their wider use in agriculture.
In the past, at each harvest, farmers used to save a proportion of
seed of their crops for sowing and cultivation, and these cycles had
been repeated for millennia. As environments, as well as the people
who live within them, are different in different agricultural areas,
many landraces of a crop were developed within a certain region
after domestication or introduction. In addition, farmers tended to
1
2
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
suit the intra-farm multiple eco-agricultural conditions by growing a
diverse range of landraces per crop. Farmers selected different types,
characterized by different ripening times, destination uses, local
taste preferences, winter-hardiness and other characteristics, so that
more than one landrace was often developed on their farms. This
is reported for the areas of domestication as well as for the areas of
secondary introduction of a crop (Brush 1992, 1995; Bellon and Brush
1994; Bellon 1996; Jarvis et al. 2008), although with differences linked to
country and crop characteristics. For example, in Central Italy, where
many landraces of different crops are still cultivated on the farm,
each individual farmer often maintains several distinct landraces per
vegetable crop (Negri and Tosti 2002; Negri 2003), while in Finland,
where eco-agricultural conditions on an individual farm are more
uniform, usually only one landrace is cultivated for household needs,
especially in the case of cereals (Heinonen and Veteläinen 2007).
When landraces are used, between- and within-landrace
diversity continues to evolve because of the natural and human
selective pressures. However selection does not lead to genetic
uniformity and each landrace in itself is highly genetically diverse
(i.e. different genotypes constitute a landrace). Among- and withinlandrace diversity had been the key to agriculture’s food security
for generations. The mix of landrace diversity has allowed (and still
allows) farmers to service a diversity of needs and purposes and to
obtain a harvest whether the year is dry or wet, or whether there
is a pest or disease attack, as some genotypes will be affected each
year but not all of them (Harlan 1992; Jarvis et al. 2008).
With the modernization of agriculture modern varieties were
created, and as Esquinas-Alcazar (1993) wrote “The heterogeneous
varieties of the past have been and still are the plant breeder’s raw material.
They have been a fruitful, sometimes the sole, source of genes for pest
and disease resistance, adaptation to difficult environments, and other
agricultural traits like the dwarf-type in grains that have contributed to
the green revolution in many parts of the world”.
The first ‘modern’ varieties were bred in maize and wheat (in the
USA and Italy, respectively) in the early 1900s. Since then, breeding
activities have increased, involved other species, and continued
to take advantage of the progress made in genetics (see a critical
review on the topic in Gepts (2002)). Modern varieties are bred to
be genetically uniform (they are often pure lines or F1 hybrids)
to maximize production ability under those inputs that make
the environment best suited to the crop (irrigation, fertilization,
pest control, etc.) as well as to meet the increasing demands of
mechanized harvesting and handling, and meet supermarket
quality controls. The high yielding modern varieties represent the
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
most spectacular success of genetics applied to agriculture and have
contributed to alleviating the historic rural poverty. From the early
1900s to now, wheat productivity has increased from an average of
1.2 t ha ¹ to 4 t ha ¹ in Europe (and over 10 t ha ¹ has been recorded
in some countries) and about half of this increase is estimated to
be due to breeding activities (Grigg 1994). It is also because of their
good yielding performances (at least in some agro-ecosystems) that
modern varieties have taken over from the genetically variable, often
lower yielding, locally adapted strains or landraces in the fields of
farmers. Thus uniformity replaced diversity, and is still replacing it.
This alarms both geneticists and breeders, since lack of diversity
severely impairs the future improvement of crops and/or limits the
possibilities for facing new production constraints. Breeding for
uniformity is an Achilles’ heel for the cultivars, in that if the disease
or pest evolves to overcome the resistance bred into the cultivars,
significant production loss results. Famously this battle was lost in the
mid-1800s in Ireland. An infection of late potato blight (Phytophthora
infestans) wiped out the potato crop, which led to the Great Potato
Famine of 1845-49, and the starvation and emigration of millions.
The existing varieties of potato at that time had no resistance to P.
infestans, but resistance has subsequently been found in several wild
potato species, particularly Solanum demissum from Mexico (Hawkes
et al. 2000). If the plant breeder is to maintain the upper hand, he
or she must maintain access to as wide a genepool as possible and
attempt to avoid detrimental genetic uniformity, which is referred to
as genetic vulnerability. This need of the breeder to utilize the broad
genepool is essentially a paradox, which may be seen as a fundamental
confrontation between conservation and development. Plant breeders
develop better and higher yielding varieties which unwittingly cause
the loss of genetic diversity; on the other hand these same plant
breeders are dependent upon the availability of a broad genepool of
diverse genetic material for success in their work. The loss of genetic
diversity within crop plants, although not accurately documented,
is believed to be extensive and therefore there has been increasing
realization of the need actively to conserve the crop genepool.
Beside the obvious practical breeding and conservation
consequences of the loss of landrace genetic diversity, scholars of
human sciences are also alarmed because of the loss of crop-related
culture. This culture can be of use not only in breeding activities,
but also for developing further culture within the community (see
for example Worede et al. 2000; Negri 2003; Torricelli et al., Chapter
18 in this volume). The disappearance of landraces not only means
local genetic erosion but also ‘local cultural erosion’, by which both
biological and cultural evolution is hampered.
3
4
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Finally, the continued erosion of crop genetic diversity hampers
agro-ecosystem functioning and its provision of services (i.e. pest
and disease control, pollination, soil processes, biomass cover,
carbon sequestration and prevention of soil erosion) (Cardinale
et al. 2006; Hajjar et al. 2008) as well as potential innovation in
sustainable agriculture (Jackson et al. 2007).
It is acknowledged that agro-biodiversity is a finite world
resource that we know is being eroded or lost in part due to
careless, unsustainable human practices. The Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992), the International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (FAO, 2001) and the
Global Plant Conservation Strategy (CBD, 2002a), recognized the
requirement for the conservation of agro-biodiversity and called
for conservationists to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
their conservation actions.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD, 2002b) has established the 2010
Biodiversity Targets that draw attention to the need for conservation
of the “genetic diversity of crops, livestock, and harvested species of trees,
fish and wildlife and other valuable species conserved … restore, maintain
or reduce the decline of populations of species” and committed the
parties “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of
biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution
to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth”. Specifically
in relation to plants, the Global Strategy of Plant Conservation
(GSPC), which was adopted by CBD at its sixth COP, established
the explicit target of “70 per cent of the genetic diversity of crops and
other major socio-economically valuable plant species conserved” (www.
biodiv.org/2010-target).
Following on from the GSPC, in the European forum, the
European Plant Conservation Strategy (EPCS) was proposed and
submitted to CBD SBSTTA by the Council of Europe and Planta
Europa (2002) and has recently been updated for the next seven-year
phase as the European Strategy for Plant Conservation 2008-2014
(ESPC) (Plant Europa 2008). The latter includes the target “Prepare
a European inventory of traditional, local crop landrace varieties” which
is to be achieved by 2014!
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (FAO, 2001) is specifically focused on agro-biodiversity
(www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/itpgr), its objectives being the “conservation
and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their
use”. Article 5 states that each Contracting Party shall: “Survey
and inventory plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, taking
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
into account the status and degree of variation in existing populations,
including those that are of potential use and, as feasible, assess any threats
to them” … “Promote or support, as appropriate, farmers’ and local
communities’ efforts to manage and conserve on-farm their plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture”.
If these targets are considered in conjunction with the first UN
Millennium Development Goals (www.un.org/millenniumgoals/)
of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, then there is an obvious
link between the conservation and use of socio-economically
important plant species, commonly referred to as plant genetic
resources. Plant genetic resources being the: “genetic material of plants
which is of value as a resource for the present and future generations of
people” (IPGRI, 1993).
In addition, the above-mentioned documents, as well as many
others, aim to ensure better protection of local cultures and farmers’
rights.
Those countries that are signatories to both the CBD and the
International Treaty have an obligation and responsibility for
the conservation of their potential or actual agro-biodiverse
important species. Furthermore, if the CBD 2010 Biodiversity
Target is to be met, along with the requirements of other relevant
international, regional and national strategies and legislation,
we need to be able to produce comprehensive inventories and
systematically conserve landraces and other varieties ex situ
in genebanks and in situ on-farm, as well as promoting their
sustainable utilization.
1.2 Plant genetic resources and landrace conservation
Agro-biodiversity includes three levels of complexity arising
from i) the combinations of biotic and abiotic elements that make
up different agro-ecosystems, ii) the number of different species,
and iii) the different combinations of genes within each species.
We will focus on the inter- and intra-specific levels of complexity
which relate to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture include modern
cultivars, breeding lines and genetic stocks, obsolete cultivars,
ecotypes, landraces and crop wild relatives (Figure 1.1) (Maxted
et al. 2008). The first three of these components are largely being
actively conserved already in Europe by plant breeders and gene
bank networks. Therefore the components of European plant genetic
resources that are most in current need of active conservation are
crop wild relatives, ecotypes and extant landraces. While in recent
years crop wild relative conservation has been the focus of several
5
6
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
initiatives (Heywood and Dulloo 2005; Maxted et al. 2008; Iriondo
et al. 2008), landraces and ecotypes remain a component of agrobiodiversity which is highly threatened in Europe, and deserves
immediate priority.
In situ and ex situ conservation are the two major strategies
used in the conservation of plant genetic resources. There is an
obvious fundamental difference between these two strategies: ex
situ conservation involves the sampling, transfer and storage of
a population of a certain species away from the original location
where it was found (i.e. outside its natural habitat) whereas in
situ conservation (i.e. the conservation of diversity in its natural
habitat) involves the designation, management and monitoring
of the population at the location where it is currently found and
within the community to which it belongs (Maxted et al. 1997a).
Historically, plant genetic resources have primarily been conserved
using ex situ methods (see Frankel and Bennet 1970; Frankel 1973;
Frankel and Hawkes 1975; Hawkes 1980; Brown et al. 1989; Guarino
et al. 1995; Hawkes et al. 2000; Smith et al. 2003). More recently, in
situ conservation has been proposed as being a better conservation
strategy because, in contrast to ex situ conservation, it allows a
complex of populations to be preserved and evolutionary processes
to be continued.
Global Plant Genetic Diversity
Wild Plant Genetic Resources
Crop Wild
Relatives
Ecotypes
Modern
Cultivars
Breeders Lines &
Genetic Stocks
Crop Landraces
Obsolete
Cultivars
Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture
Utilized Wild
Species Relatives
Utilized Wild
Species
Medicinal
Species
Ornamental
Species
Construction, Fuel
& Paper Species
Recreation &
Amenity Species
Plant Genetic Resources for
Non-food Utilization
Figure 1.1. Global plant genetic diversity, plant genetic resources for food
and agriculture are in shaded circles (modified from Maxted et al. 2008).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Each of the two basic strategies may be further subdivided into
several specific techniques as indicated in Table 1.1. Article 9 of
CBD (1992) stresses that the two conservation strategies should
not be viewed as alternatives or in opposition to one another
but rather should be practised as complementary approaches to
conservation, each providing a safety back-up for the other. The
goal of applying the two conservation strategies is ultimately to
serve the present needs of plant breeders on one hand, and the
need to maintain genetic resources that are always in tune with
the environment to deal with future unpredictable changes on
the other hand.
Although the full range of techniques are available, in practice to
conserve landrace diversity, either ex situ seed storage or in situ onfarm conservation will be applied most often. Brush (2000), Hammer
et al. (2003) and Maxted et al. (1997b, 2002) have from different
perspectives attempted to clarify the methodological approaches
to on-farm conservation. Maxted et al. (1997a) defined on-farm
conservation as “the sustainable management of genetic diversity of
locally developed crop varieties (land races), with associated wild and weedy
species or forms, by farmers within traditional agricultural, horticultural
or agri-silvicultural systems”.
However, this concept has been based on the agricultural
situations of developing or transitional economies where most crops
were originally domesticated. On-farm conservation of landraces
also occurs in areas where wild relatives are not present (as shown
by many contributions in this volume). In this context also the
meaning of ‘traditional’ needs to be clarified, does it mean ‘ancient’
(i.e. carried out without taking advantage of modern techniques
and tools) or ‘linked to a traditional context’? For countries such
as Italy, on-farm conservation is not synonymous with ‘ancient’
agricultural techniques, rather the reverse is true. Here the principles
of sustainable, organic agriculture and sometimes quality testing
and certification of each productive step often drive production.
Also here, about a third of landraces still extant are used in widescale production and are cultivated using high-input agronomic
techniques or under highly skilled modern (sometimes organic)
agricultural techniques (Negri 2003; Negri et al. 2007). However, in
Finland and the UK, cereal and many other landraces are cultivated
in a low-input context in marginal systems that rely on farmers’
indigenous knowledge of the nature of the crop. Therefore, a more
general definition of on-farm conservation should be reformulated
as ‘the management of genetic diversity of locally developed crop
varieties (landraces) by farmers within their own agricultural,
horticultural or agri-silvicultural systems’.
7
8
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 1.1. Conservation strategies and techniques (Hawkes et al. 2000).
Strategies
Techniques
Definition
Ex situ
conservation
Seed Storage
The collection of seed samples at one location
and their transfer to a genebank for storage.
The samples are usually dried to suitably low
moisture content and then kept at sub-zero
temperatures.
In Vitro Storage
The collection and maintenance of explants
(tissue samples) in a sterile, pathogen-free
environment.
Field Genebank
The collecting of seed or living material from
one location and its transfer and planting at a
second site. Large numbers of accessions of a
few species are usually conserved.
Botanic
Garden/Arboretum
The collecting of seed or living material from
one location and its transfer and maintenance
at a second location as living plant collections
of species in a garden or for tree species an
arboretum. Small numbers of accessions of a
large number of species are usually conserved.
DNA / Pollen
Storage
The collecting of DNA or pollen and storage in
appropriate, usually refrigerated, conditions.
Genetic Reserve
The location, management and monitoring of
genetic diversity in natural wild populations
within defined areas designated for active,
long-term conservation.
On-farm
The sustainable management of genetic diversity
of locally developed traditional crop varieties with
associated wild and weedy species or forms by
farmers within traditional agricultural, horticultural
or agri-silvicultural cultivation systems.
In situ
conservation
A prerequisite of any active conservation plan is the requirement
for some form of inventory of what is to be conserved. Countries
that have ratified the CBD and International Treaty and wish to
meet the targets outlined above are obliged to make inventories
of their biodiversity, design national conservation plans and
monitor diversity to assess the efficiency of conservation actions.
The production of national inventories of the wild components of
biodiversity is well established, and botanists have been creating
checklists and floras since the time of Theophrastus in the third
century BC (Davis and Heywood 1973). There are fewer examples
of inventories of the cultivated components of biodiversity. In
addition, as far as is known, there are no comprehensive national
inventories of crop landraces for any country inside or outside of
Europe. Therefore the creation of national landrace inventories is
critical and timely. How can we conserve landraces if we are unsure
what we have and how can we reduce diversity loss if we have no
inventory to allow comparison and assessment of change?
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
1.3 What is a landrace?
It is difficult to define precisely what constitutes a landrace. In fact
Zeven (1998) goes so far as to conclude that definition of a landrace is
not possible. However, if it were impossible to define a landrace then
it would necessarily be impossible to recognize an entity for which
there is an extensive literature, to build a national inventory and
ultimately to conserve the diversity contained within it; therefore
there was a pragmatic imperative to produce a definition as a
precursor to the production of inventories, to conserve landraces'
component elements and use that diversity. As for the definition of
landrace, using a combination of several definitions and taking into
account the discussions presented by previous authors (Anderson
and Cutler 1942; Harlan 1975; Brush 1992, 1995; Papa 1996, 1999;
Zeven 1998; Asfaw 2000; Friis-Hansen and Sthapit 2000; Negri
2003, 2005; Camacho Villa et al. 2005; Saxena and Singh 2006) the
following definition was proposed at the second meeting of the
On-Farm Conservation and Management Taskforce of the European
Cooperative Group on Genetic Resources (Bioversity International)
held in Stagerlitz (see www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Networks/Insitu_
onfarm/OnfarmTF_intro.htm):
“A landrace of a seed-propagated crop is a variable population,
which is identifiable and usually has a local name. It lacks 'formal'
crop improvement, is characterized by a specific adaptation to the
environmental conditions of the area of cultivation (tolerant to the
biotic and abiotic stresses of that area) and is closely associated with
the uses, knowledge, habits, dialects, and celebrations of the people
who developed and continue to grow it.”
This definition emphasizes the aspects of a long-standing,
unbroken and active management of landraces in a specific human
context and underlines that a landrace belongs to the people who
developed it and feel themselves to be its owner. In this sense it
answers the need for recognizing (and remunerating) the farmers’
rights that has so often been highlighted in internationally
binding documents.
However, there are some people who do not feel comfortable
within the semantic limits of the above-mentioned definition. For
example there are landraces that are autochthonous in one region
and are being introduced into another region [‘allochthonous
landraces’, following the definition given by Mayr (cited by Zeven
1998)]. These will become locally adapted with time, but could
not be considered as landraces following the above-mentioned
definition, because they do not belong to the people who developed
9
10
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
them. They are increasing in frequency as a result of reintroduction
activities following the total loss of local landraces due to civil
conflicts, extreme modernization of agriculture or the preference
of those in the organic movement to grow traditional varieties
whatever they are. Many would then like to consider these
introduced populations as landraces tout court and their diversity
as being at their full and unrestricted disposal. The implication
on the farmers’ rights issues of such thoughts must indeed be
considered seriously.
Ultimately the definition of what constitutes a landrace is of
great importance. Although the definition provided above could
be properly used to prepare national inventories and conservation
programmes for landraces, those actually applied are likely to be
activity-specific and may depend on the resources available, the
relative availability of landrace distributional data and the interests
of the commissioning agency.
1.4 Nomenclatural versus genetic distinction
One of the possible limitations of many landrace genetic erosion
studies is that researchers often identify landraces using purely the
name given to the landrace by the farmer; it being assumed that if
two landraces have different names they are in fact different, they
are internally consistent and distinct from each other. However, it
is known that farmers may use the same name for landraces that are
genetically distinct and use different names for a single landrace.
For example a landrace may be named, as often happens, after a
cooking quality (e.g. sweet-grain, fast-cooking, fill-belly) in a local
language so the name serves a descriptive not a distinction or unique
identification role. Thus the drawback of such nomenclaturalbased evidence is subjective and liable to misinterpretation and a
reduction in the number of nomenclatural landraces when assessing
genetic erosion may not provide an accurate estimate of loss of
genetic diversity.
Studies carried out comparing genetic with nomenclatural
diversity for landraces to find out how well they generally
correspond have been inconsistent. Harlan (1992) provided
evidence that genetic diversity is correlated with landrace
nomenclature and this is certainly true for both autogamous
and allogamous crops owing to the different selection pressures
landraces experience in adapting to different environments (sensu
lato, i.e. including selection pressures operated by man) over time.
While Huamán and Spooner (2002) and de Haan et al. (2007)
found only partial correlation between potato landrace names
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
and genetic diversity in South America, Majaju and Chakauya
(2008) found good correlation in sorghum landraces from the
semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe. Evidence from Italy showed that
cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris
L.) and celery (Apium graveolens L.) landraces, each clearly
designated by a particular common name (i.e. Fagiolina del
Trasimeno, Fagiolo a Pisello and Sedano Nero di Trevi), which
were studied for several morpho-physiological and genetic traits,
appeared to be structured populations with a substantial genetic
differentiation of subpopulations (i.e. farmer populations) (Tosti
and Negri 2005; Tiranti and Negri 2007; Negri et al. in press).
Nomenclatural diversity itself can also be wide, for example, a
potato landrace grown in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland
can have up to 18 documented names as recorded by the Nordic
Gene Bank when receiving samples for conservation (Veteläinen
and Bennvid 2001).
The fact that the names by which landraces are known may
or may not be correlated with actual genetic distinction for crop
groups means that ideally the relationship should be investigated
prior to making the assumption of correlation. This is the ideal,
but seldom are sufficient resources available to implement the
ideal, therefore in the absence of any information to the contrary,
it is often pragmatically assumed that landrace names do identify
distinct entities.
1.5 Threats to landrace diversity
1.5.1 Estimates of landrace loss
While we know a significant amount about the loss of botanical
diversity – 21% of European vascular plant species (Euro+Med
PlantBase - www.euromed.org.uk - Euro+Med PlantBase 2005) were
classified as threatened using the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories
and Criteria, and 50% of Europe’s 4,700 vascular plant endemics are
considered to be threatened to some degree (www.redlist.org) – there
are few data available to assess landrace extinction or genetic erosion
(genetic erosion being a permanent reduction in richness or evenness
of common local alleles or the loss of combinations of alleles over
time in a defined area, Maxted and Guarino 2006). It should also be
noted that the data that are available have not often been quantified
rigorously. Objective evidence is largely absent and thus assessment
is anecdotal (FAO 1999) or is based on nomenclature, as is the case
for potato landraces present on the Chilean island of Chiloe over
the last 80 years (Ochoa 1975), see Table 1.2.
11
12
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 1.2. Recorded potato landraces on Chilean island of Chiloe (Ochoa 1975).
Year
Landrace numbers
1928
200
1938
200
1948
100
1958
≈ 80
1969
35-40
In the East Shewa district of Ethiopia farmers identified 26
tetraploid wheat landraces which were once widely grown in
the area and of these only six were currently available, a 77%
loss of diversity (Tsegaye and Berg 2007). Also in Ethiopia, Teklu
and Hammer (2006) reported Triticum polonicum and T. turgidum
cultivation had decreased dramatically and was now very
localized, indicating severe threat of extinction, as well as genetic
erosion of 100% in both T. durum and T. dicoccon in Tulo district,
genetic erosion of 85.7, 100 and 77.8%, respectively for T. durum,
T. turgidum and T. dicoccon in Chiro district, and in Harar Zuriya
district genetic erosion of 88.9% for T. durum and 100% in both T.
turgidum and T. dicoccon. While in Europe, Hammer et al. (1996)
found that there was about 70% genetic erosion of landraces in
Southern Italy over a period of thirty years, and Negri (2003)
found a similar loss of diversity in the Mt. Amiata area of Tuscany
in only four years.
These studies show that landraces are highly threatened, if not
the most threatened element of plant genetic resources.
1.5.2 Causes of landrace loss
Continued landrace loss in Europe is due to several factors,
underlying which is the profound transformation of productive
systems and socio-economic context which occurred in the twentieth
century, already mentioned above (for further details see Grigg 1994;
Negri 2005).
They first include the diffusion of modern cultivars which, being
more productive, under high inputs at least, rapidly substituted
landraces when agriculture became a market-oriented activity and
the need to relieve rural people from famine was still keenly felt.
This is also recorded among the factors contributing to landrace
loss in other countries outside Europe, such as Ethiopia (Tsegaye
and Berg 2007). The consequence has been an increased reliance on
monocultures based on a few cultivars.
In Europe landrace diversity is also threatened by the inadvertent
consequences of the variety and seed certification system associated
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
with the establishment of plant breeders’ rights, which remunerate
seed companies for the costly process of creating modern cultivars.
To be sold commercially, all major agricultural and vegetable crops
grown in Europe need to be registered in the National Catalogues
and then in the European Common Catalogue for agricultural and
vegetable varieties, introduced in 1970 (Hutchinson in Hawkes
1978; Velvé 1992; Stickland 1998), following precise regulations. To
be accepted onto the National List a variety has to meet the ‘DUS’
criteria: it has to be distinct (in character from any other variety in
the ‘community’), unique (plants are similar or genetically identical
in character) and stable (remains true to its defined characteristics
after successive multiplications or propagations). The European
and subsequent national legislation was intended to standardize
crop names and protect both consumers and breeders, but has had
the unintended consequence of drastically reducing the numbers
of cultivars grown – there is a cost to DUS testing – and impinging
on the ability of farmers to grow older varieties or landraces not
present on the list. Although it is generally illegal to sell seed that
is not on the national list, it is common for farmers to exchange
their farm-reproduced seed. In addition, several European seed
exchange networks, such as Garden Organic (www.gardenorganic.
org.uk), Irish Seed Savers (www.irishseedsavers.ie), Arche Noah
(www.arche-noah.at) and ProSpecieRara (www.ProSpecieRara.
ch) have found ways around the legislation in order to ensure the
conservation of heritage varieties, but these organizations have
primarily focused on vegetable or fruit landraces, not on largerscale field crops. But even for these, Velvé (1992) estimates that
1500 vegetable varieties representing 23 crops were immediately
lost due to the requirement to register varieties prior to sale in the
European Community. Although it is hoped that at least some of
these varieties were placed in formal or informal sector genebanks
or are still held by national variety statutory testing centres across
Europe, it is unquestionable that a significant loss of European
agro-biodiversity occurred, and much of the diversity has been lost
in the form of traditional landraces, because of a sort of systematic
eradication by government policy (Maxted 2006). The European
crop seed market is currently regulated by diverse European
directives for agricultural crops, but in partial recognition of
the threat to and critical need to maintain agrobiodiversity, the
European Commission has recently presented a new EU directive
‘Commission Directive 2008/62/EG of 20 June 2008’. The Directive
has the objective “to ensure in situ conservation and the sustainable
use of plant genetic resources, landraces and varieties which are naturally
adapted to local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion
13
14
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
(conservation varieties) should be grown and marketed even where they
do not comply with the general requirements as regards the acceptance
of varieties and the marketing of seed and seed potatoes.” However,
being mainly concerned with seed trading, it is unlikely that
the Directive will be of great help in preserving all the diversity
maintained up to now in Europe. In addition, the national
implementation of Directive 2008/62/EG remains a matter of
active discussion across Europe and the ‘loose’ wording of the
Directive may result in quite different national interpretations
(see Lorenzetti and Negri, Chapter 31 this volume).
Last, but not least, the constant reduction in rural populations,
the constant simplification of productive processes due to high
manpower costs, the ageing of the maintainers, the unsuccessful
farmer generation switchovers and passage of information from
one generation to the next are serious threats for the on-farm
maintenance of landraces (Negri 2003; Heinonen and Veteläinen
2007).
1.5.3 Estimates of genetic erosion among and within landraces
Le Clerc et al. (2005) quantified the genetic diversity among 133
modern and traditional maize cultivars grown in France during
the last five decades using 51 SSR. A total of 239 alleles were
generated and although the earliest decade (that when landrace
populations were present) had the highest genetic diversity, the
later three decades had similar values. The analysis between
decades represented only 10% of the total molecular variation,
but was significant in decade-by-decade comparisons, except for
the last two decades. The results show that genetic diversity has
been reduced by about 10% in the maize cultivars bred before 1976
compared with those bred after 1985. They concluded that the very
low differentiation (GST = 0.21%) observed among cultivars of the
last two decades should alert French maize breeders to the need to
enlarge the genetic basis in their variety breeding programmes. Also,
Ishikawal et al. (2006) highlighted the loss of genetic diversity in
traditional upland rice germplasm in northern Thailand, due to the
replacement of a large number of traditional varieties with a smaller
number of modern varieties, but also because of gene flow from
distinct cultivars to landraces. Gene diversity is higher in Thailand
compared with Laos, due to the higher frequencies of Indica strains
and heterozygotes, but now nearly half of local Indica strains carry
the cultivar Japonica plastid and cytoplasm. These local nuclear–
cytoplasm substituted strains and heterozygotes in northernThailand were probably generated by natural hybridization,
where the local Japonica strains acted as the maternal donor, but
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
they have resulted in unintentional genetic pollution and erosion
of native landrace diversity. The evolution of flint maize landraces
from central Italy since the introduction of dent hybrid varieties in
the 1950s was also assessed by using SRR (Bitocchi et al. 2009). It
was shown that the maize landraces collected in the last 5–10 years
have evolved directly from the flint landrace gene pool cultivated
in central Italy before the introduction of modern hybrids, but with
the significant contribution of introgression from hybrid varieties.
No evidence of genetic erosion of the maize landraces was observed,
suggesting that in situ conservation of landraces is an efficient
strategy for preserving genetic diversity.
It should be noted that the trend towards reliance on a small
number of pure lines and improved varieties does not always
result in a narrowing of the crop genetic bases in some species; two
studies of European winter wheat do not show a significant loss of
diversity among varieties over time (Khlestkina et al. 2004; Huang
et al. 2007). However it should also be noted that these authors
compared the diversity in cultivars over time and did not make a
comparison between cultivation of cultivars and the full range of
landraces historically cultivated. However, Prashanth et al. (2002)
showed that the process of breeding modern cultivars did not
appear to cause significant genetic erosion in landraces of rice in
India, and Ford-Lloyd et al. (2008) were unable to detect a significant
reduction of available genetic diversity over time in rice landraces
collected throughout South and Southeast Asia. The latter study
also found a strong link between numbers of landraces collected
(and therefore extant) and genetic diversity; hence, numbers of
landraces present was found to be a clear indicator of a healthy
level of genetic diversity.
1.6 Actions needed
Landraces are the most threatened element of plant genetic resources
and remain an urgent priority for conservation action for the
following reasons:
Landrace diversity is directly threatened by replacement by
modern varieties and specifically in Europe through the application
of variety and seed certification legislation.
Although we have no idea how many traditional seed-saved
varieties remain extant, we do know widely from anecdotal evidence
that landrace maintainers, almost invariably elderly, are dwindling
in number each year, and the landraces are going with them (Negri
2003; Scholten et al. 2008; Smekalova, Chapter 13 this volume) so
that the rate of local genetic and cultural erosion is very high.
15
16
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The proportion of the total landrace diversity that is currently
used by farmers or breeders is not systematically conserved ex
situ in genebanks (where almost random, rather than systematic,
collections of landraces are held). Furthermore, in Europe, and
especially in the North of Europe, there is only a handful of working
in situ on-farm landrace conservation projects that are actively
maintaining landrace diversity. Maxted (2006) has also argued
that their conservation falls outside the remit of conventional
conservation agencies.
In times of ecosystem instability and climate change, broader
gene pool diversity will be required by breeders, and landraces
hold the necessary diversity (Esquinas-Alcazar 1993; Hammer
and Diederichsen, Chapter 2 this volume), as demonstrated by
the review of pea landrace diversity in Sweden (Lorion et al.
2005; Weibull et al. Chapter 14 this volume), without having the
associated disadvantages of undesirable traits associated with crop
wild relatives.
Unless action is taken immediately, losses of landraces will
continue and complete extinction is the only possible conclusion.
As a consequence, urgent action is required to inventory, rescue and
preserve the wealth of European landrace diversity. The first logical
step appears to be to compile inventories, later threat assessment
and prioritization for conservation should be carried out.
For general biodiversity threat assessment and prioritization,
the standardized system of applying the IUCN Red List categories
(IUCN 2001) is commonly used. The IUCN threat assessment is
data-driven on the basis of different criteria under which a taxon
may be listed, each with distinct data requirements. However, these
criteria are mainly addressed to entire taxa as the goal of the threat
assessment is to conserve entire taxa. On the contrary, landraces
are not distinct taxa, but variable populations of a crop taxon, and
the goal of landrace conservation is to conserve the full range of
genetic diversity within the landrace, not just the representation of
the landrace per se. These differences mean that the application of
IUCN Red List categories in the traditional sense would not prove
effective for assessing threats to landraces. However, the ethos used
to design the IUCN Red List categories could be used to propose a
set of categories and criteria for landrace threat assessment. Joshi
et al. (2004) proposed such a system for use in assessing the threat
to landraces on the basis of landrace population, ecological, social,
modernization and use criteria. In this volume (Chapter 10) Porfiri
et al. also propose a methodology to assess the threat to landraces.
There is clearly scope for development and broader application of
such potentially useful techniques.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
1.7 Why a fresh initiative in European landrace
conservation and use?
It has been argued above that Europe’s remaining landrace diversity
is a particularly critical resource in the current time of climate change
and growing ecosystem instability and that this resource is currently
being eroded by careless, unsustainable human actions, yet it is this
resource that will underpin the future food security and well-being
of European consumers. Therefore, it is timely to provide an overview of European landrace diversity, conservation and use (Section 1,
Chapters 1 and 2), a general introduction to methodology of creating
landrace inventories and how such inventories have been prepared
in various European countries (Section 2, Chapters 3 to 15), exemplar
case studies of landrace in situ and ex situ conservation (Section 3,
Chapters 16 to 25), exemplar case studies of landrace use (Section
4, Chapters 26 to 30), the European and national policy context for
landrace conservation and use (Section 5, Chapters 31 to 33), and
finally a concluding section discussing the findings of the exercise and
suggesting a more systematic approach to securing European landrace
diversity, its conservation and use (Section 6, Chapter 34). The chapters
presented contain numerous ideas for inventorying, conserving and
using landrace diversity and as such each specific chapter is of interest
in its own right, but the chapters have been written to try to bring out
the methodologies applied so that as well as being specific records
they can also help the development of generic protocols that may be
applied more widely. Having outlined the dual specific and generic
nature of this exercise, it must be stressed that no single approach is
recommended for the inventorying, conservation or use of European
landraces, and that each application is likely to be distinct: but it
is hoped that the exemplar studies reported will encourage other
countries within Europe to conserve this critical resource before our
landrace diversity is reduced to an ethnographic artefact.
References
Anderson, E. and Cutler, H.C. (1942) Races of Zea mays: I. Their recognition and
classification. Annals of Missouri Botanical Garden 29, 69-89.
Asfaw, Z. (2000) The barleys of Ethiopia. In: Brush, S.B (ed.) Genes in the field. IPGRI,
Rome/IDRC, Ottawa/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, USA. pp. 77-107
Bellon, M.R. (1996) The dynamics of crop infraspecific diversity: a conceptual
framework at the farmer level. Economic Botany 50, 26-39.
Bellon, M.R. and Brush, S. (1994) Keepers of maize in Chiapas, Mexico. Economic
Botany 48, 196-209.
Bitocchi, E., Nanni, L., Rossi, M., Rau, D., Bellucci, E., Giardini, A., Buonamici, A.,
Vendramin, G. and Papa, R. (2009) Introgression from modern hybrid varieties
17
18
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
into landrace populations of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays L.) in central Italy.
Molecular Ecology 18, 603-621.
Brown, A.H.D., Frankel, O.H., Marshall, D.R. and Williams, J.T. (1989) The Use of
Plant Genetic Resources. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Brush, S.B. (1992) Ethnoecology, biodiversity and modernization in Andean potato
agriculture. Journal of Ethnobiology 12: 161-185.
Brush, S.B. (1995) In situ conservation of landraces in centers of crop diversity.
Crop Science 35, 346-354.
Brush, S.B. (2000) The issues of in situ conservation of crop genetic resources. In:
Brush, S.B. (ed.) Genes in the field. IPGRI, Rome, Italy/IDRC, Ottawa, Canada/
Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, USA. pp. 3-26.
Camacho Villa, T.C., Maxted, N., Scholten, M.A. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2005)
Defining and identifying crop landraces. Plant genetic resources: characterization
and utilization 3(3), 373–384.
Cardinale, B.J., Srivastava, D.S., Emmett, J.D., Wright, J.P., Downing, A.M.,
Sankaran, M. and Jouseau, C. (2006) Effects of biodiversity on the functioning
of trophic groups and ecosystems. Nature, Vol 443, 26 October 2006, 989-992.
CBD (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity: Text and Annexes. Secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada.
CBD (2002a) Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity, Montreal. www.biodiv.org/decisions/?lg=0&dec=VI/9
(accessed 03 April 2007).
CBD (2002b) 2010 Biodiversity Target. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological
Diversity, Montreal. www.biodiv.org/2010-target/default.aspx (accessed 03
April 2007).
Council of Europe and Planta Europa (2002) European Plant Conservation Strategy.
Planta Europa, London, UK.
Davis, P.H. and Heywood, V.H. (1973) Principles of Angiosperm Taxonomy. Krieger,
New York, USA.
de Haan, S., Bonierbale, M., Ghislain, M., Núñez, J. and Trujillo, G. (2007)
Indigenous biosystematics of Andean potatoes: folk taxonomy, descriptors
and nomenclature. ISHS Acta Horticulturae 745, 89-134.
Esquinas-Alcazar, J.T. (1993) Plant genetic resources. In: M.D. Hayward, N.O.
Bosemark and I. Romagosa (eds.) Plant Breeding: Principles and Prospects,
Chapman & Hall, London, UK, pp. 33-51.
Euro+Med PlantBase (2005) Euro+Med PlantBase: the information resource for
Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Dipartimento di Scienze botaniche ed Orto
botanico, Università degli Studi di Palermo, www.emplantbase.org/home.
html (accessed 13 April 2007).
FAO (1999) Technical meeting on the methodology of the world information and early
warning system on plant genetic resources. FAO Report www.apps3.fao.org/views/
prague/technical (accessed 13 April 2007).
FAO (2001) International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. www.
fao.org/ag/cgrfa/itpgr (accessed 13 April 2007).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Brar, D., Khusha, G.S., Jackson, M.T and Virk, P.S. (2008) Genetic
erosion over time of rice landrace agrobiodiversity. Plant Genetic Resources
Characterization and Utilization, 7(2); 163–168 doi: 10.1017/S1479262108137935.
Frankel, O.H. (1973) Survey of crop genetic resources in their centres of diversity. First
report. FAO and IBP, Rome, Italy.
Frankel, O.H. and Bennet, E. (1970) Genetic resources in plants - their exploration and
conservation. International Biological Programme Handbook No. 11. Blackwell,
Oxford and Edinburgh, UK.
Frankel, O.H. and Hawkes, J.G. (1975) Crop genetic resources for today and tomorrow.
International Biological Programme 2. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Friis-Hansen, E. and Sthapit, B. (2000) Participatory Approaches to the Conservation and
Use of Plant Genetic Resources. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute,
Rome, Italy.
Gepts, P. (2002) A comparison between crop domestication, classical plant breeding
and genetic engineering. Crop Science 42, 1780-1790.
Grigg, D. (1994) Storia dell’Agricoltura in Occidente (The Transformation of Agriculture
in the West. Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1992) Il Mulino, Bologna, Italy.
Guarino, L., Ramanatha Rao, V. and Reid, R. (1995) Collecting plant genetic diversity:
technical guidelines. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Hajjar, R., Jarvis, D.I. and Gemmill-Herren, B. (2008) The utility of crop genetic
diversity in maintaining ecosystem services. Agriculture, Ecosystems and
Environment 123, 261-270
Hammer, K., Gladis, Th. and Diederichsen, A. (2003) In situ and on-farm management
of plant genetic resources. European Journal of Agronomy 19, 509-517.
Hammer, K., Knupffer, H., Xhuveli, L. and Perrino, P. (1996) Estimating genetic erosion
in landraces. Two case studies. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 43, 329-336.
Harlan, J.R. (1975) Our vanishing genetic resources. Science 188, 618-621.
Harlan, J.R. (1992) Crops and man. Second Edition. American Society of Agronomy,
Madison, USA.
Hawkes, J.G. (1978) Conservation and Agriculture. Duckworth, London, UK.
Hawkes, J.G. (1980) Crop Genetic Resources Field Collection Manual. IBPGR/
EUCARPIA, Rome, Italy.
Hawkes, J.G., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2000) The ex situ conservation of
plant genetic resources. Kluwer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Heinonen, M. and Veteläinen, M. (2007) Vanhojen viljakantojen ylläpitoviljely
Suomessa (Maintenance of cereal landraces on farm in Finland). Maaseudun
uusi aika 3, 37-50.
Heywood, V.H. and Dulloo, M.E. (2005) In situ conservation of wild plant species
– a critical global review of good practices. IPGRI Technical Bulletin No. 11.
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
Huamán, Z. and Spooner, D.M. (2002) Reclassification of landrace populations of
cultivated potatoes (Solanum sect. Petota). American Journal of Botany 89, 947-965.
Huang, X-Q., Wolf, M., Ganal, M.W., Orford, S., Koebner, R.M.D. and Roder, M.S.
(2007) Did modern plant breeding lead to genetic erosion in European winter
wheat varieties? Crop Science 47, 343-350.
19
20
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
IPGRI (1993) Diversity for development. International Plant Genetic Resources
Institute, Rome, Italy.
Iriondo, J.M., Maxted, N. and Dulloo, E. (2008) Conserving Plant Genetic Diversity in
Protected Areas: Population Management of Crop Wild Relatives. CAB International,
Wallingford, UK.
Ishikawal, R., Yamanaka, S., Fukuta, Y., Chitrakon, S., Bounphanousay, C.,
Kanyavong, K., Tang, L-H., Nakamura, I., Sato, T. and Sato, Y-I. (2006) Genetic
erosion from modern varieties into traditional upland rice cultivars (Oryza
sativa L.) in northern Thailand. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 53, 245-252.
IUCN (2001) IUCN Red List Categories Version 3.1. Prepared by the IUCN Species
Survival Commission. International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources, Gland, Switzerland.
Jackson, L.E., Pascual, U. and Hodgkin, T. (2007) Utilizing and conserving
agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Agriculture, Ecosystems and
Environment 121, 196–210.
Jarvis, D.J., Brown, A.H.D., Cuong, P.H., Collado-Panduro, L., Latournerie-Moreno,
L., Gyawali, S., Tanto, T., Sawadogo, M., Mar, I., Sadiki, M., Thi-Ngoc Hue, N.,
Arias-Reyes, L., Balma, D., Bajracharya, J., Castillo, F., Rijal, D., Belqadi, L.,
Rana, R., Saidi, S., Ouedraogo, J., Zangre, R., Rhrib, K., Chavez, J.L., Schoen, D.,
Sthapit, B., De Santis, P., Fadda, C. and Hodgkin, T. (2008) A global perspective
of the richness and evenness of traditional crop-variety diversity maintained
by farming communities. PNAS 105, 5326-5331.
Joshi, B.K., Upadhyay, M.P., Gauchan, D., Sthapit, B.R. and Joshi, K.D. (2004) Red
Listing of Agricultural Crop Species, Varieties and Landraces. Nepal Agricultural
Research Journal 5, 73-80.
Khlestkina, E.K., Huang, X.Q., Quenum, F.J-B., Chebotar, S., Roder, M.S. and Borner,
A. (2004) Genetic diversity in cultivated plants—loss or stability? Theoretical
and Applied Genetics 108, 1466-1472.
Le Clerc, V., Bazante, F., Baril, C., Guiard, J. and Zhang, D. (2005) Assessing
temporal changes in genetic diversity of maize varieties using microsatellite
markers. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 110, 294-302.
Lorion, K., McPhee, K., Morin, J., Dubreuil, P., Pilet-Nayel, M.L., Aubert, G.,
Rameau, C., Baranger, A., Coyne, C., Lejeune-Hénaut, I. and Burstin, J. (2005)
Microsatellite marker polymorphism and mapping in pea (Pisum sativum L.).
Theoretical and Applied Genetics 111, 1022-1031.
Majaju, C. and Chakauya, E. (2008) Morphological variation of sorghum landrace
accessions on-farm in semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe. International Journal of
Botany 4(4), 376-382.
Maxted, N. (2006) UK land-races – a hidden resource? Plant Talk 44, 8.
Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Hawkes, J.G. (1997a) Complementary conservation
strategies. In: Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Hawkes, J.G. (eds.) Plant genetic
conservation: the in situ approach. Chapman & Hall, London,UK. pp. 20-55.
Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Kell, S.P., Iriondo, J., Dulloo, E. and Turok, J. (2008)
Crop wild relative conservation and use. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Maxted, N. and Guarino, L. (2006) Genetic erosion and genetic pollution of crop
wild relatives. In: Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Dias, S.R. and Bettencourt, E. (eds.) Genetic
erosion and pollution assessment methodologies. IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 35-46.
Maxted, N., Guarino, L., Myer, L. and Chiwona, E.A. (2002) Towards a methodology
for on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 49, 31-46.
Maxted, N., Hawkes, J.G., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Williams, J.T. (1997b) A practical
model for in situ genetic conservation. In: Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and
Hawkes, J.G. (eds.) Plant genetic conservation: the in situ approach. Chapman &
Hall, London, UK. pp. 339-367.
Negri, V. (2003) Landraces in central Italy: Where and why they are conserved
and perspectives for their on farm conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 50, 871-885.
Negri, V. (2005) Agro-Biodiversity Conservation In Europe: Ethical Issues. J. of
Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18(1), 3-25.
Negri, V., Branca, F. and Castellini, G. (2007) Integrating wild plants and landrace
conservation in farming systems: a perspective from Italy. In: Maxted, N., FordLloyd, B.V., Kell, S.P., Iriondo, J.M., Dulloo, M.E. and Turok, J. (eds) Crop
Wild Relative Conservation and Use, CABI publ., Wallingford, UK. pp. 392-402.
Negri, V., Castellini, G., Tiranti, B., Torricelli, R., Tosti, N. and Falcinelli, M.
(in press). Landraces are structured populations and should be maintained on
farm. Proc. of the 18th Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section Meeting, 23-26 May,
2007, Piestany, Slovakia (in press).
Negri, V. and Tosti, N. (2002) Phaseolus genetic diversity maintained on farm in
Central Italy. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 49, 511-520.
Ochoa, C. (1975) Potato collecting expeditions in Chile, Bolivia and Peru, and the
genetic erosion of indigenous cultivars. In: Frankel, O.H. and Hawkes, J.G.
(eds.) Crop genetic resources for today and tomorrow. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK. pp. 167-174.
Papa, C. (1996) The ‘farre de Montelione’: landrace and representation. In: Padulosi,
S., Hammer, K. and Heller, J. (eds.) Hulled Wheats. Promoting the Conservation and
Use of Underutilised and Neglected Crops. Proceedings of the First International
Workshop on Hulled Wheats, 21-22 July, (1995), Castelvecchio Pascoli, Italy.
IPGRI Publisher, Rome, Italy. pp. 154-171.
Papa, C. (1999) Il farro a Monteleone di Spoleto: pratiche agrarie, consuetudini
giuridiche e ritualità. In: Papa, C. (ed.) Il Farro. Saperi, Usi e Conservazione
delle Varietà Locali. Quaderni del CEDRAV 1. CEDRAV Cerreto di Spoleto,
Italy. pp. 9-26.
Planta Europa (2008) A Sustainable Future for Europe; the European Strategy for Plant
Conservation 2008-2014. Plantlife International, Salisbury, UK and the Council
of Europe, Strasbourg, France.
Prashanth, S.R., Parani, M., Mohanty, B.P., Talame, V., Tuberosa, R. and Parida, A.
(2002) Genetic diversity in cultivars and landraces of Oryza sativa subsp. indica
as revealed by AFLP markers. Genome 45, 451–459.
21
22
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Saxena, S. and Singh, A.K. (2006) Revisit to definitions and need for inventorization
or registration of landrace, folk, farmers’ and traditional varieties. Current
Science 91(11), 1451-1454.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and
Shetland oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L.) landraces: occurrence and conservation issues. Plant Genetic Resources
Newsletter 154, 1-5.
Smith, R.D., Dickie, J.B., Linington, S.H., Pritchard, H.W. and Probert, R.J. (2003)
Seed Conservation: turning science into practice. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK.
Stickland, S. (1998) Heritage vegetables: the gardeners’ guide to cultivating diversity.
Gaia Books Ltd., London, UK.
Teklu, Y. and Hammer, K. (2006) Farmers’ Perception and Genetic Erosion of
Tetraploid Wheats Landraces in Ethiopia. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
53(6), 1099-1113.
Tiranti, B. and Negri, V. (2007) Selective micro-environmental effects play a role
in shaping genetic diversity and structure in a Phaseolus vulgaris L. landrace:
implications for on-farm conservation. Molecular Ecology 16(23), 4942-4955.
Tosti, N. and Negri, V. (2005) On-going on-farm microevolutionay processes in
neighbouring cowpea landraces revealed by molecular markers. Theoretical
and Applied Genetics, 110: 1275-1283.
Tsegaye, B. and Berg, T. (2007) Genetic erosion of Ethiopian tetraploid wheat
landraces in Eastern Shewa, Central Ethiopia. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution, 54(4), 715-726.
Velvé, R. (1992) Saving the seed: genetic diversity and European agriculture. Earthscan
Publications, London, UK.
Veteläinen, M. and Bennvid, I-B. (eds) (2001) Potatis i Norden. En beskrivning av
gamla potatissorter bevarade hos Nordiska Genbanken (The Nordic Potato Book).
CAL-förlaget AB, Halmstad, Sweden. 231 pp.
Worede, M., Tesemma, T. and Feyssa, R. (2000) Keeping diversity alive: an
Ethiopian perspective. In: Brush, S.B (ed.) Genes in the field. IPGRI, Rome/IDRC,
Ottawa/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, USA. pp. 143-161.
Zeven, A C. (1998) Landraces: A review of definitions and classifications. Euphytica
104, 127-139.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
2. Evolution, Status and Perspectives for Landraces
in Europe
Karl Hammer¹ and Axel Diederichsen²
¹ Institute of Crop Science, University of Kassel, D-37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
E-mail khammer@wiz.uni-kassel.de
² Plant Gene Resources of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 107
Science Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N 0X2.
2.1 Introduction
“An autochthonous landrace is a variety with a high capacity to
tolerate biotic and abiotic stress resulting in high yield stability and
an intermediate yield level under a low input agricultural system”
(Mansholt 1909, emend. Zeven 1998). Landraces were originally
described for agricultural crops (Rümker 1908; Mansholt 1909;
Kiessling 1912; Tschermak 1912; Schindler 1918) but later the
concept was also applied to horticultural crops such as vegetables
(Hammer 1997), medicinal and aromatic plants (Heeger 1956),
fruit trees and grapes (Bisson, 1989). Today the term landrace
also includes ornamental garden plants. Landraces represent
a specific evolutionary stage of crop plants. Zeven (1998) after
Mayr (1937) proposed two types of landraces – (1) autochthonous
landraces, cultivated for more than a century in a specific region
(e.g. ‘Quarantino’ maize in Italy, though maize is an introduced
crop there); and (2) allochthonous landraces, introduced from
another region and locally adapted (e.g. ‘Kent Wild White Clover’,
grown in some hilly areas of Scotland, Camacho Villa et al. 2005).
As a third type, the so-called Creole landraces have been defined
(Bellon and Brush 1994) as material derived from a bred cultivar
(e.g. ‘Square Head Master Wheat’, continuously grown since 1930
near Suffolk, UK, see Camacho Villa et al. 2005).
About 10 000 years ago, wild progenitors gave rise to the first
primitive varieties (Baur 1914) or primitive forms (Hawkes 1983).
Initially, these primitive varieties must have been genetically quite
narrow, due to the founder effect (Mayr 1942). However, other
populations of the wild progenitor may have subsequently been
domesticated, and the genetic flow between crop wild relative and
cultivated species may have widened the genetic base over time,
resulting in diverse landraces (Zohary 1999). Possibly, domestication
was a gradual process, taking a long period of time and accumulating
the traits resulting in the domestication syndrome in crop plants,
which adapted them to the needs of farmers (Hammer 1984; Tanno
and Willcox 2006).
23
24
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Tanksley and McCouch (1997) emphasized that narrowing
of the genetic base (genetic bottlenecks) occurred firstly when
changing the wild species into a domesticated species and secondly
when landraces were replaced by modern cultivars (Figure 2.1).
Tanksley and McCouch overlooked, however, that not only genetic
bottlenecking (founder effect), but also widening of the genetic base
has happened, and the true picture might be closer to the pulsation
of diversity over time shown in Figure 2.2. The evolutionary
processes under domestication are highly dynamic, resulting in
reticular phylogenetic backgrounds of cultivated species (Hammer
1981). These processes continue today. In some countries, primitive
varieties still coexist with the more advanced landraces. In Europe,
however, they are rarely preserved except in genebank collections.
Dehiscent flax or cereals with easily shattering seeds represent
examples of such primitive varieties. For practical reasons, primitive
varieties are distinguished as a different category from landraces.
However, many fluctuations from one category to the other exist.
Wild species
Early domesticates
Modern varieties
Figure 2.1. Genetic bottlenecks during domestication and modern
breeding (Tanksley and McCouch 1997).
Wild species
Early domesticates
Modern varieties
Figure 2.2. Genetic bottlenecking followed by subsequent widening of
the genetic base during crop domestication and breeding.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
The perception of landraces and a loose concept of what they
are emerged only after the first breeders’ varieties (cultivars) came
into being with the development of professional plant breeding in
the 19th century. In some European countries intensive breeding
of crops started some 150 years ago. Soon after, the usefulness of
landraces as basic material for the selection of breeders’ varieties was
discussed (Proskowetz 1890; Schindler 1890). The first definition of
the term ‘landrace’ was provided by Rümker (1908). Zeven (1998)
claimed that the term landrace is indefinable. This proposal was
proven as being untenable by Camacho Villa et al. (2005). Instead,
they developed the following working definition: Landraces are
dynamic populations of cultivated plants with historical origins,
distinct identities and lack formal crop improvement. They are
often genetically diverse, locally adapted and associated with
traditional farming systems (Camacho Villa et al. 2005). Breeders’
varieties (cultivars) were developed from landraces. This proceeded
rather slowly at the beginning. Only step by step the breeders’
varieties obtained a wider distribution and finally they displaced
the traditional landraces in many of their areas of distribution.
2.2 History of landraces in Europe and their conservation
Agriculture entered Europe (Greece) about 8000 years ago coming
from the Near East (Hammer 1997) and reached most parts of the
continent in the next 3000 years. The term ‘Neolithic Revolution’
has been coined for this process (Childe 1925). Early-introduced
crops (archaeophytes) include mainly cereals, pulses and flax
(Zohary 1999). Later on, vegetables, aromatic plants and fruit
trees were also introduced (mostly archaeophytes). Neophytes
(e.g. maize, tomatoes and potatoes) appeared after the European
detection of America about 500 years ago (Hammer and Perrino
1997). Of course, wild endemic European species have also been
domesticated, turning them into crop plants (autochthonous
elements). Crops of all these groups have reached the state of
landraces and may be considered as ‘local’, i.e. grown in an area
for more than 30 years (Louette et al. 1997).
The first activity of the newly arising systematic plant breeding
in the 19th century was the selection of improved varieties from
populations of landraces. E. von Proskowetz, for example, started
with line selection from spring barleys of the Hana region in
Moravia around 1870. ‘Chevalier’ barleys, which were leading in
Europe at that time, were superseded by the spring barleys which
von Proskowetz selected (Lehmann 1981). On the basis of these
results, von Proskowetz (1890) and Schindler (1890) concluded
25
26
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
that landraces (German Landrassen) are useful. But they also drew
attention to their (expected) gradual disappearance and proposed
that landraces should be collected, exactly described and their
descriptions compiled in a catalogue. They also proposed to
establish collections for carrying out systematic character analysis.
With these proposals they had already outlined the objectives of
modern genebank activities: collection, exploration, documentation
and conservation (Lehmann 1981). Following this early proposal,
the value of landraces as basic material for plant breeding was
stressed repeatedly in the early 20th century (Nilsson-Ehle 1911;
Baur 1914; Tschermak 1915; Schindler 1918). Vavilov (1935) reported
that all modern breeding efforts in Europe started with selecting
from landraces and emphasized that the landraces’ diversity was
the most important resource for crop improvement.
The period 1909-1952 (after Zeven 1998) can be seen as an age
of growing awareness of the importance of landraces. Specialized
collections of living plant material of crop plants were established in
Europe. One of the first was the Bureau of Applied Botany founded in
St. Petersburg (Russia) in 1894. R. Regel, the director of this institution
from 1905 till 1920, managed to establish a collection of 9000 seed
and spike samples of cereals and 900 seed samples of industrial
plants, mostly landraces from the Russian Empire (Regel 1915; see
also Lehmann 1981; Loskutov 1999). In 1920, N.I. Vavilov succeeded
R. Regel in the directorship of this institution, which in 1924 became
the All-Union Institute of Applied Botany and New Crops (later,
the N.I. Vavilov All-Union Institute of Plant Industry - VIR). Under
the directorship of N.I. Vavilov, the staff of this institution devoted
themselves to collecting and exploring crop plants of many parts
of the world as a basis for developing new cultivars for agriculture
and horticulture in the Soviet Union. Between 1920 and 1940, 140
expeditions in the Soviet Union and 40 expeditions to 64 foreign
countries were organized. Accordingly the collections increased
rapidly and had in 1940 more than 200 000 accessions (Brežnev 1969),
including a tremendous amount of European landraces.
The German Institute for Cultivated Plant Research was founded
in Vienna (Austria) in 1943. It was transferred to the village of
Gatersleben close to the Harz Mountains in central Germany after
World War II. All collections, including among others, landrace
material collected earlier from the Balkans and Crete, was transferred
to this new location (Stubbe 1982). The Gatersleben collection was
established and researched using the scientific approach established
by N.I. Vavilov and his school. In other Eastern European countries,
similar activities for the collection of landraces were initiated early.
In Bulgaria, the Institute of Genetics and Plant Breeding has carried
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
out research in the Vavilovian style since its foundation in 1947.
In Czechoslovakia, the exploration of genetic resources began in
1951 when various scattered collections were concentrated under
the supervision of the Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding
Methods at the Research Institute of Crop Production in PragueRuzyne. In Hungary, the Institute of Agrobotany was established
in 1959 at Tápiószele and initiated the collection and use of the stillexisting old landraces, old cultivars and other locally adapted plant
populations. The Institute of Plant Breeding and Acclimatization at
Radzików near Warszawa established the main collection (mostly of
cereals and some pulses) in Poland; a special collection of rye was
established at the Botanic Garden in Warsaw. In Rumania, work on
plant genetic resources has been done at the Agrobotanic Garden
of the Agronomy Institute at Cluj-Napoca (Szabó 1981) and at the
Suceava genebank (Monitoring Institute 2002). These early activities
(Lehmann 1981) were guided by the scientific ideas of N.I. Vavilov
and gained support from the politically dominating role of the
Soviet Union. Though N.I. Vavilov was imprisoned in 1940 during
a collecting mission in western parts of the Ukraine, close to the
city of Chernivtsi, and died in the prison of Saratov in 1943, some
of his co-workers continued his work. The collections in Leningrad
were saved and further developed after World War II (Dragavtsev
et al. 1994; Loskutov 1999). A Technical and Scientific Council of
the Eastern countries was established in 1964 and headed by the
N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR). The VIR was named
after Vavilov following his rehabilitation in 1955 (Loskutov 1999).
This second period of landrace collecting and research (1953-1974,
after Zeven 1998) was strongly dominated by the Eastern European
countries.
In 1974, the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources
(IBPGR - now Bioversity International) of the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) was established
to promote a world-wide network for genetic resources (for the
history of the term plant genetic resources see Hammer 2004). With
this, the third period of collecting and documenting landraces
(and plant genetic resources) started (1975 - present, after Zeven
1998). This also marks the beginning of the so-called ‘plant
genetic resources movement’ (Pistorius 1997). The European
Association for Research in Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) promoted
a regional network for genebanks in Europe, connecting the already
functioning genebanks in the Eastern countries with some newly
established ones in Western and southern Europe (Hawkes and
Lamberts 1977). In the early 1970s, the foundation of genebanks at
Bari (Italy) and Braunschweig (Western Germany), and later on at
27
28
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Lund (Sweden) for the Nordic countries, was organized and many
other activities started. In Geneva, at a Government Consultation
in December 1979 the ‘European Co-operative Programme
for Crop Genetic Resources’ was established and started its
activities (Hanelt and Lehmann, 1981; Lehmann 1981). With this,
a Europe-wide framework became available, which proved to
be useful in times of larger political changes. The EUCARPIA
Gene Bank Committee helped to guide the process for Europewide cooperation on plant genetic resources after the breakdown
of the Soviet Union. The work of the genebanks in the Eastern
countries was evaluated and found to be useful and efficient
with respect to landrace conservation (Frison and Hammer 1992).
New programmes associated with genebanks arose in the now
independent states of the former Soviet Union (e.g. the Baltic
States, Ukraine), the Balkans (e.g. Albania and Slovenia) and other
changes and rearrangements occurred (e.g. in Germany, Czech
Republic and Slovakia). The main task, to continue the urgently
required collection and preservation of landraces in their niches,
has been tackled within the ‘European Programme’. A closer
cooperation among the European genebanks has been promoted,
e.g. by meetings of the EUCARPIA section on genetic resources,
which also took into account the special experiences of the Eastern
countries (Poznan, Poland, 2002; Piešt’any, Slovakia, 2007). Joint
European Documentation systems for genebank collections
(EURISCO) have been created that allow centralized access to
national genebank collections (Bioversity International 2008).
2.3 Landrace collecting and major collections
The problem with the exact definition of landraces as part of a
dynamic system limits the possibilities of conclusions regarding
their in situ status or ex situ preservation, presence and collection.
From the very beginning (Proskowetz 1890; Schindler 1890),
collecting activities tried to capture as much as possible of the
landraces’ diversity, and significant contributions were made
by the Vavilovian School. Geographical names associated with
crop germplasm can be good indicators for landraces, but they
are often similar to those of cultivars, such as the winter wheat
landrace ‘Limburger Kleine Rode’ or the white clover landrace
‘Fries-Groninger’ which may also have been registered and
listed in official variety lists (Zeven 1991). Therefore, landraces
can be mistaken for cultivars. Landrace names usually indicate
the geographic origin, e.g. the oat ‘Probsteier’ from a region in
northern Germany, but often they have no names at all.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Landrace collecting has been undertaken in all European countries.
Systematically it started in the Soviet Union, but expanded to the
Mediterranean area (representing one of the classical diversity centres
of Vavilov) and some other countries, e.g. Austria (Mayr 1934).
As state and cooperative farms prevailed in the Eastern countries,
early collecting of landraces (prior to the formation of collective farms)
turned out to be critical for rescuing this diversity. Considerable
differences existed among Eastern European countries with respect to
farm size and degree of state control. The private structure of Polish
agriculture allowed landraces to be found as recently as in the 1980s
(Hammer and Hanelt 1979; Hammer et al. 1981). In the neighbouring
Czechoslovakia with cooperative and state farms, landraces had
mostly been maintained only in relatively remote areas (Kühn et al.
1976) or in some very traditional farming environments, such as under
slash-and-burn cultivation (Kühn and Hammer 1979). In Germany,
there have been differences between east and west according to
the economic structure, with the western part being slightly better
suited for landrace preservation (Dambroth and Hondelmann 1981),
although such niches also existed in eastern Germany (Hammer
et al. 1977). There is a general decrease of landraces caused by
globalization. Sometimes, specific causes, such as the shift from
agriculture to tourism-based economies in the alpine region, resulted
in the loss of landraces (Hammer et al. 1999). Altogether, a great
amount of landrace material has been collected in Europe and is
mainly stored in genebanks. Some material is maintained actively
on-farm (Zeven 1996). There are continuing collecting activities in
the different European countries because niches for landraces still
exist. Intensive recent collecting of landraces has been documented
for Italy by Hammer et al. (1999) and numerous studies on Italian
landraces of legumes and vegetables have recently been made. Jones
et al. (2008) provide a listing of genebanks that preserve landrace
material of emmer wheat and barley and point out that the genetic
diversity preserved may represent only a fragment of what existed
in the past. Therefore, these authors included, in addition to living
genebank material, dead plant material from herbarium collections
and other sources in a genetic diversity study of landraces to obtain
a more complete picture.
2.4 Landrace use
Next to breeding stocks and crop wild relatives, landraces are
the most important source for genetic improvement of cultivars.
Sometimes the importance of landraces as genetic resources for
breeding improvement in yield and resistance has been denied:
29
30
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Roemer (1942) saw no value in European landraces for disease
resistance breeding. However, the impact of landraces has been
documented in breeding the mildew-resistant barley cultivar
‘Pflugs Intensiv’ and the stripe rust-resistant cultivars ‘Ackermanns
Bavaria’, ‘Heils Franken’ and ‘Fuchs Pfälzer’. The Dalmatian
barley landrace ‘Ragusa’ determined for many years the mildew
resistance for several European barley cultivars (Lehmann 1981).
The importance of landraces was rediscovered, after a certain
period of neglect between 1953 and 1974, because of their useful
genetic variation.
A brief summary of landraces in Europe reads like this: initially
they were exploited by selecting homogenous, well defined pure
lines, which responded better to the higher-input agricultural
techniques that followed the industrialization of Europe. This
resulted in a drastic loss of on-farm diversity. Standardization of
products and processing technologies also required less of the raw
product diversity often associated with landraces. This happened
largely until World War I. In the time following, breeders exchanged
their lines with each other, hybridization replaced line selection,
and the decline in diversity continued, though at a lower rate until
the 1970s. Later, possibly driven by increased search for disease
resistance or other traits, landraces once again had greater impact
in plant breeding as genetic resources and the genetic diversity in
cultivars increased slightly until the end of the 20th century. For
bread wheat, Hysing et al. (2008) demonstrated such a temporal
pattern using a molecular approach.
In Finnish oat landraces, Ahokas and Manninen (2000) pointed
to the loss of landraces and their potential when looking for certain
nutritional properties. An emotionally loaded debate regarding the
impact of modern plant breeding on crop plant diversity has been
going on for a while. Some molecular studies even went so far as
to question entirely the concept of genetic erosion (Landjeva et al.
2007). However, molecular approaches do not come to unambiguous
answers regarding genetic erosion, which may be partly due to the
fact that they are based on non-functional diversity and partly due
to the fact that older landraces are often poorly represented in such
studies (Fu 2006).
Landraces are sometimes still important for agricultural
production, particularly in marginal environments, because of
their competitive advantage. They fulfil a continuing commercial
role in specialist production for niche markets (Camacho Villa et
al. 2005), are useful in traditional and subsistence farming (Wood
and Lenné 1997), continue to play a key role in food security (Brush
1995) and are increasingly associated with alternative farming
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
systems such as organic agriculture (Negri et al. 2000; Horneburg
and Becker 2008).
2.5 Landrace diversity
In general, there is consensus that landraces are genetically
heterogeneous (Harlan 1975; Camacho Villa et al. 2005). Zade (1918)
provided an impressive illustration for this by showing that simple
line selection without any hybridization allowed 17 oat cultivars
to be directly or indirectly selected from the landrace ‘Probsteier’
(Figure 2.3). This provided evidence of a tremendous amount of
variation in the ‘Probsteier’ oat landrace. It can be assumed that
other landraces of oats or cereals in general had comparable levels
of diversity. The genetic loss is tremendous with every landrace
that has disappeared. The loss of entire species from cultivation
has even more drastic effects, and there are several examples for
this in Europe.
While genetic heterogeneity is the basis of diversity in landraces,
it makes their ex situ preservation and utilization in plant breeding
difficult (Lehmann and Mansfeld 1957; Agorastos and Goulas 2005;
Diederichsen and Raney 2008; Jones et al. 2008). However, there are
also cases where landraces are genetically homogenous (Camacho
Villa et al. 2005). Vavilov (1935) already emphasized that the genetic
constitution of landraces can range from extremely heterogeneous
to very homogeneous.
2.6 Landrace inventories
Collections of landraces are available from the last 100 years.
Some genebanks indicate landraces in their indices by listing
their names (e.g. Index seminum Gaterslebensis, Knüpffer 1999a).
Landraces without names can be found by searching for geographic
denominations (Knüpffer 1999b). Internet-accessible germplasm
databases provided by Bioversity International (2008), the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO 2008), the Nordic Genebank
(2008) or the national genebanks of the United States (GRIN) and
Canada (GRIN-CA) allow for searches by improvement status of
the accessions, directing the seeker to landraces or other categories.
However, the differentiation among wild material, primitive varieties,
landraces and obsolete cultivars is often not handled consistently
when documenting the passport data, resulting in database query
results that need to be taken with a grain of salt. A more qualified
and consistent documentation by genebanks would be necessary to
obtain a better overview of European landrace preservation ex situ.
31
32
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Figure 2.3. Oat cultivars resulting from line selection from landraces
reported by Zade (1918).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Another source of information is the collections of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which emerged in several
countries since the 1970s. Catalogues and seed lists of e.g. Arche
Noah (Austria) contain many landraces. The catalogues and other
publications of Seed Savers (USA) contain many examples of
heirloom varieties (mostly of European origin) which have to be
considered for possible landrace inventories. Extant landraces
conserved on-farm are monitored in many European countries
(Germany, Italy etc.). Slow Food has developed a special programme
‘The Ark of Taste’ for registering stocks of local breeds and crops
(mostly landraces) in order to secure their use in the production and
preparation of high-quality food (Slow Food 2008).
In some countries, e.g. the UK, recent activities have led to partial
inventories and assessments of genetic resources for food and
agriculture. A national inventory for crop wild relatives has also
been incorporated in this activity (Negri et al. 2000). Networks and
communication among the NGOs are becoming more professional,
for example the high-quality publications by the German Verein zur
Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt (VEN 2008).
2.7 Threats and why diversity has been lost
Landrace extinction and genetic erosion of crop genetic resources are
in the focus of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2010 Biodiversity Target. There
are a number of other strategies and treaties, such as the Global
Strategy of Plant Conservation, the International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the European Plant
Conservation Strategy which are concerned about genetic erosion,
emphasizing the need for agro-biodiversity conservation. There is still
a need for further clarifying the concept of genetic erosion (including
its definition), which presents similar problems to the vague concept
regarding landraces themselves. In some countries, other than Europe,
genetic erosion of selected crops has not been observed (Barry et
al. 2008). Approaches for qualitatively and quantitatively assessing
genetic diversity need to be refined (Ford-Lloyd et al. 2006). In crop
plants, this is a controversial issue. Starting with the early reports by
Baur (1914), researchers became more and more aware of a continuing
loss of landraces. The American ‘plant explorers’ Harlan and Martini
(1936) are often credited with first recognizing the problem of genetic
erosion (Harlan 1975; Brush 1999). But only in 1970 (Frankel and
Bennett 1970), was genetic erosion accepted as a verified observation.
Frankel (1970) gave a loose definition of genetic erosion and referred
to the following five principles (see also Brush 1999):
33
34
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1. Diversity in crops exists because of adaptations by localized
populations (landraces).
2. Pre-modern agriculture in centres of diversity (using landraces)
is stable.
3. Introduction of modern agricultural technology, including
modern varieties, is a recent phenomenon and leads to instability.
4. Competition between local (landraces) and introduced varieties
(cultivars) results in displacement of local varieties (landraces).
5. Displacement of local varieties (landraces) reduces the genetic
variability of the local crop populations (landraces).
As emphasized by our additions (in brackets), these
considerations are explicitly based on landraces. Frankel
(1970), one of the founders of the ‘plant genetic resources
movement’, wanted to stress the predominant importance
of landraces. Hammer and Teklu (2006) referred to genetic
erosion in a narrower sense (sensu stricto) when pointing to the
disappearance of landraces. Methods of using chronological
diversity comparisons have been applied (Guarino 1999).
Examples of quantitative assessments of genetic erosion have
been provided for Albania and south Italy (Hammer et al. 1996)
where the erosion of landraces when comparing the years 1940
with 1991/93 and 1950 with 1983/86, respectively, was about
75% for an average of landraces of all crops. Examples are also
known from Italy, reporting genetic erosion per year for the
period between 1950 and 1983/86 of 3.6% for cereals and 2.8% for
pulses (Hammer and Laghetti 2005). In the earlier years (from
the 1920s to the 1950s), a relatively high genetic erosion of 13.2%
per year was observed. This was partly due to the very successful
breeding work in wheat by Strampelli (Giorgi and Porfiri 1998).
There are still many questions open regarding genetic erosion
(Hammer 1996; Hammer et al. 1999): How much of the diversity
of landraces has really been lost (considering the dynamic
evolutionary interactions, new activities of NGOs, etc.)? How
much genetic information has been transferred into modern
cultivars (in different countries)? How much of the diversity
was collected by previous explorers and is actually preserved
in genebanks (on-farm, NGO collections)? Have the landraces
already conserved a broad enough genetic base for sustaining
the agriculture of today and tomorrow? What needs to be said
about genetic erosion within genebanks and other germplasm
collections? There is still no systematic effort to address these
questions regarding the loss of landraces, nor regarding the genetic
erosion in a wider sense (sensu lato) according to Hammer and
Teklu (2006).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Modern technologies claim exactness in addressing genetic
erosion and the term gene-ecology has been introduced. Mainly
molecular methods are being applied with convincing repeatability
but, mostly, genetic erosion in a narrower sense (loss of landraces) is
not investigated. As a typical example, Donini et al. (2000) studied
temporal trends in diversity of wheat cultivars from the UK. There
are many similar investigations with different results for different
crops depending on the selection of material (Fu 2006). Often an
increase of diversity in the modern cultivars is shown (Landjeva
et al. 2007), via germplasm enhancement by the breeders (wild
relatives, foreign cultivars, landraces). There are only a few studies
that actually include landraces (Grau Nersting et al. 2006; Hysing et
al. 2008; Jones et al. 2008) showing among other things the difficulties
of molecular studies in describing genetically variable landraces.
The methods have still to be adapted for studying genetic erosion
in a narrower sense, i.e. the loss of landraces.
2.8
Why have landraces survived in intensive agriculture?
There are two main reasons for the survival of landraces:
1. They may belong to crops which are not in the official seed lists
and accordingly have not been considered by breeders. Famous
examples are Avena strigosa (Camacho Villa et al. 2005), an oat
from the northern parts of Europe, and the primitive wheats
Triticum monococcum and T. dicoccon from parts of western and
southern Europe (Perrino and Hammer 1984).
2. Landraces can also survive under agricultural conditions due to
geographical (islands, see Hammer and Laghetti 2006) and other
forms of isolation (ethnographical, geographical, ecological, etc.,
see Bullitta 2007).
Within landraces, the general tendency is that landrace garden
plants (vegetables, fruits and some aromatic and medicinal plants)
have a better chance of survival, whereas the field crops (cereals and
pulses, forage plants, industrial plants) show very strong genetic
erosion (see also paragraph 2.9). Landraces of strictly agricultural
crops such as cereals are at present rarely cultivated on-farm.
Exceptions are leisure or small-scale agriculture, to use them as
feed for chickens or horses (Diederichsen et al. 2007). Landraces
of annual vegetables are also much more likely to be preserved in
industrialized countries as the numerous examples from Italy prove.
Among the vegetables, landraces of annual species or perennials
are more likely to be preserved than biennial species, due to the
technical and biological challenges in seed production. NGOs play
an important role in preserving such landrace material (Hammer
35
36
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
2004). Dishes that are traditional for a certain region or associated
with a special holiday or season often make use of a particular
landrace, and such traditions have contributed to the on-farm or
in horto preservation of vegetable landraces.
2.9 Landrace hotspots
As a classical centre of diversity proposed by Vavilov, the
Mediterranean area represents a hotspot for landraces (genecentres
and hotspots are briefly compared by Hammer 2004). Because
crops have been grown there for a long time in proximity to many
wild relatives, this created a unique situation which favoured
crop plant evolution (Hammer et al. 1999). Landraces of diverse
crops from cereals to fruit trees are still present. A recent review
(Laghetti and Hammer 2004) describes the situation in the
Mediterranean area. Parts of southern Italy can still be seen as a
hotspot for vegetables and some minor crops. Cereals suffered
from genetic erosion except for some landraces of maize, rye and
hulled wheats (Lucchin et al. 2003). A similar situation prevails in
Spain, Portugal, southern France and the Balkans. Countries with
extremely high levels of genetic erosion are Albania (Hammer
et al. 1995) and Greece, where replacement by modern cultivars
(Bennett 1971) resulted in the extinction of many landraces. In the
former Yugoslavia, the situation is slightly better. Micro-hotspots
for landrace diversity can be found here. Several of the countries
in Europe which are in transition from centrally planned to
market economies have until recently still cultivated landraces,
and these regions need to be explored more systematically. The
Carpathian Mountains represent such a region in Europe, in
which vegetable maize and occasionally cereal landraces can still
be found (Hammer et al. 1981; Szabó 1981; Monitoring Institute
2002; Diederichsen et al. 2007).
Most of Europe belongs to the European-Siberian, and parts
to the Mediterranean, centres of origin of crop plants, according
to Zeven and Zhukovsky (1975). Some Mediterranean islands
still preserve landraces. The small Italian islands can serve as an
example (Hammer and Laghetti 2006). A similar situation was
observed in the UK (Scholten et al. 2008). The larger Mediterranean
islands are less promising, especially Corsica (Bullitta 2007; Bullitta
et al. 2008) or Malta (Laghetti et al. 2004). The situation is slightly
better on the islands of Sardinia (Pignone et al. 1997), Sicily, Crete
(Laghetti et al. 2008), Cyprus (Della 1999) and the Balearic Isles.
A special situation has been described for the Canary Islands (Gil
2005), Madeira and the Azores (Vieira 2002).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
2.10 Opportunities for the future
Based on the hypothesis that the genetic diversity in landraces is
important and threatened by extinction, priority measures should
be taken. (1) Landraces still in cultivation need to be identified
by species and region. Such an inventory needs to be compiled
in close cooperation with NGOs engaged in preserving and
developing crop diversity. (2) Collecting of landraces, in particular
in regions that are undergoing drastic economic changes, e.g.
in east and southeast Europe, needs to be conducted so that ex
situ conservation can complement the in situ conservation. (3)
Legislation on breeding variety protection that conflicts with
on-farm diversification needs to be questioned seriously at
the national and European levels. Variety protection laws and
European production standards have had negative impacts on
agro-biodiversity. Therefore it would be wise to monitor the
changes in agriculture in the countries which recently joined the
European Union. (4) Localization of production and consumption
of food should be promoted whenever economically possible, as
this is the socio-economic sphere in which landraces can thrive.
(5) New approaches in plant breeding including participatory
plant breeding need to be actively explored, developed and
systematically studied with regard to their economic feasibility
and ecological impact (Ghaouti et al. 2008; Horneburg and Becker
2008). One area with a great potential for agro-biodiversity is
the increasing demand for organic production, including the
production of cultivars as an integral part of this approach (Finckh
2008; Wolfe et al. 2008). For the specific situation in Germany,
Becker et al. (2002) made some suggestions for policy makers and
researchers.
When taking an overview of the drastic changes which crop
diversity underwent during the last 200 years, it is obvious that the
route taken cannot be continued. The economic pressures under
which genebanks operate make it very questionable whether the ex
situ approach will be sustainable over time in preserving landrace
diversity. In addition, even among the pioneers of the plant genetic
resources movement, questions regarding the ex situ approach have
been asked because it ‘freezes evolution’ (Hawkes 1991). Hence, the
seed storage vault on Svalbard under the control of the Global Crop
Diversity Trust may not be the sole insurance we should rely on for
preserving cultivated plant diversity. Working on on-farm projects
and evolutionary breeding strategies (Suneson 1956) that actively
explore new approaches is probably the best strategy to ensure that
crop diversity becomes more dynamic and that the evolution of
landraces will continue.
37
38
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
References
Agorastos, A.G. and Goulas, C.K. (2005) Line selection for exploiting durum wheat
(T. durum var. durum) local landraces in modern variety development program.
Euphytica 146, 117-124.
Ahokas, H. and Manninen, M.L. (2000) Retrospecting genetic variation of Finnish
oat (Avena sativa) landraces and observations on revived lines grown prior to
1957. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 47, 345-352.
Barry, M.B., Pham, J.L., Béavogui, S., Ghesquiére, A. and Ahamdi, N. (2008)
Diachronic (1979 - 2003) analysis of rice genetic diversity in Guinea did not
reveal genetic erosion. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 55, 723 - 733.
Baur E. (1914) Die Bedeutung der primitiven Kulturrassen und der wilden
Verwandten unserer Kulturpflanzen für die Pflanzenzüchtung. Jahrbuch DLG
(Saatzuchtabteilung) pp. 145-154.
Becker, H.C., Bergmann, H., Jantsch, P. and Marggraf, R. (2002) Darstellung und
Analyse von Konzepten des On-farm-Managements pflanzengenetischer
Ressourcen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der ökonomischen
Rahmenbedingungen in Deutschland, http://webdoc.sub.gwdg.de/
ebook/y/2003/becker/on-farm-management.pdf (accessed 3 December 2008)
Bellon, M.R. and Brush, S. (1994) Keepers of maize in Chiapas, Mexico. Economic
Botany 48, 196-209.
Bennett, E. (1971) The origin and importance of agroecotypes in south-west Asia.
In: Davis, P.H. et al. (eds.) Plant Life in South-West Asia. Botanical Society of
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 225-234.
Bioversity International (2008) EURISCO, http://eurisco.ecpgr.org/static/index.
html (accessed 3 December 2008)
Bisson, J. (1989) Les Messiles, groupe ampélographique du Bassin de la Loire.
Connaissance de la Vigne et du Vin. Journal Internationale de Sciences de la Vigne
et du Vin 23, 175-191.
Brežnev, D.D. (1969) Vsesojuznomu ordena Lenina naučno-issledovatel’skomu
institutu rastenievodstva imeni N.I. Vavilova -- 75 let. [The All-Union Order of
Lenin Scientific Research Institute for Plant Industry named after N.I. Vavilov
is 75 years old]. Trudy po prikladnoj botanike, genetiki i selekcii 41, 5-30.
Brush, S.B. (1995) In situ conservation of landraces in centers of crop diversity.
Crop Science 35, 346-354.
Brush, S.B. (1999) Genetic erosion of crop populations in centres of diversity: a
revision. Proceedings Technical Meeting, FAO WIEWS on PGR, Prague, pp. 34 - 44.
Bullitta, S. (ed.) (2007) Plant Genetic Resources of Geographical and ‘other’ Islands.
Proceedings of XVII Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section Meeting, Castelsardo, Italy.
Bullitta, S., Laghetti, G., Cifarelli, S., Nivaggioli, H. and Hammer, K. (2008)
Collecting crop genetic resources in the Mediterranean agricultural islands:
Corsica (Part II - Southern Corsica). Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 153, 48-54.
Camacho Villa, T.C., Maxted, N., Scholten, M. and Ford-Lloyd, B. (2005) Defining
and identifying crop landraces. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and
Evaluation 3, 373-384.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Childe, V.G. (1925) The dawn of European civilization. Alfred Knopf, New York, USA.
Dambroth, M. and Hondelmann, W. (1981) Some notes on the collection of landraces of cultivated plants indigenous to the territory of the Federal Republic
of Germany. Kulturpflanze 29, 41-45.
Della, A. (1999) The Cyprus Flora in Checklist Format: Native or Naturalized - Cultivated
- Endemics - Rarities - Additions. IPGRI, Rome, Italy. 299 pp.
Diederichsen, A., Boguslavskij, R.L., Halan, M.S. and Richards, K.W. (2007)
Collecting plant genetic resources in the Eastern Carpathian Mountains within
the territory of Ukraine in 2005. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 151, 14-21.
Diederichsen A. and Raney J.P. (2008) Pure-lining of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)
genebank accessions for efficiently exploiting and assessing seed character
diversity. Euphytica 164, 255-273.
Donini, P., Law, J.R., Koebner, R.M.D., Reeves, J.C. and Cooke, R.J. (2000) Temporal
trends in the diversity of UK wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 100, 912-917.
Dragavtsev, V.A., Lebedev, D.V., Vitkovsky, V.L., Pavlukhin, Yu. S., Lassan, T.K. and
Blonova, N.M. (1994) Soratniki Nikolaja Ivanoviča Vavilova, issledovateli genfonda
rasttenij. [Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov’s associates, researchers of the gene pool].
VIR, St. Petersburg, Russia. 625 pp.
FAO (2008) World Information and Early Warning System (WIEWS) on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, http://apps3.fao.org/wiews/
wiewspage.jsp?i_l=EN&show=SOW (accessed 2 December 2008)
Finckh, M.R. (2008) Integration of breeding and technology into diversification
strategies for disease control in modern agriculture. European Journal of Plant
Pathology 121, 399-409.
Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Dias, S.R. and Bettencourt, E. (eds) (2006) Genetic Erosion and
Pollution Assessment Methodologies. Proceedings of PGR Forum Workshop 5.
Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, 8 - 11 September 2004. Bioversity International,
Rome, Italy.
Frankel, O.H. (1970) Genetic conservation in perspective. In: Frankel, O.H. and
Bennett, E. (eds) Genetic Resources in Plants – Their Exploration and Conservation.
IBP Handbook No. 11. Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Frankel, O.H. and Bennett, E. (1970) Genetic resources – introduction. In: Frankel,
O.H. and Bennett, E. (eds) Genetic Resources in Plants – Their Exploration and
Conservation. IBP Handbook No. 11. Blackwell, Oxford, UK. pp. 1-32.
Frison, E. and Hammer, K. (1992) Report, Joint FAO/IBPGR Mission to Survey Plant
Genetic Resources Programmes in Eastern and Central Europe. FAO, IBPGR, Rome,
Italy. 61 pp.
Fu, Y.B. (2006) Impact of plant breeding on genetic diversity of agricultural crops:
search for molecular evidence. Plant Genetic Resources 4, 71-78.
Ghaouti, L., Vogt-Kaute, W. and Link, W. (2008) Development of locally-adapted
faba bean cultivars for organic conditions in Germany through a participatory
breeding approach. Euphytica 162, 257-268.
Gil, J. (2005) Los Cultivos Tradicionales de la Isla de Lanzarote. Los Granos: Diversidad
y Ecología. Arrecife de Lanzarote.
39
40
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Giorgi, B. and Porfiri, O. (eds) (1998) The varieties of Strampelli: a milestone
in wheat breeding both in Italy and in the world. Proceedings of Meeting, 26
September 1997, Abbadia di Fiastra, Tolentino MC, Italy.
Grau Nersting, L., Andersen, S.B., von Bothmer, R., Gullord, M. and Bagger
Jørgensen, R. (2006) Morphological and molecular diversity of Nordic oat
through one hundred years of breeding. Euphytica 150, 327-337.
Guarino, L. (1999) Approaches to measuring genetic erosion. Proceedings of Technical
Meeting FAO WIEWS on PGR, Prague, pp. 26-28. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Hammer, K. (1981) Problems of Papaver somniferum-classification and some remarks
on recently collected European poppy land-races. Kulturpflanze 29, 287-296.
Hammer, K. (1984) Das Domestikationssyndrom. [The domestication syndrome].
Kulturpflanze 32, 11-34.
Hammer, K. (1996) Kulturpflanzenforschung und pflanzengenetische Ressourcen.
[Cultivated plant research and genetic resources]. Schriften Genetic Resources
4, 245-283.
Hammer, K. (1997) A short report from the North. In: Monti, O. (ed.) Neglected plant
genetic resources with a landscape and cultural importance for the Mediterranean
Region. Proceedings of the Meeting Naples, pp. 132-136.
Hammer, K. (2004) Resolving the challenge posed by agrobiodiversity and plant
genetic resources – an attempt. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development
in the Tropics and Subtropics, Beiheft Nr. 76. Kassel University Press, Kassel,
Germany. 184 pp.
Hammer, K., Górski, M., Hanelt, P., Kühn, F., Kulpa, W. and Schultze-Motel,
J. (1981) Variability of wheat land-races from Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Kulturpflanze 29, 91-97.
Hammer, K. and Hanelt, P. (1979) Botanische Ergebnisse einer Reise in die VR
Polen 1976 zur Sammlung autochthoner Landsorten von Kulturpflanzen.
Kulturpflanze 27, 109-149.
Hammer, K., Hanelt, P. and Tittel, C. (1977) Sammlung autochthoner Kulturpflanzen
auf dem Gebiet der DDR. Kulturpflanze 25, 89-99.
Hammer, K., Knüpffer, H., Laghetti, G. and Perrino, P. (1999) Seeds from the Past. A
Catalogue of Crop Germplasm in Central and North Italy. CNR, Bari, Italy. 253 pp.
Hammer, K., Knüpffer, H., Xhuveli, L. and Perrino, P. 1996. Estimating genetic
erosion in landraces – two case studies. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
43, 329-336.
Hammer, K. and Laghetti, G. (2005) Genetic erosion – examples from Italy. Genetic
Resources and Crop Evolution 52, 629-634.
Hammer, K. and Laghetti, G. (2006) Small Agricultural Islands and Plant Genetic
Resources. Le piccole isole rurali italiana. CNR, Bari, Italy. 244 pp.
Hammer, K. and Perrino, P. (1997) Crop - culture interaction. In: Monti, L. (ed.)
Neglected plant genetic resources with a landscape and cultural importance for the
Mediterranean Region. Proceedings of the Meeting Naples, pp. 21-29.
Hammer, K., Pistrick, K. and Xhuveli, L. (1995) Development of Albania’s plant
genetic resources interwoven with history. Diversity 11, 102-104.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Hammer, K. and Teklu, Y. (2006) Erhaltungsstrategien pflanzengenetischer Ressourcen
– die PGR-Bewegung, und was dann? Vorträge für Pflanzenzüchtg 70, 7-15.
Hanelt, P. and Lehmann, Chr.O. (1981) Symposium on collection of European
land-races of cultivated plants and their evaluation. Kulturpflanze 29, 19-25.
Harlan, J.R. (1975) Our vanishing genetic resources. Science 188, 618-621.
Harlan, H.R. and Martini, M.L. (1936) Problems and results of barley breeding. USDA YearBook of Agriculture. US Govern. Print. Office, Washington DC, USA. pp. 303-346.
Hawkes, J.G. (1983) The Diversity of Crop Plants. Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge,
MA, USA.
Hawkes, J.G. (1991) The importance of genetic resources in plant breeding, pp.
3-10. In: Hawkes, J.G. (ed.) Genetic Conservation of World Crop Plants, Academic
Press, London, UK. 87 pp.
Hawkes, J.G. and Lamberts, H. (1977) EUCARPIA’s fifteen years of activities in
genetic resources. Euphytica 26, 1-3.
Heeger, E.F. (1956) Handbuch des Arznei und Gewürzpflanzenbaues. [Manual of medicinal
and spice plant production]. Deutscher Bauernverlag, Berlin, Germany. 776 pp.
Horneburg, B. and Becker, H.C. (2008) Crop adaptation in on-farm management by
natural and conscious selection: a case study with lentil. Crop Science 48, 203-212.
Hysing, S.C., Säll, T., Nybom, H., Liljeroth, E., Merker, A., Orford, S. and Koebner,
R.M.D. (2008) Temporal diversity changes among 198 Nordic bread wheat
landraces and cultivars detected by retrotransposon-based S-SAP analysis.
Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization 6, 113-125.
Jones, H., Lister, D., Bower, M.A., Leigh, F.J., Smith, L.M. and Jones, M.K. (2008)
Approaches and constraints of using existing landrace and extant plant
material to understand agricultural spread in prehistory. Plant Genetic Resources:
Characterization and Utilization 6, 98-112.
Kiessling, H.(1912) Die züchterische Bearbeitung der Landsorten in Bayern. Beiträge
zur Pflanzenzüchtung 2, 74-96.
Knüpffer, H. (ed.) (1999a) Supplementum Cultivarorum ad Index Seminum Gaterslebensis
2000. IPK, Gatersleben, Germany. 282 pp.
Knüpffer, H. (ed.) (1999b) Index Seminum quae pro mutua commutatione offert
Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung Gatersleben 2000. IPK,
Gatersleben, Germany. 131 pp.
Kühn, F. and Hammer, K. (1979) Das Ausklingen der Brandrodungskultur in
Zentraleuropa. Kulturpflanze 27, 165-173.
Kühn, F., Hammer, K. and Hanelt, P. (1976) Botansiche Ergebnisse einer Reise in
die ČSSR 1974 zur Sammlung autochthoner Landsorten von Kulturpflanzen.
Kulturpflanze 24, 283-287.
Laghetti, G. and Hammer, K. (2004) Crop genetic resources from Mediterranean:
A review on exploration, collecting and other safeguarding activities. Recent
Research Developments in Crop Science 1, 165-209.
Laghetti, G., Pignone, G., Cifarelli, S., Hammer, K. and Skoula, M. (2008) Collecting
crop genetic resources in the Mediterranean agricultural islands: Crete (Greece).
Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 154, 59-65.
41
42
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Laghetti, G., Scicluna-Spiteri, A., Attard, E., Perrino, P., Cifarelli, S. and Hammer,
K. (2004) Collecting crop genetic resources in the Mediterranean agricultural
islands: the Maltese Archipelago. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 139, 11-16.
Landjeva, S., Korzun, V. and Börner, A. (2007) Molecular markers: actual and
potential contributions to wheat genome characterization and breeding.
Euphytica 156, 271-296.
Lehmann, Ch.O. (1981) Collecting European land-races and development of
European gene banks – historical remarks. Kulturpflanze 29, 29-40.
Lehmann, Ch.O. and Mansfeld, R. (1957) Zur Technik der Sortimentserhaltung
[On the technique for collection-maintenance]. Kulturpflanze 5, 108-138.
Loskutov, I.G. (1999) Vavilov and his Institute. IPGRI, Rome, Italy. 188 pp.
Louette, D., Charrier, A. and Berthaud, J. (1997) In situ conservation of maize
in Mexico: genetic diversity and maize seed management in a traditional
community. Economic Botany 51, 20-38.
Lucchin, M., Barcaccia, G. and Parrini, P. (2003) Characterization of a flint maize
(Zea mays L. convar. mays) Italian landrace: I. Morpho-phenological and
agronomic traits. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 50, 315-327.
Mansholt, U.J. (1909) Van Pesch Plantenteelt, beknopte handleiding tot de kennis van
den Neederlandschen landbouw. 3rd. rev. edn., pt. 2. Plantenteelt. Zwolle, The
Netherlands. 228 pp.
Mayr, E. (1934) Die Bedeutung der alpinen Getreidelandsorten für die Pflanzenzüchtung
und Stammesforschung mit besonderer Beschreibung der Landsorten in Nordtirol
und Vorarlberg. Zeitschr. Züchtung A: Pflanzenzüchtung 19, 195-228.
Mayr, E. (1937) Alpine Landsorten in ihrer Bedeutung für die praktische Züchtung.
Forschungsdienst 4, 162-166.
Mayr, E. (1942) Systematics and the origin of species. Columbia University Press,
New York, USA.
Monitoring Institute (ed.) (2002) Rare breeds and plant varieties in the Carpathian
Mountains – monitoring and conservation strategies. SAVE/Monitoring Institute,
St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Negri, V., Becker, H., Onnela, J., Sartori, A., Strajeru, S. and Laliberté, B. (2000) A first
inventory of on-farm conservation and management activities in Europe including
examples of formal and informal sector cooperation. In: Laliberté, B. et al. (comp.)
ECP/GR In Situ and On-Farm Conservation Network Report of a Task Force on Wild
Species Conservation in Genetic Reserves and a Task Force on On-Farm Conservation
and Management, Joint Meeting 18 - 20 May 2000, Isola Polvese, Italy, pp. 15-32.
Nilsson-Ehle, H. (1911) Mendélisme et acclimatation. Compte rendu conf. intern.
génétique Paris 1911, pp. 136-155.
Nordic Genebank (2008) SESTO Gene bank documentation system, http://tor.ngb.se/
sesto/index.php?scp=ngb&thm=sesto&r=437596376. (accessed 2 December 2008)
Perrino, P. and Hammer, K. (1984) The farro: further information on its cultivation
in Italy, utilization and conservation. Genetica Agraria 38, 303-311.
Pignone, D., Hammer, K., Gladis, Th. and Perrino, P. (1997) Collecting in Southern
Sardinia, Italy, 1995. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 109, 7-10.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Pistorius, R. (1997) Scientists, plants and politics. A history of the plant genetic resources
movement. IBPGR, Rome, Italy.
Proskowetz, E. von (1890) Welches Werthverhältnis besteht zwischen den Landrassen
landwirtschaftlicher Culturpflanzen und den sogenannten Züchtungsrassen?
Internationaler land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Congress zu Wien 1890. Section
I: Landwirtschaft. Subsection Pflanzenbau, Frage 5. Heft 13, 3-18.
Regel, R. (1915) L’organisation et les travaux du bureau de botanique appliquée
pendant vingt ans de son functionnement. Bulletin for Applied Botany 8, 328723, 1465-1637.
Roemer, Th. (1942) Ausgangsmaterial für die Resistenzzüchtung bei Getreide.
Ergebnisse 20jähriger Arbeit der Pflanzenzuchtstation Hall a. S. Zeitschrift für
Pflanzenzüchtg 24, 304-332.
Rümker, K. von (1908) Die systematische Einteilung und Benennung der
Getreidesorten für praktische Zwecke. Jahrbuch der Deutschen Landwirtschaftlichen
Gesellschaft 23, 137-167.
Schindler, F. (1890) Welches Werthverhältnis besteht zwischen den Landrassen
landwirtschaftlicher Culturpflanzen und den sogenannten Züchtungsrassen?
Internationaler land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Congress zu Wien 1890. Section
I. Subsection Pflanzenbau. Frage 5. Heft 13, 19-24.
Schindler, J. (1918) Einige Bemerkungen über die züchterische und wirtschaftliche
Bedeutung der Landrassen unserer Kulturpflanzen. Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche
Presse 45(25), 155-156.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and Shetland
oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) landraces:
occurrence and conservation issues. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 154, 1-5.
Slow Food (2008) Ark of Taste, www.slowfoodfoundation.org/eng/arca/lista.lasso
(accessed 21 December 2008)
Stubbe, H. (1982) Geschichte des Instituts für Kulturpflanzenforschung Gatersleben.
[History of the Institute for Cultivated Plant Research, Gatersleben]. AkademieVerlag, Berlin, Germany. 428 pp.
Suneson, C.A. (1956) An evolutionary plant breeding method. Agronomy Journal
48:188-191.
Szabó, A.T. (1981) Problems of genetic erosion in Transylvania, Romania.
Kulturpflanze 29, 47-62.
Tanksley, S.D. and McCouch, S.R. (1997) Seed banks and molecular maps: unlocking
genetic potential from the wild. Science 277, 1063-1066.
Tanno, K. and Willcox, G. (2006) How fast was wild wheat domesticated? Science
311, 1886.
Tschermak, E. von (1912) Zur Entstehung der Landsorten. Deutsche Landwirtschaftliche
Presse 39/40, 470.
Tschermak, E. von (1915) Über die Notwendigkeit der Sammlung und Erhaltung
unserer bewährten, noch unveredelten Getreidelandrassen. [On the necessity
of the collection and preservation of our traditional, not yet improved cereal
land-races]. Wiener Landwirtschaftliche Zeitung 104, 750-761.
43
44
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Vavilov, N. (1935) Botaniko-geografičeskie osnovy selekcii (Učenye ob ischodnom
materiale v selekcii). [The phytogeographical basis for plant breeding]. In:
Teoretičeskie osnovy selekcii. Sel’chozgiz, Moscow, Leningrad, Russia. Vol. 1, pp. 17-75.
VEN (2008) Homepage des Vereins zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt, www.
nutzpflanzenvielfalt.de/ (accessed on 3 December 2008)
Vieira, R. (2002) Flora da Madeira: plantas vasculares naturalizadas no arquipélago da
Madeira. Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. 281 pp.
Wolfe, M.S., Baresel, J.P., Desclaux, D., Goldringer, I., Hoad, S., Kovacs, G.,
Löschenberger, F., Miedaner, T., Østergård, E.T. and Lammerts van Buren, E.T.
(2008) Developments in breeding cereals for organic agriculture. Euphytica
163, 323-346.
Wood, D. and Lenné, J.M. (1997) The conservation of agrobiodiversity on-farm:
Questioning the emerging paradigm. Biodiversity Conservation 6, 109-129.
Zade, A. (1918) Der Hafer – eine Monographie auf wissenschaftlicher und praktischer
Grundlage. [Oats – a monograph on scientific and practical grounds]. Gustav
Fischer, Jena, Germany. 355 pp.
Zeven, A.C. (1991) Four hundred years of cultivation of Dutch white clover
landraces. Euphytica 54, 93-99.
Zeven, A.C. (1996) Results and activities to maintain landraces and other material
in some European countries in situ before 1945 and what we may learn from
them. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 43, 337-341.
Zeven, A.C. (1998) Landraces: a review of definitions and classifications. Euphytica
104, 127-139.
Zeven, A.C. and Zhukovsky, P.M. (1975) Dictionary of Cultivated Plants and Their
Centres of Diversity. Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Zohary, D. (1999) Monophyletic vs. polyphyletic origin of the crops on which
agriculture was founded in the Near East. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
46, 133-142.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Section 2 - Landrace Inventories
3. Landrace Inventories: Needs and Methodologies
Nigel Maxted¹, Merja Veteläinen² and Valeria Negri³
¹ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15
2TT, UK. E-mail nigel.maxted@dial.pipex.com
² MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Biotechnology and Food Research, Genetic
diversity H-house FIN-31600, Jokioinen Finland
³ Dip. Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121
Perugia, Italy
3.1 Introduction
Countries that have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food
and Agriculture obviously wish to meet the CBD 2010 target of
achievement “by 2010 of a significant reduction of the current
rate of biodiversity loss” in the components of biodiversity, which
includes agro-biodiversity defined as “the genetic diversity of
crops, livestock, and harvested species of trees, fish and wildlife
and other valuable species” (CBD 2004). As a consequence of
ratifying the Convention and Treaty, they engaged themselves to
make inventories of their biodiversity, design national conservation
plans and monitor diversity to assess the efficiency of conservation
actions. The principles of producing national inventories of the wild
components of biodiversity are well established, and botanists have
been creating checklists and floras since the time of Theophrastus
in the third century BC (Davis and Heywood 1973). But while each
country has a national Flora or checklist, there are far fewer examples
of inventories of the cultivated components of biodiversity (see
Maxted et al. 2007). Specifically, as far as is known there are no fully
comprehensive national inventories of crop landrace diversity, but
national accounts do exist (see: www.catalogovarietalocali.pris2.
parco3a.org/).
It is important that stress is laid on ‘comprehensive’ in the
previous sentence as there have been many landrace inventories in
recent years, as will be shown in subsequent chapters, but each can
be considered ‘partial’ in the sense of covering a specific crop gene
pool or target area or, while attempting a national inventory, failing
to be fully comprehensive. Yet we suggest it is national inventories
of crop landrace diversity that are required if the CBD 2010 target
45
46
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
for agro-biodiversity is to be met. National inventories are required
because agro-biodiversity policy is applied at a national political
level and, without knowing what exists, how can governments
plan and implement the systematic conservation and use strategies
for landraces that are necessary to underpin national food security
– if we do not know what exists how can we conserve and use it
effectively? As such it seems self-evident that an inventory of
resources is the starting point for agro-biodiversity conservation.
The subsequent chapters in this section of the text outline the
practical experiences of specialists in preparing landrace inventories
and provide examples that may assist others attempting to produce
landrace inventories. This introductory chapter aims to review the
limited literature and build on the practical experiences outlined,
and so to address the more generic questions associated with the
methodologies for how to prepare landrace inventories.
3.2 What constitutes landrace diversity?
The answer to this question is relatively straightforward but may
be difficult to apply in practice. Once a definition of a landrace is
agreed, the inventory aims to catalogue the distinct landrace entities
that constitute the breadth of that diversity. So a comprehensive
landrace inventory would be made up of the diversity both among
the different extant landraces and the full range of genetic diversity
found within each landrace. It should be noted that landraces
are, almost by definition, constantly evolving within the in situ
context as a result of farmer selection and environmental changes,
so the diversity found within landraces changes with time and
with the turnover of maintainers. As a consequence, instead of
‘conservation’ (sensu stricto), we should talk of ‘preserving’ or
‘maintaining’ landrace diversity in the field (i.e. through landrace
cultivation on farms), possibly besides providing backup security
through ex situ conservation. However, an inventory necessarily
takes the form of a ‘snapshot’ and this then leads to a second
question: how are distinction and difference to be recognized in the
field? The conclusive answer would be to sample and investigate
genetic diversity between and within landrace material using some
form of diversity index, but when creating a national inventory
it would be impractical to consider investigating the patterns of
genetic diversity both between and within all national landrace
material either using molecular or even morphological evaluation
techniques.
It is therefore necessary to use a proxy for estimating genetic
diversity among and within landraces. Pragmatically the two proxy
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
measures that are often employed are nomenclature and expert
knowledge. It may be assumed that if two landraces have different
names they are in fact different, they are internally consistent and
distinct from each other. Also while preparing an inventory, if
an expert (e.g. crop specialist, local extension officer or farmer),
says two landraces are distinct then it is assumed that the expert's
knowledge is correct and the landraces are distinct. While both
of these assumptions will on occasion be false, in the absence of
actual knowledge of patterns of genetic diversity or knowledge to
the contrary, then we can apply Ockham’s razor and assume the
assumption is correct. Therefore, the diversity of landraces to be
included in the inventory will be pragmatically based on landrace
nomenclature and expert knowledge.
3.3 Actual scope of a landrace inventory
Although the general aim of a national inventory should be to
catalogue all national landraces, the actual scope of the landrace
inventory may be limited and defined by the commissioning agency
which will make the resources available for the data collation, and
may thus explicitly (stating which species should be covered) or
implicitly (sufficient resources are available to cover only a limited
range of species) establish the breadth of the inventory. The plant
scope may therefore be universal, covering a complete inventory of
all socio-economically valuable species with landrace diversity, or
restricted to a subset, e.g. major field crops, forages, fruits, medicinal
species or wild harvested species.
As well as restricting the scope of the inventory to crop groups,
the inventory might conceivably also be restricted in terms of
landrace localization or threat. In terms of localization, it might
be desirable to restrict the inventory to what might be considered
‘native’ landraces, autochthonous as defined by Zeven (1998a) rather
than allochthonous or Creole landraces of recent introduction. It is
likely that autochthonous landraces will have evolved over time
unique local adaptations and may therefore be of greater interest to
plant breeders; certainly the characteristics of the landrace would
be more easily predicted using ecogeographic and GIS techniques.
Another aspect of scope will be the relative level of cultivation
of the landrace to warrant inclusion in the national inventory. For
example, would only commercially available landraces be included,
or would a landrace held by a single farmer be considered for
inclusion in the inventory? To illustrate this point, when preparing
the UK national landrace inventory (see Scholten et al. Chapter 15
this volume) a landrace of the forage legume sainfoin (Onobrychis
47
48
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
vicifolia Scop.), ‘Hampshire Common’, was included even though
it was only grown by one maintainer, the Cholderton Estate in
Hampshire, on about 450 hectares annually. If including singlemaintainer landraces, and depending on the remit of the inventory,
it may be necessary to distinguish between individual maintainers
growing a crop landrace for commercial sale and individual home
or allotment gardeners, growing for home consumption. Given
the overall goal of an inventory it would be wise to maximize
the inclusiveness of the inventory and include single-maintainer
landraces wherever possible; one would not wish to exclude the
‘last survivors’ from the inventory.
An extension of the question over the relative level of cultivation
of the landrace is whether the landrace has to be grown by a farmer
or whether home garden cultivation of landraces would also be
included. For vegetables and fruits, for example, it is well known
that home gardens have a particular wealth of diversity, much of
which has been cultivated and seed saved for generations. As such
this material falls within the definition of a landrace outlined above
and so should be included in the national inventory. In addition
vegetable and fruit landraces are not always cultivated as open field
crops (i.e. cultivated on a large scale). The inclusion of home garden
landraces is however likely to expand the resources required to
undertake the inventory, as the number of landrace growing units
(farmers or householders) would be likely to be expanded by a
degree of magnitude. Also if including home garden cultivation of
landraces, the formal agricultural or plant genetic resource networks
may have less direct access to maintainers and there may be a
need for collaboration with more informal sectors, such as NGOs
or farmers’ associations working to promote organic gardening or
traditional rural pursuits.
3.4 How to collate information on landrace diversity
The first point to stress is that there is no widely tested model for
collating information on landrace diversity, so that the methodology
applied by individual inventories is likely to depend on the
reasons for undertaking the inventory, the geographic and crop
scope of the inventory, access to appropriate data sources and
maintainers, available expert knowledge and resources available.
The methodology therefore needs to suit the application, but we
can learn from previous inventories the kinds of approaches that
have been taken to prepare inventories.
Information relating to landraces, their cultivation and use is
often anecdotal. Historically such information was obtained during
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
germplasm collecting missions. A more comprehensive ‘checklist’
approach was developed by Hammer and associates (Hammer et al.
1999; Hammer 1990, 2001) and also by Negri (2003), where farmers
and gardeners were approached directly and their gardens or fields
screened for all crop diversity. Smaller-scale surveys targeting
specific amateur vegetable varieties used publicity campaigns
directed at the target community. Hammer et al. (1977) and Weibull
et al. (Chapter 14 this volume), for example, collected home
garden landraces following advertisements in amateur gardening
magazines, and Zeven (1979 and 1998b) used local newspapers as
well as a radio announcement to collect Dutch bean and Dutch kale
landraces. In the UK a similar approach was used to assess heirloom
vegetables by Stickland (1998). So to summarize, the possible means
employed to track extant landraces might include:
• Expert advice - from genebanks, national testing centres,
research institutes, agricultural extension divisions, farmers’
organizations, agricultural statisticians, other professionals and
NGOs
• Commercial companies - companies involved in seed production,
brewing, milling, distilling etc.
• Scientific literature - including reviews of historical literature,
research reports, papers and articles
• ‘Grey literature’ archival materials - associated with genebanks,
research institutes, seed companies, NGO newsletters, local
farmers’ society publications, farm records
• Internet searches
• Official documents - such as agricultural statistics, e.g. EU Common
Catalogues for vegetable and agricultural varieties (EU 2008a
and b) or National Varietal Lists
• Farmer interviews - farmers themselves may be approached
indirectly through advertisements, articles in farmers’ magazines
and local newspapers or other non-print media, and directly via
personal contacts.
All contacted persons should be clearly informed of the goal
of the inventory in promoting landrace conservation and use.
When dealing directly with the landrace maintainer the desired
information may be obtained by questionnaires completed either
remotely or in the presence of the researcher via telephone or
interview. However, for areas considered to be particularly rich in
terms of landrace diversity, ideally the researcher would visit the
area and interview the maintainers, as was the case for the Outer
Hebridean islands of Western Scotland during the preparation of
the UK national landrace inventory (see Scholten et al. Chapter 15
this volume).
49
50
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
3.5 Data collated for a national landrace inventory
The actual data collated for each landrace inventory will probably
be dependent on the resources available for collation, the scope of
the landrace inventory, diversity of landraces encountered, level of
knowledge of the inherent diversity within the landraces, cultural
practices involved and how the landrace information is obtained.
Obviously much more information will be recordable if the landrace
has been extensively studied at first hand as opposed to a landrace
known simply from a remotely completed questionnaire. However,
the broad categories of information that might be included in a
national landrace inventory will be:
• Scientific name
• Name of landrace
• Maintainer details (e.g. name, contact details, age, gender, family
structure, education, main source of income, owned or rented
land, size farm, organic status, arable or mixed farming system)
• Geographic location (e.g. province, nearest settlement, latitude,
longitude, altitude)
• Landrace characteristics (e.g. characterization and evaluation
details, maintainer-perceived value, length of seed saving,
relationship to other landraces)
• Cultivation details (e.g. area currently sown, history of area
sown, time sown, time harvested, cultural practices, cultivation
inputs, method of selection of seed saved, method of seed
storage, maintainer exchange frequency, other and non-landrace
material grown, maintainer’s comparison with modern varieties,
local or national maintainer incentives)
• Relative uniqueness of landrace (e.g. grown on single farm or
more widespread, genetic distinction)
• Usage (e.g. description of main usage, secondary usage, home
consumption or marketed, marketing, current and past values,
member of grower or marketing cooperative)
• Threats (e.g. perverse incentives, lack of sustainability of farming
system, lack of market).
Specifically, and based on wide practical experience, a landrace
diversity information collecting form that aids the documentation
of landrace on-farm conservation activities has been developed
by Suceava genebank (Romania) and Dipartimento di Biologia
Applicata (Italy). It was then revised with the help of all the
members of the On-farm Working Group within ECPGR and
is now available to potential users at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/
Networks/Insitu_onfarm/Docs/OnfarmDescr_DRAFT271107.
pdf. Although this descriptor form is extensive and it is unlikely
that all the above information will be recorded for each landrace
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
in the national inventory, it represents a detailed, practical
example of the information to be recorded while inventorying
landraces.
The creation of the national landrace inventory should not be
an end in itself, the information contained in the inventory must
be made available. Once the data are collated into the inventory
database it should be made public, ideally via a web-enabled
database (e.g. see the Italian and UK landrace inventories at www.
catalogovarietalocali.pris2.parco3a.org/ and http://grfa.org.uk/
search/plants/index.html respectively).
3.6 Post-inventory follow-up
As already noted, the creation of the national landrace inventory
is not an end in itself, the inventory must justify its creation in
terms of the promotion of landrace conservation and use. Detailed
knowledge from the inventory of the location of landrace diversity
means that the ease with which that diversity can be studied
and safely duplicated ex situ, primarily in genebanks, can be
systematically expanded. The generation of the inventory will
also enable the in situ landrace diversity to be matched against the
conserved diversity, as either accessions of the landrace held in ex
situ collections or landrace diversity effectively conserved on-farm
through time, and the ‘gaps’ targeted for conservation action. The
inventory should also act as a stimulus not only to the formal use
of landraces in breeding programmes, but also to the promotion of
specialized or novel marketing niches based on landraces and the
underpinning of local cultural heritage. Use of conserved landraces
is essential and is likely to underwrite the long-term sustainability of
any landrace. Finally, the inventory should be periodically updated
to monitor changes in on-farm maintained landrace diversity. In
this way the inventory will become a tool to assess the efficiency
of conservation actions and fully serve the purposes of a proper
conservation strategy.
References
CBD, (2004) Decision VII/30. CBD Secretariat, Toronto, Canada.
Davis, P.H. and Heywood, V.H. (1973) Principles of Angiosperm taxonomy. Krieger,
New York, USA.
EU (2008a) Common Catalogue of agricultural plant species and supplements. Official Journal
of the European Community. http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html.
EU (2008b) Common Catalogue of vegetable plant species and supplements. Official Journal
of the European Community. http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html.
51
52
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Hammer, K. (1990) Botanical checklists prove useful in research programmes on
cultivated plants. Diversity 6 (3-4), 31-34.
Hammer, K. (2001) Contributions of home gardens to our knowledge of cultivated
plant species: the Mansfeld approach. In: Watson and Eyzaguirre (eds.) Home
gardens and in situ conservation of PGR in farming systems. International Plant
Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
Hammer, K., Hanelt, P. and Tittel, C. (1977) Sammlung autochthoner Kulturpflanzen
auf dem Gebiet der DDR. Kulturpflanze 25, 89-99.
Hammer, K., Laghetti, G. and Perrino, P. (1999) A checklist of the cultivated plants
of Ustica (Italy). Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 46, 95-106.
Maxted, N., Scholten, M.A., Codd, R. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2007) Creation and
Use of a National Inventory of Crop Wild Relatives. Biological Conservation
140, 142-159.
Negri, V. (2003) Landraces in central Italy: Where and why they are conserved
and perspectives for their on-farm conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution, 50(8), 871-885.
Stickland, S. (1998) Heritage Vegetables. The Gardeners’ Guide to cultivating Diversity.
Gaia Books Ltd., London, UK.
Zeven, A.C. (1979) Collecting genetic resources in highly industrialized Europe,
especially in The Netherlands. Proc. Conf. Broadening Genetic Base of our Crops.
Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Zeven, A.C. (1998a) Landraces: A review of definitions and classifications. Euphytica
104, 127-139.
Zeven, A.C. (1998b) Landraces and improved cultivars of bread wheat and other
wheat types grown in The Netherlands up to 1944. WAUP 90-2, Wageningen,
the Netherlands.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
4. Bulgarian Landrace Inventory – Significance and
Use
Lilia Krasteva, Tsvetelina Stoilova, Kana Varbanova and Stefan Neykov¹
¹ Institute of Plant Genetic Resources, 4122 Sadovo, Bulgaria,
E-mail krasteva_ipgr@abv.bg
4.1 Introduction
The rapid development of plant selection began with the
development of the scientific and technical revolution. ‘The green
revolution’ played a significant role for provision of food and
clothes for the people, but it also had negative aspects. The main
accusation was that it led to the large-scale elimination of local
landraces of which the genetic variation had been established for
millennia. The plant germplasm, both that existing in nature and
that created by purposeful human activity represents an invaluable
treasure for mankind. It should be studied, maintained and stored
in living condition in order to be used now and in the future
(Guteva et al. 1998).
The reasons why there is so much genetic variation in Bulgaria
are:
• The location of the country between Europe and Asia and the
three phyto-climatic areas: European broad-leaved forest, Steppe
and Mediterranean
• The diverse climate, determined by the influence of four air
masses: from the north-west – cold and humid; from the southwest – warm and humid; from the north-east – cold, continental,
arctic; from the south-east – humid and warm. The climate is also
influenced by the Black Sea, directly in the coastal zones, and less
directly by the Mediterranean Sea
• Orthographic conditions are complex and there is a rich variety
of soil formations with nine predominant types
• Geomorphological structure with four distinct altitude zones:
low /0-200m/ 31.5%; hilly /200-600m/ 15%; semi-mountainous
/600-1000 m / 15%; and mountainous /over 1000m / 12.5%
• Historic uses of land which developed according to the needs of
the population, the available biological diversity and the natural
and climatic activities for each region (Koeva 1998).
Work with plant resources in Bulgaria was informally established
in 1906 by means of the activities of K. Malkov and his followers in
introducing plant resources for selection purposes and direct use.
The beginning of scientific research activity in the sphere of plant
resources in Bulgaria was established by Acad. Doncho Kostov in
53
54
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1940. In 1952 at the Institute of Genetics, Sofia, a Department in
Plant Introduction was established, and in 1977 the Institute of
Introduction and Plant Resources K. Malkov was established in
Sadovo. Later its name was changed to the Institute of Plant Genetic
Resources (IPGR).
4.2 Bulgarian National Institute of Plant Genetic
Resources
IPGR-Sadovo, Bulgaria was recognized as a national centre,
responsible for scientific research work regarding organization,
collection, study and use of landraces for the needs of selection
and their direct use in production, as well as for storage in the
genebank at the Institute for future generations. The activities
related to:
1. Collection of large-scale information and specimens from
various regions of the country.
2. Formation and continuous enlargement of the landrace
collections and preservation of their genetic variety.
3. Inventory and complex study of the landraces’ germplasm
suitable for use in plant selection.
4. Creation of a database of evaluation information for
acceleration of the selection process and for responding to
practical needs.
5. Identification of the gathered collection of the local landraces.
6. Creation of characteristic collections and core collections,
supporting the use of the most valuable specimens in the
selection process and for direct introduction into production.
7. Enrichment of the national variety list by new varieties with
valuable qualities.
IPGR Sadovo developed a programme in which the priority
was to collect landraces of vegetable, cereal, grain legume and
medicinal crops (Figure 4.1). The collection of landraces which
were still preserved and maintained in Bulgaria was carried
out by means of organized expeditions in various regions of
the country.
One of the most important factors in expedition organization
was the choice of a route for collection; the main factor considered
being crop distribution by regions:
• cereal crops – regions with extensive agriculture, including
mountainous and semi-mountainous regions of the country
– south-east and south-west Bulgaria, closed border regions,
monastery lands, etc., i.e. places where the replacement of
varieties was happening slowly
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Cereals
Vegetables
Grain legumes
Medicinal, aromatic
and ornamental
Figure 4.1. Percentage of major crop landrace accessions preserved in IPGR.
• grain legumes – the regions of Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, StrandzhaSakar, Rodopi, Ludogorie, etc.
• basic vegetable crops – the old garden regions of the country near
Gorna Oryahovitsa, Veliko Tarnovo, Svishtov, Vidin, Popovo,
Petrich, Sandanski, etc.
• water melons, melons, pumpkins – Pleven, Vidin, Razgrad, Shumen,
Yambol, Lyubimets, Svilengrad
• flower, decorative, spices – home gardens, monasteries and church
estates throughout the country.
During expeditions small seed specimens were taken from
the local farmers. According to the instructions of IBPGR for the
collection of genetic resources, adapted for Bulgarian conditions
(Krasteva 1989), the passport data of the specimen were registered
in a special log, including the country of expedition, the type
of specimen, the local name, the residential district, the region,
the altitude, the source. Later this passport information along
with a temporary number for each specimen was printed in the
register issued by the Institute (1982-1987). Twenty expeditions
were organized in the period 1977-1996, through which a great
number of specimens from all varieties of crop plants still grown
in some regions of the country was collected (Table 4.1). In the
group of the wheat landraces, the largest percentage was of
durum wheat, 45%, followed by maize, 28%, soft wheat and
barley, 24% (Figure 4.2).
55
56
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 4.1. Collecting accessions of green beans in Bulgaria, during 1977-1996.
Collection
Year
Collecting mission / Region
No.
Accessions
1977
1 . Pazarzhic, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Kurdzhali regions
116
1978
1. Sliven, Turgovishte, Razgrad, Shumen regions
230
2. Vidin, Vratsa, Montana regions
69
1980
1981
1983
3. Stara Zagora, Sliven, Ruse, Dobrich, Gabrovo, Varna regions
8
1. Veliko Turnovo region
18
2. Lovech region
26
3. Gabrovo region
17
1. Blagoevgrad region
37
2. Montana region
1
3. Botevgrad region
3
1. Pleven, Sliven, Shumen, Burgas regions
91
2. Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Sofia regions
78
1985
1. Kyustendil region
36
1986
1. Burgas region
32
1989
1. Sofia region
83
2. Lovech, Yambol, Lom, Razgrad regions
267
1990
1. Smolyan region
136
1991
1. Veliko Turnovo region
134
1992
1. Veliko Turnovo, Turgovishte regions
4
1993
1. Plovdiv, Pazarghik, Burgas regions
5
1994
1. Smolyan region
4
1995
1. Sofia region
3
1996
1. Stara Zagora, Plovdiv regions
72
Total for all period, 1977-1996
1 452
4.3 Cereal crops
The number of durum wheat landraces was significantly the
largest category at over 1118 accessions, collected from various
regions of the country. Their largest number was from southern
Bulgaria – the regions of Svilengrad, Elhovo, Ivaylovgrad, Yambol
and Topolovgrad (Popova and Koeva 2001; Ganeva et al. 2005).
These landraces were evaluated according to the international
classification system and stored in the genebank. Also 700 accessions
of Bulgarian soft wheat (Triticum aestivum) were collected and
stored over the last 20 years. They were evaluated according to
a classification system and a database was created (Kolev 2001;
Odgakova et al., in press).
During later expeditions in 2007 and 2008, single accessions of
wheat, maize and rye were collected (Figure 4.2) as a result of the
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
introduction of high-yielding varieties, which had quickly replaced
the old low-yielding varieties and populations. The contemporary
wheat and maize varieties are high-yielding, well-adapted to the
conditions of growing and are highly resistant to the economically
important diseases, which supports the solving of the global
problems related to hunger and poor nutrition. The selected varieties
have close genetic heredity in contrast to the traditionally grown
old local varieties and landraces, which were characterized by
strong polymorphism due to the variety of source specimens, the
diverse ecological conditions of the country and the non-purposeful
selection.
Triticum durum
Hordeum valgare
Zea mays
Figure 4.2. Percentage of cereal landrace accessions preserved in IPGR.
The maize collection contains 960 landraces, many of which
are included in the long-term evaluation programme and
improvement work, aiming at full description of the collection
of local landraces. Selection of landrace accessions with valuable
agricultural qualities, as well as pre-selective improvement
work with the selected groups aiming at the accumulation
of favourable gene combinations, provided the opportunity
for obtaining valuable self-pollinated lines in the subsequent
stages of the selection. A small number of landraces have been
analysed by means of DNA analysis. The results showed unique
genetic diversity in some accessions (Kostova et al. 2006, 2007).
57
58
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
In total 63 landraces and old varieties of oats and rye were tested
and evaluated. Parameters identified that were important for
selection were: shortened stem with rye, short vegetation period
and grain rich in protein and lysine in oats and rye (Antonova
2009).
4.4 Vegetable crops
A large part of the conserved landraces are vegetable crops
including French beans, pepper, water melons, melons,
pumpkins, tomatoes, onion and spice crops (Table 4.2). The
pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) which was imported into Bulgaria
around the 16th century, very soon became one of the most
popular vegetable crops. As a result of the geographical
remoteness of our country from the centres of origin, the natural
cross-fertilization among plants and the continuous selection
activity, a specific Bulgarian group of peppers can be recognized
and Bulgaria is considered a secondary specimen-formative
centre. Pepper is a traditional and economically significant
vegetable crop in Bulgaria. Various types of pepper were grown
in Bulgaria for centuries. The fact that 98% of the peppers
grown in the country result from Bulgarian selections and
that crop production is largely based on landrace production
indicated the necessity for collection, evaluation and storage.
Following these activities 263 pepper landraces were collected
during six expeditions organized by IPGR in the period of
1983-1990. They were reproduced and evaluated according to
the classification system of VIR, Leningrad, 1979 (Todorova
and Jodorov 1998; Todorova 1999). The evaluation included
vegetative, reproductive and agronomic properties, chemical
indices and resistance to some widespread diseases affecting
pepper. The database is at the disposal of interested persons at
the IPGR computer centre. The large morphological differences
between particular specimens and the various guidelines for use
suggested that Popov’s classification (1940) could be used, and
eight different size groups were recognized. The largest group
of tapered varieties var. conicum consisted of 96 specimens or
36.4% of the collection, followed by var. kapia of 65 specimens
or 24.6%, and the small-fruited peppers subsp. microcarpum
provided a smaller number, defined as cone peppers var.
conoides with 31 or 11.7%. The populations of var. rotundum
83Е1211, 87ЕМ63, 87ЕМ26; var. dogma - 83Е1103, 83Е1216 and
83Е125; var. condatum - 87ЕМ21 had resistance to Verticillium
dahliae with attack index of 0.1 to 10%.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
59
Table 4.2. Vegetable landraces held in IPGR Genebank, Sadovo, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Crops
1977-2006
2007-2008
Characterized
Total
Lycopersicon esculentum
164
115
235
279
Solanum melongena
5
12
7
17
Capsicum annuum
283
506
564
789
Phaseolus vulgaris
657
226
811
883
Pisum sativum
-
1
1
1
Cucumis sativus
18
27
33
45
Cucumis melo
135
32
151
167
Citrullus edulis
70
13
81
83
Cucurbita sp.
149
78
189
227
Allium
62
158
162
220
Brassica
12
4
16
16
Lactuca
31
19
44
50
Spinacia
5
2
5
7
Daucus carota, Anethum, Apium
and other Umbelliferae
31
11
31
42
Total
1 622
1 204
2 330
2 826
The pumpkin collection consisted of 243 specimens, 94 of which
were introduced varieties and 149 were landraces. It included the
varieties C. maxima, C. pepo and C. moschata. Each particular variety
had a wide diversity of plant and fruit morphology. Accessions
Е6368 and Е6349 of the C. maxima variety and Е6373, Е6355 of the
C. pepo variety were classed as highly reproductive; they surpassed
the standards: White Grande and Raketa 47-4, by 15-20% for the first
group and by 20-27% for the second group. The expedition activity at
IPGR Sadovo was resumed in 2007 (Figure 4.3) and 2008 (Figure 4.4),
and as a result approximately 800 specimens with local origins were
collected from regions in southern and a part of north-eastern Bulgaria.
Approximately 200 villages were visited as the expedition’s purpose
was to collect material at greater distances in order to include the largest
possible genetic diversity in populations. During the expeditions carried
out in the last two years, most of the specimens were collected from
pepper (Capsicum annuum), 107 specimens in 2007 and 215 specimens
in 2008 with various directions for use: for roasting, for filling, chilli
pepper, for ground red pepper and for drying. The collected specimens
belong to various varieties: a group of wide peppers (var. rotundum),
corneous (var. corniforme) – long narrow peppers, a group of long
peppers (var. longum), all varieties of long fleshy peppers – Kurtovska,
Pazardzhishka, etc. belong to these varieties. Small-fruited peppers
also represent a large group, which also includes: chilli peppers – cone
pepper and cherry tomatoes (var. shipka and var. cerasiforme).
60
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Cucurbits
Cereals
Oil crops
Vegetables
Spice crops
Grain legumes
Medicinal, aromatic
and ornamental
Figure 4.3. Landrace accessions collected in 2007.
As a result of the organized expeditions a rich collection of 1452
specimens of garden beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was gathered, which
was characterized in two ways, the first related to national standards
for the varieties (volubilis and nanus) and the second was based on
unified international descriptors. A total of 1376 garden bean landraces
were evaluated for bean weevil resistance during a 16-year test and
305 accessions were found to have varying degrees of resistance: 158
landraces from northern Bulgaria (Pleven, Svishtov, Targovishte and
Lom) had the highest resistance, 105 from southern Bulgaria (Plovdiv,
Yambol and Kyustendil) also showed some level of resistance, and
from the mountainous and semi-mountainous regions of Smolyan,
Blagoevgrad and Sliven 44 accessions also showed resistance. A
characteristic collection of the species P. vulgaris was established with
various degrees of resistance to bean weevil, which may be used
for selection programmes. In further tests, 333 landrace accessions
were studied for their resistance to mechanical traumas during a
16-year test and 45 accessions were nominated as gene sources for
resistance to mechanical seed trauma, and the resistant accessions
were predominantly white seeded and round types sphaericus and
oblongus. A further 367 landrace accessions were screened for cold
resistance and 45 specimens were nominated which had different
tolerance to low temperatures in various development phases (Table
4.3). A characteristic collection has been created with a high degree
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
61
of cold resistance, containing specimens of the two varieties of the
species P. vulgaris L. In a separate trial, 213 landrace accessions were
characterized for nitrate accumulation in beans and 14 were found to
have very low nitrate content, which may be used for direct production
of ecologically clean produce. A characteristic collection of 67 landraces
with low nitrate content was created (Krasteva 2000).
Cucurbits
Cereals
Oil crops
Vegetables
Spice crops
Grain legumes
Medicinal, aromatic
and ornamental
Figure 4.4. Landrace accessions collected in 2008.
Table 4.3. Green bean landraces accessions testing under controlled conditions.
Characters
Number of accessions showing higher value of
one or more traits compared with control variety
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Field conditions
Plant morphology
38
15
Pod morphology
42
21
Seed morphology
90
Biology of plant
66
Plant productivity
106
Pods biochemistry
134
20
1
Total
476
56
30
Control conditions
Resistant to bean weevil
305
Resistant to mechanical seed damage
45
Resistant to low temperatures
45
Resistant to nitrate accumulation
67
Total
462
5
14
36
10
36
36
7
1
7
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
7
62
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
4.5 Grain legume crops
The next largest group of landraces is represented by grain legume
crops (Figure 4.5). Twenty percent of the pea collection had a
Bulgarian origin. The landraces were represented by 45 specimens
collected from everywhere in Bulgaria in the period of 1955-1965.
These were predominantly old landraces used for herbage and
suitable for fresh forage. The majority of them had high tolerance
to winter conditions and were used as donors of this characteristic
(Angelova and Guteva 2001; Angelova 2002).
Vicia
species, 11%
Other legume
species, 1%
Pisum sativum, 2%
Phaseolus
vulgaris, 86%
Figure 4.5. Percentage of grain legume landrace accessions preserved
in IPGR.
The common vetch collection had representatives of
approximately 200 historic Bulgarian landraces. Some had good
herbage productivity, others had high resistance to stress factors
and others had resistance to diseases important for the country
(Kitcheva et al. 2003; Angelova and Guteva 2007).
The landraces of beans in Bulgaria are distinguished by their
great diversity, and therefore required a continuation of collection
and research. The bulk of bean landraces were collected during
previous expeditions and 1450 were studied at IPGR (Krasteva
2000; Stoilova et al. 2004, Stoilova and Sabeva 2006). The group of
common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) was largest with 226 specimens
collected in 2007-2008. Some specimens named after a village, such
as ‘Maglizhki beans’ or ‘Raykin beans’ were particularly valuable.
In mountainous regions large salad beans – P. coccineus, better
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
known under the name of the village as ‘Smilyanski beans’ were
widely used; 20 landraces of them were collected. These salad
beans were characterized by growing and fruiting in the particular
micro area (village of Smilyan and its vicinity), a region which
is more characterized by higher humidity and lack of high day
temperatures (> 30˚C), than those of the plain regions of the country.
After its transfer to Sadovo to our experimental field under very
different climatic conditions, it did not form reproductive organs
or if it formed such organs, they could not reach the maturing stage
(Stoilova and Sabeva 2008).
In the group of grain and leguminous crops two lentil landraces
are of particular interest: they were collected at the village of Zetyovo,
region of Aytos, the only village where lentils were grown in order
to meet the villagers’ own needs and landraces were cultivated. In
the south-eastern part of the country (near Svilengrad, Lyubimets,
Kap. Andreevo) another variety of grain and leguminous crop was
grown, known under the local name of ‘roglyo’ or ‘papuda’: this is a
variety of V. unguiculata L. It is remarkable for its drought resistance
and productivity (Stoilova 1998; Stoilova et al. 2004).
4.6 Vegetable crops
The pumpkin collection consists of 149 landraces. During the last
two expeditions a significant number of specimens were collected,
36 accessions in 2007 and 63 in 2008 respectively. The group included
pumpkins – white pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), field pumpkin
(Cucurbita pepo) and Muscat pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), as well as
zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L. var. giromontia). Each particular variety
was notable for the large diversity of its plant and fruit morphology.
It is noteworthy that these varieties were grown in almost all regions,
in contrast to cucumbers, where the farmers mainly sowed purchased
seeds, so the specimens collected from this crop were fewer, only four
accessions in 2007 and eight in 2008 (Neykov et al. 2005). One of the
preferred vegetables in Bulgaria is tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and
66 accessions were collected in 2007/8. Pink and red large home-grown
tomatoes cultivated for two or three farmer generations predominated.
They are characterized by thin skin and a sweet and acid taste. They
are grown by almost every household.
Among the other vegetables were the onion crops with 220
accessions, including garlic and onion (Allium sativum and A.
cepa), and some landraces of ‘bunching garlic’ type A. sativum var.
sagitatum, and some shallot type onions.
The variety of spice crops in Bulgaria is great, which makes their
collection, research and storage challenging (Neykov and Todorova
63
64
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1998). One spice crop which is most widely spread across all regions
is the traditional Bulgarian spice – savory (Satureja montana), but
many other spice crops are grown along with it. Seeds of them
were collected: basil (Ocimmum basilicum), parsley (Petroselinum
hortense), celery (Apium graveolens), dill (Anethum graveolens) and
fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). In all 26 landraces were
gathered in 2007/8. Farmers still sow and grow spice crops, which
are traditional for our table.
4.7 Medicinal, aromatic and decorative plants
Landraces of medicinal, aromatic and decorative plants are grown
in many home gardens. Some farmers have created bio-gardens
in order to extend the usability of medicinal plants for medicinal
and herbal teas. In recent years 76 accessions representing over ten
species were collected by IPGR. Calendula officinalis, Helichrysum
bracteatum and Ocimmum basilicum were the species most widely
represented. A morphological and production evaluation trial was
carried out and, for example, 21 specimens from Calendula officinalis
showed high plant productivity i.e. number of racemes per plant
(Figure 4.6) for selection of plants for decoration and for the usability
of racemes for medicinal purposes.
600
number of nodes/plant
500
400
300
200
100
0
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
accessions
Figure 4.6. Productivity of Calendula officinalis landraces.
21
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
During the last two expeditions in 2007/8 many landraces of
medical and decorative species were collected. Some naturalized
landraces, transferred from the wild flora and grown for years in
gardens and on larger areas in regions suitable for that purpose,
such as Mursala tea (Sideritis scardiaca) and Salvia sclarea were
collected. Seeds from other landrace varieties, such as basil
(Ocimmum basilicum) and tagetes (Tagetes patula) were collected and
stored in the genebank, and single pieces of roots were collected
from Hypericum perforatum, Thymus sp., Centaurea diffusa, Fragaria
moschata and Teucrium chamaedrys. They are valuable for the marking
of locations and for cultivation in the institute’s botanical garden
for demonstration purposes (Varbanova et al. 2002; Varbanova 2004;
Varbanova et al. 2008).
4.8 Conclusions
The inhabitants of Bulgarian villages are industrious and willing to
produce crops which are suitable for the agro-climatic conditions
of the region, in order to meet family needs and to offer the
surplus produce at the local market. This has maintained great
diversity in the landraces of many crops. The fact that these
varieties, with excellent taste qualities, created many decades
ago in the respective micro-areas with characteristic agro-climatic
peculiarities, are grown by an aged population makes our activity
in collection and preservation of this wealth priceless, as the
desire to cultivate landrace diversity is not being handed on to
the younger generations. Many expeditions were carried out
over the last 20 years by IPGR, during which a large quantity of
material from landraces, mostly from vegetable crops and bean
landraces were collected, studied and stored in the IPGR genebank
(Krasteva 2000; Krasteva et al. 2002; Neykov and Angelov 2002).
The following collections were created: 2161 landraces from cereal
crops, 1943 landraces from grain legume crops and 2826 vegetable
crop landraces, all collected from various regions of the country
which were each evaluated by a large number of indices according
to the respective characterization and evaluation systems.
An inventory and registration of Bulgarian landraces were
performed, which highlighted the richness and diversity of
Bulgarian landrace diversity. The collected information on
the geographic origin and the characteristics of landraces
provide the basis for priority organization and storage, through
conservation both on-farm and in home gardens. The grouping of
the landrace collections and the establishment of parameters for
their more important characteristics may be used as a basis for
65
66
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
the development or updating of standardized documents. The
information from the landrace characterization and evaluation
was stored in databases, which provide easy access for breeders
and contribute to the improvement of exchanges between
genebanks. The data bases are published on the web page: www.
eurisco.ecpgr.org
References
Angelova, S. (2002) Maintenance, enrichment and preservation of grain legume
collections in Bulgaria. ECPGR Report of a Working Group on Grain Legumes.
IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 56-59.
Angelova, S. and Guteva, Y. (2001) Status of plant genetic resources of pea in the
national collection of Bulgaria. Plant Science 38, 320-323.
Angelova, S. and Guteva, Y. (2007) Study on the productive potential of some Vicia
species. A periodical of scientific research on field and vegetable crops. Institute of
Field and Vegetable crops, In: Proceeding in Novi Sad, Serbia May 30-June 1, pp. 97-103.
Antonova, N. (2009) Important traits of local oat and genotypes. Proceedings on:
Collection and conservation of landraces and wild plant genetic resources, in
situ, on-farm. Czech J. Genetic Breeding (in press).
Ganeva, G., Landgeva, S. and Popova, Z. (2005) Characterization of local accessions
of T. durum Desf. Bulgaria. Balkan scientific conference – Karnobat 1, 255-259.
Guteva, Y., Varbanova, K. and Shamov, D. (1998) Enrichment of National Collection
of Plant Genetic Resources with New Germplasm. Agricultural science 35, 791-795.
Kitcheva, P., Guteva, Y. and Angelova, S. (2003) Evaluation of the Genetic Diversity
of Bulgarian Germplasm Vetch Collection. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural
Sciences 9, 33-37.
Koeva, R. (1998) Plant Diversity in Bulgaria – A strategy and challenge of the
present days. Plant Science 35, 781-790.
Kolev, K. (2001) National collection of Triticum aestivum, as a source of initial
material for breeding. Plant Science, 2, 73-76.
Kostova, A., Todorovska, E., Christov, N., Sevov, V. and Atanasov, A. (2006)
Molecular characterization of Bulgarian Maize Germplasm Collection via SSR
Markers. Biotechnology and Biotechnological Equipment 20, 29-36.
Kostova, A., Todorovska, E., Christov, N., Sevov, V. and Atanasov, A. (2007)
Assessing the Genetic Diversity of Bulgarian Maize Germplasm Microsatellite.
Maydica 32, 231-235.
Krasteva, L. (1989) Collecting and utilization of plant genetic resources in
vegetables. In: Protected plant wealth in Bulgaria, Sofia. pp. 75-90.
Krasteva, L. (1998) Condition of the plant genetic resources from vegetable
beans, Phaseolus vulgaris L. in some regions of the country. Plant science
(Sofia) 10, 866-869.
Krasteva, L. (2000) Genofond of green beans in collection ex situ – evaluation, identification,
conservation and utilization. Thesis of Dr. Sc. University of Sadovo, Bulgaria.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Krasteva, L., Angelova, S., Antonova, N., Popova, Z., and Neykov, S. (2008a) Plant
Genetic Resources-Utilization. In: Proceedings of 7th scientific-technical conference
with international participation, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. pp. 109-115.
Krasteva L., Neykov, S. and Lozanov, I. (2008b) Cucurbitaceae genetic resources.
in Bulgaria. In: Díez, M.J., van Dooijeweert, W., Maggioni, L. and Lipman, E.
(compilers). ECPGR Report of a Working Group on Cucurbits, First Meeting, 1-2
September 2005, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 11-14.
Krasteva, L., Sevov, V., Kitcheva, P., Shamov, D., Sabeva, M., Neykov, S., Popova, Z.
and Lozanov, I. (2002) Local Genetic Resources in Bulgaria on-farm conservation.
Scientific Session of Jubilee, IPGR, Sadovo 1, 57-63.
Neykov, S. and Angelov, J. (2002) Characterisation, evaluation, regeneration and
other activities of the Bulgarian Cruciferae collection. In: ECPGR Report of a
Working Group on Brassica 8-9 February 2002, Vila Real, Portugal. Maggioni, L.,
Thomas, G. and Lipman, E. (compilers). IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 31-33.
Neykov, S. and Todorova, T. (1998) Valuable native forms of spicy plants. Plant
Science 35: 881-884.
Neykov, S., Velkov, N. and Babricov, T. (2005) Study of morphological and agronomic
traits of Cucumber accessions, as an initial material of breeding. In: Proceedings
of Scientific Session of Jubilee, 60th Years Agrarian University , Plovdiv, pp. 505-510.
Odzhakova, G., Stoyanova, S., Kolev, K. and Popova, Z. (in press) Status of National
collection of Triticum. International Research Conference-125 Years Agricultural
Research in Sadovo13-14 June 2007. IPGR, Sadovo, Bulgaria.
Popova, Z. and Koeva, R. (2001) Results of investigations of National collection of
barley. Plant Science 7-10, 331-333.
Stoilova, T. (1998) New tendencies in production of Cowpea (V. unguiculata L.) in
Bulgaria. Agricultural Science 6, 28-29.
Stoilova, T., Pereira, G., Sabeva, M. and Chavdarov, P. (2004) Study of phenotypical
diversity of some dry beans accessions with local origin. Field Crop Studies 1(2),
226-232.
Stoilova, T. and Sabeva, M. (2004) Characterization and evaluation of cowpea
(Vigna unguiculata L.) germplasm collection. Journal of Mountain Agriculture on
the Balkans 7(4), 392-400
Stoilova, T. and Sabeva, M. (2006) Evaluation of dry bean (Ph. vulgaris L.) landraces
by qualitative and quantitative characters. Field Crops Studies 3(1), 75-81.
Stoilova, T. and Sabeva, M. (2008) Morphological and biological characterization of
Phaseolus coccineus accessions under the conditions of Sadovo. In: Proceedings on
80 years of Agricultural Science in Rhodopi Mountains, 25-26 September. Agricultural
Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria. pp. 195-199.
Todorova, T. (1999) Local populations of pepper (Capsicum annuum) – dissemination,
evaluation and utilization. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sadovo, Bulgaria.
Todorova, T. and Jodorov, J. (1998) Collecting and evaluation of Capsicum annuum
sp. of native origin correlative dependences. Plant Science 35, 870-872.
Varbanova, K. (2004) Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAP) diversity in Bulgaria
– protection, collection, study, use and conservation. In: Institute for plant
67
68
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
genetic resources, Sadovo, Bulgaria. Report of ECP/GR Working Group on Medicinal
and Aromatic Plants. Baričevič, D., Bernáth, J., Maggioni, L. and Lipman, E.
(compilers) IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 27-33.
Varbanova, K., Dimitrova, D. and Koguharova, K. (2002) Agrobiological
characterization of some wild species of Gypsophila in introduction. Scientific
Session of Jubilee, IPGR, Sadovo 1, 214-219.
Varbanova, K., Dimitrova, D. and Koguharova, K. (2008) Morphological and
Biological characters of Melissa officinalis L. in natural habitats and cultivation.
Article collection of the 7th scientific conference with international participation
“Ecology and Health”. Association “Regional Science and Technology” unions with
House of Science and Technology, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. pp. 131-135.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
5.
Landrace Inventory of Denmark
Gert Poulsen¹
¹ Nordic Genetic Resource Center, PO Box 41, SE 230 53, Alnarp, Sweden. E-mail
gert@nordgen.org
Denmark takes part in the Nordic collaboration on plant genetic
resources in NordGen (formerly, Nordic Gene Bank). On the
international level Denmark has acceded to the Convention on
Biological Diversity and the International Treaty of FAO. However,
Denmark differs from the collaborating countries in making fewer
efforts on plant genetic resources work.
The existing inventory was carried out by NordGen through
other previous activities. The Danish landrace material comprises
86 accessions: 49 vegetatively propagated accessions preserved in
clone archives. The seed-propagated material includes 27 cereal
accessions, three forages, four vegetables and three of flax. The
cereals were collected during the 1980s and a collection of shallots
was established at the end of the 1990s. Fruit trees were collected in
the 1940s when the Agricultural University (Faculty of Life Sciences
of Copenhagen University) established its collection. There may still
be some landrace material to be discovered out there, particularly
of vegetatively propagated crops.
All seed accessions are conserved ex situ in NordGen. It is not the
optimal way to preserve populations with a broad diversity, and
part of the variation in the landraces is expected to erode over time.
There are no on-farm conservation activities taking place in relation
to landraces sensu stricto, but some cases of on-farm preservation
of older varieties of fodder beet exist. Small-scale home garden
maintenance is carried out by the Seed Collectors’ Organization.
Cultural museums have started to use the potential of on-farm
conservation and cultivation in their communication and education
activities
On the documentation side, retrospective inventories which
would cover landraces, have not yet been compiled. However, it
is anticipated that the increased awareness of the cultural history
environment may raise the possibility of improving knowledge on
agricultural material that was cultivated prior to professional plant
breeding. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture has launched a
regulation to support cultivation and use of older varieties of cereals
and vegetables in the genebank. As it takes time to multiply the
seeds for field-scale cultivation and the funding is temporary no
results have yet been obtained.
69
70
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
6. Cereal Landrace Inventories in Finland
Maarit Heinonen and Merja Veteläinen¹
¹ MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Biotechnology and Food Research, Genetic
diversity H-house FIN-31600, Jokioinen, Finland, E-mail maarit.heinonen@mtt.fi
6.1 Introduction
Planned collecting missions and inventories are essential for the
conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
In Finland the starting-signal was given in the late 1970s when the
Nordic countries started their joint genebank activities. Before the
Nordic Gene Bank activities, the first professional plant breeders
collected and studied an extensive amount of landrace samples for
breeding material during the early 1900s.
The Nordic Gene Bank (NGB; today NordGen) conducted its
inaugural landrace collecting missions during the late 1970s and
early 1980s in Finland (Table 6.1). The focus was on the cereals and
forages. During 1979-1983 for example, samples of barley were
collected. The Finnish State Seed Testing Station tested 62 barley
samples of which 22 were landraces (Ulvinen 1986). Tested samples
of the collecting missions were sent for ex situ maintenance to the
NGB. Since the first collecting missions only few NGB collection
projects have been launched in Finland and the target species have
been other than cereals (Table 6.1).
Table 6.1. The NGB organized collecting missions in Finland and ex situ accessions
conserved at NordGen (Veteläinen et al. 2008).
Year
Collection
Species
1979
Collection in North Finland
mainly forages; some cereals
1980
Collections in Finland
mainly rye; also barley, forages, turnip
and broad beans
1981
Collection in Ostrobothnia, Finland
mainly rye; also barley, forages, swedes,
turnip and broad beans
1982
Collection in Finland
mainly forages and rye; also barley
1983
Collection in Finland
mainly forages and rye; also barley
1994
Conservation of potato onions,
Finland (collected before NordGen)
potato onions
2000
Collection in Finland
natural populations of reed canary grass
2007
Collection in northern Finland
grasses, clovers
In addition to the NGB collection missions there are a number of
ex situ accessions that have been collected through national activities
and they have been donated to NordGen (Veteläinen et al. 2008).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
71
Today, there are a total of 330 cereal accessions from Finland in longterm storage at NordGen. The share of cereal landraces is 46% (in
numbers 153). Compared to the total number of stored landraces
(537), the share of cereal landraces is 28% (Table 6.2).
In this article we demonstrate implementation and main results
of the cereal landrace inventories carried out in Finland after the
first collection missions of the NGB. There have been two projectbased inventories, the first carried out during 1996-1998 and the
second a decade later.
Table 6.2. The Finnish long-term ex situ seed material at NordGen (Veteläinen et al. 2008).
Species (Taxon)
Cultivar
Breeding
material
Landrace
Cereals in total
127
49
153
Oat (Avena sativa)
26
5
13
Barley (Hordeum vulgare
subsp. vulgare)
39
38
51
Rye (Secale cereale)
29
Wheat (Triticum aestivum
subsp. aestivum)
33
6
Wild
Other Total
1
330
44
1
129
82
111
7
46
Other species
79
43
384
357
18
881
Species in total
206
92
537
357
19
1 211
6.2 Implementation of the inventories
6.2.1 Inventory in the mid-1990s
Following the obligations of CBD (1993) and FAO Global Plan
of Action (1996) a ‘Landrace project’ (Onnela 1996, 1999a, 1999b)
financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland and
realized by the Seed Testing Department at the Plant Production
Inspection Center at the former KTTK (from May 2006, EVIRA)
was initiated during 1996-1998. The aim was to draw up a proposal
on how varietal research, registration and on-farm maintenance of
cereal, forage grasses and legume landraces and old commercial
cultivars could be organized in Finland.
The first step for the on-farm maintenance system was to carry
out varietal trials on landraces. This presumed that there would be
some landraces for trials. Landraces still in cultivation were called
for through newspapers in 1996. Seed material of some landraces
and old cultivars for comparisons were received from the NGB and
breeders. In an inquiry, farmers cultivating landraces were asked to
give a short description of the cultivation methods and history of a
landrace, as well as some background information about the farmer.
72
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Data handling
The call resulted in a total of 39 samples from farmers. These along
with some other landraces and old commercial cultivars (Table 6.3)
were field-tested in varietal trials based on the UPOV guidelines
for conducting tests for distinctness, uniformity and stability. The
DUS testing method was adapted in order to distinguish them from
commercial cultivars.
Table 6.3. The number of samples in the varietal testing in the ’Landrace project’
(Compiled from Onnela 1999a)
Source of the samples
Oat
Farmers
2
CV
LR
Barley
Spring
rye
Winter
rye
Wheat
Timothy
CV
CV
CV
CV
CV LR
LR
1
NGB
9
Breeder seed
1
Foreign seed
Comparison material
LR
5
LR
LR
24
8
2
6
2
2
4
4
4
CV = old commercial cultivar; LR = landrace; Comparison material = breeder’s seed was compared
with the sample of the KTTK and/or the NGB of the same cultivar.
6.2.2 Inventory in the mid-2000s
The National Programme for Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture
in Finland was established in 2003 and the first landrace inventory
was undertaken early in 2006. In the inventory, the cereal landraces
and old commercial cultivars were especially highlighted because
their seed materials were regarded as the most threatened.
The inventory has gone forward with a twofold and simultaneously
proceeding process: a call for landraces and a research project. They
have shared the same target: to contact growers of landraces and to
obtain landrace seeds for further evaluation and in relevant cases to
preserve them ex situ at NordGen. The research project also has tasks
related to the socio-cultural context of the on-farm maintenance of
PGR, e.g. cultivation motivation; indigenous knowledge related to
the landrace and its use; and mapping farmers’ values and meanings
and how they anchor them with a landrace.
The Call
The National Programme for Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture
in Finland announced the ‘National Call for Landrace and Old
Commercial Cultivars of Cereals and Forages´ in early 2006. In
addition to cereals, forages and some other species (flax, pea and
hemp) were also requested. The main interest was in landraces
but also in those old commercial cultivars that are not yet stored
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
at NordGen. In order to reach the growers, a poster (Figure 6.1)
and leaflet designed for the Call were distributed nation-wide
through different organizations. One distribution channel was the
municipal libraries. As a 200-year-old public library institution with
long traditions of enlightenment of the common people and a dense
network of libraries, these present a forum for information services
with easy access in Finland. Another channel for information
distribution was rural advisers at the Rural Advisory Centres and
municipal offices. The call was also announced in various thematic
e-mail lists (e.g. the Organic Agriculture Association), in some
NGOs’ magazines (e.g. the Landrace Association in Finland) and
in the website of MTT Agrifood Research Finland.
Farmers were asked to contact the national PGR programme with
a written document to be sent by e-mail or mail, in which they were
asked, using unstructured questions, to describe the cultivation
history of their landrace or old cultivar (where and how long it has
been cultivated; where it originated; who has been cultivating it), its
phenotype and properties. On the basis of the farmers’ responses,
they were contacted for further information and eventually asked
to send a seed sample (0.5 - several kilograms) for testing.
Figure 6.1. The poster of the National
Call for Landrace and Old Commercial
Cultivars of Cereals and Forages in Finland
he National Call for Landrace and Old commercial Cultivars of Cereals and
The research project
The research project ‘Social and cultural value, diversity and
utilization of Finnish cereal landraces (OnFarmFinland)’ closely
connected to the Call was co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture
and
Forestry
fordiversity
the years
andlandraces
Veteläinen
‘Social and
cultural
value,
and 2006-2008
utilization of(Heinonen
Finnish cereal
2007).
The
Call
and
the
research
project
have
shared
the
farmer
nnected to the Call was co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
nonen and Veteläinen 2007). The Call and the research project have shared the
the research project extended the scope of the pure seed Call and ex situ
73
74
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
contacts. However, the research project extended the scope of the
pure seed Call and ex situ conservation to study the praxis of the
on-farm management of landraces on single farms. We also included
old commercial cereal varieties bred before the rise of intensive
agriculture (i.e. before the 1960s) which are still in cultivation.
The data were collected in stages. In the first stage, an inquiry
was sent to contact cereal landrace growers in order to gain initial
knowledge on who, why, where, how and what cereal landraces are
grown today in Finland. The questionnaire was mailed to those cereal
farmers who had registered themselves in the subsidy system of onfarm cultivation and those who participated in the earlier inventory
of 1996-1998. In addition, we utilized the contact network of Finnish
plant breeders, researchers and NGOs dealing with crop landraces in
order to reach cereal landrace farmers. We announced the inquiry in
various thematic e-mail lists (e.g. the Organic Agriculture Association),
NGOs’ magazines (e.g. the Landrace Association in Finland), and
local newspapers. We also distributed inquiry forms at seminars and
farmer events. An e-questionnaire was also prepared at the website of
the MTT Agrifood Research Finland. So far (Autumn 2008) we have
received responses from 31 farms that still grow cereal landraces or
old cultivars. In addition to farm visits and face-to-face interviews,
we have also conducted a few farmer interviews by phone.
The second stage of the project aimed to gain understanding
of both social and cultural aspects that motivate farmers to grow
landraces at present and in the future. Values associated with
landraces have also been highlighted. Hitherto we have conducted
thematic interviews (e.g. Gubrium and Holstein 2001) in five
farms where we interviewed 14 persons in total. In every farm we
interviewed in addition to a farmer, his or her spouse and parents
if possible. This was done since older and younger generations
and sexes may have different indigenous knowledge on landraces,
their use and value. Furthermore by applying the (focus) group
interviewing method (e.g. Morgan 1988) on two generations in a
single farm, it was possible to approach sensitive but crucial issues
related to the transfer of landrace cultivation to a descendant in
subtle ways. The farm visits have also resulted in very valuable
observational data, e.g. on households, fields, farm buildings and
surroundings. Seed samples were also collected when available.
Seed handling
Through the Call and the research project we have received in total
46 notifications of cereal landraces or old commercial varieties from
farmers (Table 6.4). Most of the landraces are still in cultivation;
only in four cases were they old stored seed.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
75
Table 6.4. The received notifications of landraces and old commercial varieties of
cereals (by autumn 2008) (Heinonen and Veteläinen 2007; unpublished research data).
Oat
2-row
barley
4/6-row
barley
Spring
rye
Winter
rye
Spring
wheat
Winter
wheat
Landrace
4*
3**
-
1
23***
1
1
Old cultivar
4
2
2
-
3
1
1
* In two cases landrace oats had not been cultivated for a long time.
** The very same old two-row barley is in cultivation in three separate farms.
*** In two cases a rye had not been cultivated for a long time. In three cases the very same landrace
winter rye is in cultivation in two separate farms.
The seed material received from farmers has been evaluated
for phenotypic traits by specialists in cereal genetic resources. In
addition germination tests were carried out on the old stored seed
that had not been cultivated for a while. Some landraces were sent to
NordGen to be conserved ex situ. We have also returned one ex situ
stored landrace rye back to on-farm cultivation to the family farm
where it was collected in 1981. The qualitative socio-cultural data
on farmer perspectives have been analysed by sociological tools. We
have been focusing on hermeneutic understanding of the complex
set of values, and the process of how those values are implemented
in cultivating a typically non-profitable landrace.
6.3 Main results and outcomes of the inventories
The two landrace inventories have achieved, on the one hand,
unique knowledge on landrace cultivation, and on the other hand,
concrete support systems for on-farm management in Finland.
6.3.1 Knowledge on landraces and their farmers
The landrace inventory in the mid-1990s was focused on landrace
identification. The main seed data were received from farmers.
The field testing showed that most of the farmers’ seeds were
landraces or mixed seed including other landraces and/or old
cultivars (Onnela 1999a). Rye is clearly the most cultivated among
cereal landraces in Finland. In the mid-1990s, the landrace project
received 29 samples of seed which were identified as rye landraces;
and in the mid-2000s the number was 21 (only including landraces
in cultivation). Other cereal landraces are very rare in cultivation
(Tables 6.3 and 6.4).
The ‘OnFarmFinland’ project has revealed knowledge about
the praxis of on-farm management among farmers. Compared to
modern cultivars, cultivation of low-yielding cereal landraces and
old cultivars requires acquaintance with the material, more work and
a special motivation. In most cases the motivation springs from the
76
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
cultural and symbolic value of a landrace. A typical landrace farmer
in Finland cultivates an old winter rye strain which has been grown
in the same family or in the home village for several generations.
He cultivates it, if not every year, usually every second or third
year on an area of 1-2 hectares, and uses the yield for his own
consumption (for e.g. baking rye bread). However landrace farmers
are not a homogenous group of nostalgic people but they have
different economic and personal reasons for landrace cultivation.
Moreover the family heritage is not always strong enough to keep
a landrace in cultivation and many young farmers seriously reflect
on the economic prerequisites for landrace cultivation.
6.3.2 Support systems for on-farm maintenance
As a result of the ‘Landrace Project` in the mid-1990s, the first
European support system for on-farm cultivation of landraces and
old cultivars was developed in Finland. The support was paid as a
special subsidy within an EU agri-environmental scheme. During
the first agri-environmental scheme 2000-2006, the cultivation of
landraces, old commercial cultivars and strains derived from old
commercial cultivars of cereals and forages was subsidized. In the
present scheme for years 2007-2012, the paid support has been
extended also to pulses (pea and broad bean) (Anon. 2007).
The aim of the subsidy system is to enhance the continuity of
cultivation of landraces and old cultivars by offering annual economic
support based on the cultivated area to a farmer. Furthermore, the aim
is also to enlarge landrace cultivation: the registration of a landrace
not existing on the National List of Plant Varieties gives the right to
the farmer to market seed in Finland. For more detailed knowledge
of registration and the subsidy system for landrace cultivation in
Finland see Paavilainen, Chapter 32 this volume.
The ‘OnFarmFinland’ project has resulted in a web-based
information service containing knowledge of Finnish landraces
and old commercial varieties of some agri- and horticultural plants.
In the first phase, knowledge of cereals and potatoes is provided.
For public awareness reasons the ‘Landrace Information Service’
was published on the International Day for Biological Diversity
22 May 2008. The information service is part of the web site of the
national PGR programme in Finland at the portal of MTT Agrifood
Research Finland (URL: www.mtt.fi/kasvigeenivarat). So far, the
information is provided only in Finnish. The information service
is intended to function as a documentation forum on landraces and
old commercial varieties and their cultural history and properties in
order to enhance their sustainable and manifold use and on-farm /
in-garden maintenance today. The documentation stresses cultural
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
values and meanings anchored in landraces and in ways of using
them. Information of the on-farm subsidy and registration system is
also provided, as well as information on seed and seedlings sources.
The information service is targeted at present-day landrace farmers,
hobby-gardeners, agrarian museums and other organizations, and
interested private persons. The information is expected to be useful
in restoring historic gardens and fields, in building demonstration
gardens, in educational uses, in the development of niche products,
and in general in enhancement of the awareness of landraces among
the general public.
6.4 Lessons learnt
The cereal inventories in the mid-1990s and 2000s in Finland have
proven that it is still possible to find landraces that are not known
and not yet stored ex situ, even in countries which have been using
intensive farming methods for several decades. Cultivation and
management of landraces on-farm in Finland lean greatly on the
silent knowledge and actions of farmers. Only five farmers have
registered their landrace cereals or old cereal cultivars on the subsidy
system. In most cases, landraces are for subsistence cultivation and
self-evidently part of their lifestyle. Many of the farmers have not
thought that they are on-farm maintainers but just ordinary farmers
who happen to cultivate landraces on a small scale.
The ageing of landrace-cultivating farmers and the declining
number of farms in general are true challenges for landrace
maintenance on-farm. There is need to study on-farm management
also from a broader perspective and to find ways to commit new
and different actors in on-farm management. For example agrarian
museums with fields and gardens are potential actors, especially
for bringing the message of the cultural heritage of landraces to the
general public. Also the possibilities to develop niche products may
stimulate new farmers to try landrace cultivation. To encourage
this, documentation of landrace knowledge is needed. Different
perspectives, not forgetting the cultural and historical knowledge
of a single landrace, are valuable for developing and marketing
landrace-based niche products, services and other uses.
References
Anon. (2007) Alkuperäiskasvien viljely. Erityistuki palkoviljojen, viljojen ja nurmikasvien
maatiaislajikkeiden, vanhojen kauppalajikkeiden ja vanhojen kauppalajikkeiden
muuntuneiden kantojen siemenviljelyyn. [Cultivation of Local Crops. Special
support for seed cultivation of landraces, old cultivars and strains derived from
77
78
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
old cultivars for species of pulses, cereals and forages. A guide for support.]
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland. 5 pp. and URL: http://
lomake.mmm.fi/ShowFile?ID=20603&LUOKKA=547 [in Finnish] (accessed
23 September 2008)
Gubrium, J. and Holstein, J. (eds) (2001) Handbook of interview research: context and
methods, Sage, Thousand Oaks, UK.
Heinonen, M. and Veteläinen, M. (2007) Vanhojen viljakantojen ylläpitoviljely
Suomessa. [Farmers of cereal landraces and old commercial varieties in Finland]
Maaseudun uusi aika: maaseutututkimuksen ja-politiikan aikakauslehti 3/2007, 37-50.
Morgan, D.L. (1988) Focus groups as qualitative research. Sage, London UK.
Onnela, J. (1996) Selvitys maatiaisten ja vanhojen viljelykasvilajikkeiden
esiintymisestä. [A study of landraces and old varieties in cultivation in Finland]
KTTK, Unpublished report. [in Finnish]
Onnela, J. (1999a) Ehdotus viljojen ja nurmikasvien maatiaislajikkeiden ja vanhojen
kauppalajikkeiden lajiketutkimus-, rekisteröinti- ja ylläpitojärjestelmäksi. [Proposal
for varietal research, registration and maintenance system of cereal, forage
grass and legume landraces and old commercial cultivars.] KTTK:n julkaisuja
B1 Siemenet 1/99. Loimipaino ky, Loimaa, Finland. [in Finnish]
Onnela, J. (1999b) Landraces in Finland: Proposal for varietal research, registration and
maintenance system of cereal, forage grass and legume landraces and old commercial
cultivars. Plant Production Inspection Centre Publications B1 Seed 1a/99.
Loimipaino ky, Loimaa, Finland.
Ulvinen, O. (1986) Havaintoja Pohjoismaisen Geenipankin Suomesta keräämistä
ohranäytteistä. [About the barley samples collected from Finland by the
Nordisk Gene Bank] Maataloustieteellinen Aikakauskirja 58, 53-67. [in Finnish]
Veteläinen, M., Hulden, M. and Pehu. T. (2008) State of Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture in Finland. Second Finnish National Report for FAO.
Publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland 5/2008.
Vammalan kirjapaino, Finland. 44 pp.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
7. Landrace Inventory in Germany – Preparing
the National Implementation of the EU Directive
2008/62/EC
Lothar Frese¹, Ursula Reinhard², Hans-Joachim Bannier³ and Christoph
Ulrich Germeier¹
¹ Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Julius Kühn-Institute, Institute for
Breeding Research on Agricultural Crops, Erwin-Baur-Str. 27, 06484 Quedlinburg
² Verein zur Erhaltung der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt e. V., Geschäftsstelle,
Sandbachstraße 5, 38162 Schandelah
³ Pomologen-Verein e.V., Bundesgeschäftsstelle, Deutschherrenstraße 94, 53177 Bonn
7.1 Introduction
Oats as a crop with a well-documented breeding history is used in
this paper to describe the developments leading to variety names
reported in the old literature which tend to be misinterpreted
as ‘landraces’. Breeders‘ selections in the landrace ‘Sächsischer
Gebirgshafer’ had already started in 1876 and resulted in the
‘Leutewitzer Gelbhafer’ (Funke 2008). As the German Agricultural
Association took notice of the ‘Leutewitzer Gelbhafer’ in the
year 1907/1908 there must have been a significant seed trade in
the breeder’s product at that time. While the name ‘Sächsischer
Gebirgshafer’ is not mentioned in any genetic resources information
system, the variety ‘Leutewitzer Gelb’ still exists as a genebank
accession. Many more selections were created and named by
commercial cereal breeders during the past century.
J.N. von Schwerz (1836) conducting an analysis of regional
agricultural systems in the Land Westfalen, cited farmers who preferred
flax seed from places in Latvia as it produced better fibre quality
under their conditions compared with self-produced flax seeds. This
rare insight into the agricultural system which existed 172 years ago
is interesting for three reasons. Firstly, not all farming communities
adapted crops to the regional conditions by reproduction and selection.
There must have been a portion of farmers relying on the seed trade,
i.e. external inputs. Secondly, the value of the geographical origin of
seeds was well understood and may have resulted in the named origins
of merchandized seed such as the landrace ‘Sächsischer Gebirgshafer’
(oat, Avena sativa L.) indicating that the seed was produced in the hilly
area of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains). Thirdly, the purchased seed
of defined origin was tested and the type which performed better was
used for agricultural production.
The names of these selections often refer to the breeder’s
family name and/or a region where they were bred. We generally
79
80
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
assume that the selections are adapted to that place or region. A
geographical name as such, however, is no scientific evidence for
the actual adaptation of a named historical variety which was bred
under conditions set by the agricultural system of that period. It
only describes a competitive product created during a specific
historical period which left a footprint in breeding history.
The terms ‘adaptation’, ‘genetic erosion’, and ‘landrace’ are key
elements of a new EU directive. The 'Commission Directive 2008/62/
EG of 20 June 2008 providing for certain derogations for acceptance
of agricultural landraces and varieties which are naturally adapted to
the local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion
and for marketing of seed and seed potatoes of those landraces and
varieties' came into force. It will be interesting to learn how the key
chapter I, Art. 1, 1. (a) and (b) of the directive will be interpreted in
the European member countries. One interpretation could be that
an applicant willing to reproduce and trade a Conservation Variety
(chapter II, Art. 3) has to provide evidence that the landrace or variety
is naturally adapted to local and regional conditions and is threatened
by genetic erosion. The combination of all three criteria may be difficult
to achieve. Moreover chapter II, Art. 4 requires that a Conservation
Variety “shall present an interest for the conservation of plant genetic
resources”. If all four conditions need to be fulfilled by a candidate
then most potential Conservation Varieties will fail to meet the defining
criteria and so will not be placed on the national catalogues.
The German Information and Coordination Center for Biological
Diversity (BLE-IBV) (www.genres.de/CF/pgrdeu/template_in_situ.
cfm?page=landsorten) currently compiles in close cooperation with
counterparts of the 16 federal Laender the national catalogue of
named genebank accessions which will fulfil the conditions set by the
EU directive for Conservation Varieties. The list could be completed
by germplasm that is not part of the governmental genebank system
and is actively managed by farmers and gardeners organized in
seed savers’ associations or any other private person engaged in
the development of informal seed supply systems. Such an informal
seed supply system was described by Ribeiro-Carvalho et al. (2004)
for northeast Portugal, where a farmer-managed group of wheat
populations has existed for more than a century. The populations,
collectively named ‘Barbela’, are grown in different geographic subregions, and do not only contain high amounts of genetic diversity.
‘Barbela’ is also known for its natural introgression of small rye
chromosome segments (Ribeiro-Carvalho et al. 2001), a finding which
underpins the significant role of landraces in crop evolution.
Such groups of populations meet the definition for landraces
proposed by Negri (2006),
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
“The continuous maintenance by local people of a variable
population(s) (e.g. a landrace), which is identifiable and usually
has a local name, lacks 'formal' crop improvement, is characterized
by a specific adaptation to the environmental conditions of the area of
cultivation, is closely associated with the traditional uses, knowledge,
habits, dialects, and celebrations of the people who developed and
continue to grow it.”
who emphasizes the aspect of a long-standing, unbroken and active
management of landraces within a specific cultural context. Under
these conditions adaptation is proven by practical evidence, since a
farmer or gardener would never grow germplasm which does not
fulfil his/her needs, i.e. the term ‘adaptation’ in rural communities
which value regional traditions counts for a lot more than just ‘yield’
or ‘higher-income’.
It should be noted in this context that many unnamed accessions
which exist in genebank collections were once landraces. They are
only characterized by a documented collecting event (collecting date,
collecting site). Often they have been named ‘local’ or labelled with
group names such as for example ‘acelga’ for Beta vulgaris subsp.
vulgaris Leaf Beet Group in Greece.
In the context of this paper we use the term ‘Conservation
Variety’ for agricultural crops and ‘Amateur Varieties’ for fruit and
vegetable crops. The EU directive for Amateur Varieties is being
prepared and is likely to be published by the Commission within a
short time. In the context of this paper we use the term ‘landrace’ in
the sense of Negri (2006) and the term ‘other varieties’ used in the
German translation of the directive 2008/62/EC for named material
maintained in genebanks having a broken germplasm management
history. We consider ‘other varieties’ and ‘landraces’ as subgroups
of the categories ‘Conservation Variety’ and ‘Amateur Variety’.
Breeding is a cyclic process. Independent of where (farm or
field of a commercial breeder) and by whom selection is done, the
selection pressure shapes germplasm handled in the process. A
commercial variety or a Conservation Variety is just a state of the
germplasm at a certain time. The state can be called latent, planned
or active (Frese et al. 2007). Crop germplasm stored in a genebank
can be seen as a latent genetic resource waiting for future use, crop
germplasm used in formal breeding programmes (in contrast to
‘informal crop improvement’ mentioned by Negri 2006) can be
seen as a planned resource. During this state new variability is
created by recombination, introgression of genes from crop wild
relatives and/or mutation. A new variety stands at the end of the
process, which when grown for production (commercial, noncommercial) enters the active state. Once the production ceases
81
82
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
and a variety is no longer maintained by the breeder it can be
donated to a genebank where the germplasm waits as a latent
resource for a future application. P. Jantsch, a co-author of an onfarm management study in Germany (Becker et al. 2000) provided
a systematic formulation of activities that in fact addressed these
states, however without consideration of the cyclic character of
breeding. According to his scheme it is definitely possible that a
latent resource is reintroduced to its original region (Figure 7.1). If
it is still adapted to today’s production conditions and bred within
informal seed supply systems it may change from subgroup ‘other
variety’ into subgroup ‘landrace’.
7.2 Methodology
When compiling an inventory of Conservation/Amateur Varieties
we have to consider the two subgroups ‘landrace’ and ‘other
varieties’ which coincide with the states ‘active’ and ‘latent’,
respectively. An inventory is to be built upon the result of a
retrospective search for ‘other varieties’ in genebank information
systems and on an explorative search for landraces still being
maintained by people in Germany. The first steps towards
implementing directive 2008/62/EC in Germany consist of
(i) identification of ‘other varieties’ and the place or regions
mentioned in their names and (ii) a search for ‘landraces’. This
paper will not describe a comprehensive inventory; rather it
highlights methodological aspects and experiences gained with:
• a crop-based approach
• a regional approach, and
• an explorative approach.
keep at origin site
maintain as it is
develop by breeding
Reintroduction
to the origin site
existing
conserve ex situ
translocate to other site
PGRFA
maintain as it is
develop by breeding
extinct
Figure 7.1. On-farm management schema.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
7.2.1 Crop approach: Where is the origin of a named oat
accession?
The compilation of a resilient national catalogue of Conservation
Varieties covering all crops requires comprehensive knowledge
of the genetic resources of many crops and their breeding history.
We focused therefore on a crop and methods we felt competent
for. Using oats as a model crop, we started the inventory of
‘other varieties’ on the website of the European Search Catalogue
(EURISCO 2008) since unique oat accessions of German origin may
not only exist in the German genebank managed by the Leibniz
Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), but also
in European partner genebanks. The European Avena Data Base
(EADB) was then applied as a crop-specific information system
for additional and more detailed searches. Finally, the results were
compared with information published by Funke (2008) on oat
breeding in Germany.
7.2.2 Regional approach: Which crops and named accessions
originate from the Land Sachsen-Anhalt?
A list of accessions was compiled that probably originate from the
federal Land Sachsen-Anhalt. For that purpose the IPK genebank
provided an export in EURISCO format, which was joined with
EUROSTAT (EC 2008a; EC 2008b) tables containing data on Local
Administrative Units (NUTS level 1 to 3 and LAU2) as defined by
the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) for the
Member States of the European Union. Names of administrative
units on four levels were searched within the accession names listed
in the IPK export. Hits of more than four characters were listed as a
first approach. Additional manual editing will be needed.
7.2.3 Explorative approach: Which landraces of fruit crops and
vegetables are grown and maintained by civil society?
Landraces are often detected by persons organized in or
cooperating with seed saver organizations such as the
Pomologen-Verein e.V. (2008) and the Verein zur Erhaltung
der Nutzpflanzenvielfalt (VEN 2008). The Pomologen-Verein
e.V. founded in 1991 continues the work of the Deutsche
Pomologenverein (1860-1919). This association is engaged in the
retrieval of fruit landraces described in the historical literature.
The Pomologen-Verein has organized since 1991 several hundreds
of ‘apple fairs’ throughout the Federal Republic of Germany.
During the fairs, apple landraces brought in by consumers are
identified by the association’s experts as a service to the visitors.
Given this opportunity, visitors sometimes give hints on the
83
84
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
existence of landraces thought to have become extinct. The new
finding is then compared with existing landraces and reports
in literature, checked for synonyms and eventually classified
as a newly detected landrace. In this way landraces are traced
and documented. Experts of the Pomologen-Verein also map
the geographical distribution of apple, pear, cherry and plum
landraces. Gradually, the distribution pattern of landraces and
their region of adaptation will be visualized and both narrow
(e.g. ‘Westfälische Tiefblüte’) or widely distributed apple
landraces (e.g. ‘Oberlausitzer Muskatrenette’) identified.
The scope of the VEN is much broader than the maintenance of
the genetic diversity of traditional German vegetables. The VEN
Samenliste (a seed catalogue) therefore contains many accessions
from European countries or even overseas. An item of the VEN
Samenliste was categorized as a landrace if:
• the item has a unique name
• the description of the listed item contains information on the
geographic origin of the material
• this place or region is located in the Federal Republic of Germany
• the description of the item gives good reasons to assume that a
long-standing use within a cultural context exists.
7.3 Implementation
7.3.1 Other varieties: Crop approach
Genebank information systems such as EURSICO hold data on
the biological status of accessions. A search for Biological Status
= Traditional cultivar/Landrace and Country Source = Germany
yielded 3053 accessions of which 1459 accessions are named. The
3053 accessions are split over 157 genera. As there is no generally
agreed definition of a ‘traditional cultivar/landrace’ the sample
status cannot be used as the sole descriptor to identify ‘other
varieties’. The dataset needs further qualification as is exemplified
by the model crop oats.
The variety names of the oat pedigree (Figure 7.2) published by
Zade (1918, cited in Funke 2008) were compared with accession
names extracted from EURISCO. For oats, 13 areas have been
identified as potential ‘regions of origin’ according to Art. 8 of the
EU directive for Conservation Varieties. Ten regions are located
within Germany, two in Poland (Jasnien, Wierzchno) and one in
the Pyrenees.
Additional geographic origins of oat germplasm could be
identified by comparison of the pedigree with named accessions
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
documented by the European Avena Database (EADB 2008) namely
Holstein, Thüringen, Nauen in Brandenburg, and Sachsen. Bohemia
with the place Doupov (Duppau) in northern Bohemia is located
in the Czech Republic. The variety name Milton points to a place
located in the UK, Canada or the USA as do the variety names
Kanada and Kanadische Fahnen.
Varieties’ names in Figure 7.2 shaded by a dark grey colour are
neither documented in EURISCO nor in the EADB. The respective
germplasm is probably extinct. Names shaded with light grey colour
are similar to names that are documented in the EADB but do not
match the names exactly such as Duppauer Land = Duppauer
(Lohmanns Weender?). All other varieties are documented in
genebank information systems and are probably available for
reintroduction as ‘other varieties’ according to the schema shown
in Figure 7.1.
7.3.2 Other varieties: Regional approach
The comparison of EURISCO data with EUROSTAT data (matches
of accession names with Local Administrative Units’ designations)
located 199 accessions of potential origin in Sachsen-Anhalt. The
accessions are divided over 26 categories (25 crop groups plus the
group ‘others’). The list was reviewed and accession names such
as ‘Tetraroggen Bernburg K 211’, which is probably a breeding line,
were excluded from the final choice. In total 95 accessions including
several accessions of ornamentals can be nominated by the Land
Sachsen-Anhalt as candidates for the national catalogue.
7.4 Landraces: Explorative approach
Promotion of landraces should be considered as the prominent
objective of directive 2008/62/EC. The list of landraces of fruits
exemplified by apples and of vegetables was also extracted from
information systems for fruits and the VEN Samenliste (2006
and 2007). Many more than 1000 apple landraces once existed
in Germany, only approximately 230 landraces bred before 1900
are conserved as ex situ accessions (as of the year 2003). Since the
Pomologen-Verein started the inventory of landraces in the year
1991, 400 to 500 apple landraces have been retrieved and identified.
Information on all landraces detected so far will be made accessible
to a broader public on the Internet after the establishment of
a database on fruit landraces of the Pomologen-Verein, which
will probably be operational in 2009. The Pomologen-Verein
promotes the use of landraces by providing advice to any person
or institution interested in growing regionally adapted landraces
85
86
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
in orchards for private consumption. In this context the term
‘regionally adapted’ is applied correctly. The advice is based on
the practical experience with the germplasm gained by this group
of experts during the past two decades.
The VEN focuses on the maintenance of vegetables. Similarly
to the Pomologen-Verein for fruits, the VEN keeps a library of
historical books and other literature on vegetables and uses
this pool of information for searching for forms of vegetables
that were once used in agriculture and home gardening. In
addition, the VEN offers a cataloguing service to its members
and other interested persons, the VEN Seed List, wherein any
private person can publish a description of self-produced seeds
of vegetables, which are available for germplasm exchange on a
small scale. This seed list contains approximately 2000 private
offers of seed and clone material available for exchange and
non-commercial purposes. Several of the seed producers offer
vegetables that are neither available in the commercial sector
nor maintained by genebanks. Eighteen samples match with
the landrace definition of Negri (2006): they were detected in a
specific geographic region and are closely associated with the
traditional uses and knowledge of the people who developed and
continue to grow it. They concern leaf beet (Beta vulgaris L. subsp.
vulgaris Leaf Beet Group, one sample), spinach (Spinacia oleracea
L., two samples), pea (Pisum sativum L. s.l. subsp. sativum, two
samples), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris var. nanus
(Jusl.) Ascherson, five samples) and Phaseolus vulgaris L. subsp.
vulgaris var. vulgaris, five samples), cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L. convar. acephala (DC) Alef. var. sabellica, one sample), turnip
(Brassica rapa L. Vegetable Turnip Group, one sample) and leek
(Allium lusitanicum, one sample).
7.5 Lessons learnt
Altogether, the EU directive for Conservation Varieties works
with criteria which tend to escape a hard scientific proof. Without
a clear idea of actions that can be undertaken within the limits set
by directive 2008/62/EC it may be a cumbersome task to operate
the directive in practice. The term ‘landrace’ is a term which is
difficult to work with. Most attempts to define the term have failed
as the dynamic and cyclic nature of plant breeding is seldom taken
into consideration. We suggest using within the framework of
directive 2008/62/EC the criteria listed in Table 7.1 to distinguish
a ‘landrace’ from a ‘variety’ and ‘accession’ and find it to be a
workable definition.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Figure 7.2. Pedigree of oat varieties selected before 1918.
87
88
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The term ‘landrace’ or ‘traditional cultivar’ is often taken to be
synonymous for germplasm that is said to be better adapted to the
regional conditions than modern varieties. Chapter I, Art. 2 (a) of the
directive 2008/62/EC refers to the natural, farmed environment where
the cultivated plant species have developed their distinctive properties.
Where for example is the natural, farmed environment of the still
existing oat varieties described by Zade (1918, cited by Funke 2008)?
Table 7.1. Three categories of germplasm and their features.
Landrace
Variety
Accession (‘other varieties’
are named accessions)
Biological
state:
active, evolving
active, evolving within
the narrow limits set
by seed legislation
latent, genetic snapshot
Legal state:
not protected
protected and/or
registered
not protected
Adaptation:
evidenced by
practical proof
evidenced according
to the rules set by the
seed legislation
needs to be re-evidenced
Seed supply
system:
informal
formal
part of the formal system
Table 7.2 shows that it is difficult to delineate the farmed
environment, as it can be a place like Anderbeck or a region like
Bavaria. A place or a region does not represent a homogeneous
environment. Especially at the larger geographic scale a high
environmental diversity exists. How can we know in which farmed
environment germplasm such as the ‘Bayerischer Gebirgshafer’ has
developed its distinct characters, exactly? Geographic indications
like ‘Fläming’ are even misleading, since the varieties with the
character string ‘Fläming’ were not bred in the Fläming region (Land
Brandenburg) but at Hasselhorst/Bergen in the Land Niedersachsen
(Lower Saxony). Altogether the geographical denomination as a
sole criterion appears unsuitable to justify the inclusion of a named
accession in the national catalogue. We cannot use a geographical
name to identify the historical farming environment of germplasm
of the subgroup ‘other varieties’ or to postulate the adaptation of
germplasm to the environmental conditions of its region of origin.
Furthermore, since the farming environment has changed during the
past 100 years and is continuously changing, we need to re-evidence
the adaptation of the named accessions.
Inherent to the word ‘adapted’ is a comparison of at least varieties
A and B whereby A may perform better at site A and B at site B.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Accessions often perform less well than varieties, as was exemplified
by Ruckenbauer and Steiner (1995). They compared oat accessions
from the year 1877 with a set of standard varieties called modern in
the 1990s and besides producing 52% less grain yield, the accessions
were more susceptible to lodging and crown rust. Similar observations
were made by the team of the GENRES CT99-106 project 'Evaluation
and enhancement of Avena collections: for extensification of the genetic
basis of Avena for quality and resistance breeding' (Katsiotis et al. 2004).
If we test adaptation by measuring traits of economic value we will
probably find not the obsolete variety performing better, but more
often the new material selected from the historical sources. Hence,
adaptation as a selection criterion for Conservation Varieties is to
be viewed critically since it can be expected that most of the ‘other
varieties’ will not be well adapted to today’s environmental conditions,
hence they may not qualify as candidates for the national catalogue.
Table 7.2. Indication of the farmed environment in the sense of directive 2008/62/EC.
Exemplified by selected oat accessions of known geographic origin.
Accession name
Farmed environment
Anderbecker
Anderbeck, Sachsen-Anhalt
Bayerisher Verbesserter Gebirgs
Bayern
Bestehorns Verbesserter
Bebitz/Könnern, Sachsen-Anhalt
Fichtelgebirgs Zuchtsaat
Fichtelgebirge, in northeast Bayern
Lüneburger Kleykönig
Lüneburg, Niedersachsen
Nürnberger Linie 3 (Nürnberg 4)
Nürnberg, Mittelfranken, Bayern
Oderbrucher
Oderbruch, Brandenburg
Westfaelischer Schwarz
Westfalen, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Equally difficult to operate is the criterion ‘threatened by genetic
erosion’. Prudently, Vögel et al. (2006) avoided application of
‘varieties threatened by genetic erosion’ and focused their attention
on threatened crop species in their paper 'Red list for endangered
crops in Germany: Possible actions and selected case studies from the
region Brandenburg'. If we assume that the EU directive 2008/62/
EC was approved not only to satisfy political needs but also to better
control genetic erosion in crops, then we should develop ideas on
how the directive can best serve this significant aim. According to
Chapter I, Art. 2 (a) the directive will be applied if the variety is
threatened by genetic erosion and (b) defines ‘genetic erosion’ as
the loss of genetic diversity between and within populations and
varieties of the same species over time.
89
90
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The probability of genetic erosion within a population or variety
depends on the breeding system of the crop concerned. The breeding
system determines the breeding category (Table 7.3). As obsolete
hybrid varieties are certainly not in the focus of the directive
2008/62/EC this category is excluded from further consideration.
Table 7.3. Breeding categories according to Schnell (1982).
Clone breeding Line breeding Population breeding Hybrid breeding
Mode of
propagation
Asexual
Sexual
Sexual
Sexual
Heterozygosity
of the plants
Heterozygous
Homozygote
Heterozygous
Heterozygous
Variation within
the varieties
Homogeneous
Homogeneous Heterogeneous
Homogeneous
Manufacturing
possible?
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Crops like potato, Jerusalem artichoke, fruit crops and grape
vines are bred, marketed and maintained as clonal accessions, i.e.
unique heterozygote genotypes, and by definition there is no
variation within the clonal variety, hence genetic erosion within the
variety cannot occur. However, oats, barley, peas and many more
crops are bred as line varieties and by definition pure line varieties
cannot suffer from genetic erosion as there is no within-variety
diversity. In practice, line varieties may contain a certain amount
of residual heterozygosity causing some heterogeneity and off
types. Back-mutation such as is known for the trait ‘stringiness’
in Phaseolus beans can also result in off types, i.e. forms deviating
from the defined features of a variety. Plant breeders select against
off types to maintain the variety (Kuckuck 1979) while, owing to
the sheer size in terms of accession numbers and due to the high
species diversity, genebanks cannot. The deviation of a genebank
accession from the original variety characteristics should not be
misunderstood as genetic erosion; it is rather the effect caused by
a lack of maintenance breeding. However, population varieties are
heterozygous and heterogeneous. They are the breeding category
that can suffer from genetic erosion due to drift, in particular if
a small effective population size is used for their reproduction.
Animal breeders consider a herd with an effective population size of
200 or less as highly endangered due to genetic erosion (Anonymous
2008). It should be noted that the international guidelines for plant
genetic resources management recommend an effective population
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
size of 50-100 plants as good population management practice. The
risk arising from the current genebank management practice consists
in a gradual loss of the reproductive ability of an accession due to
increasing inbreeding depression.
It can be concluded that with population varieties, there is
potential for within-population genetic erosion while there is no
such danger in clonal varieties or pure line varieties. This is a trivial
finding which nevertheless is mentioned here just for the purpose
of putting the coming discussion on the national catalogue on a
rational basis.
The criteria of genetic erosion between populations or varieties can
be discussed in a similar way. Clonal accessions are maintained in
genebanks as field stands, as in vitro collections and as cryopreserved
duplicates. Safety duplicates are kept by partner genebanks. If the
conservation of a crop germplasm collection is organized according
to the standards set by Bioversity International, then the whole
management system needs to fail at once before a clone gets lost for
ever. If a clone is completely lost then a single unique heterozygote
genotype is lost. Why should we worry about a single genotype
knowing that a cross between two heterozygote clones produces
thousands of new, unique genotypes?
It is the risk that matters in this context. Risk is defined as the
chance of an event multiplied by the damage that is caused if that
event ever happens. We could define ‘damage’ as the loss of past
investment in the development of a variety, which, in perennial,
asexually propagated crops such as fruit trees or grape vine is high.
We could further argue that the risk of the loss of a clone accession
is high due to the potential high damage caused. The risk can differ
with different clone accessions. For instance, since the parents of the
apple cultivar ‘Jonagold’ (cvs. ‘Jonathan’, ‘Golden Delicious’) are
known for a genotype like ‘Jonagold’, the variety could basically be
developed again by crossing the parents again. The parents of the
‘Ananasrenette’ are unknown, and the breeding of a genotype with
characters very close to the ‘Ananasrenette’ would be even more
difficult. This consideration leads to the conclusion that there is a
specific interest (Chapter II, Art. 4, 1.) in the conservation of clone
accessions. Amongst this group landraces not conserved by the
formal genebank system deserve highest priority and should be
put on the national catalogue.
Major crops such as wheat and barley are bred as line varieties by
many companies in the world and are a subject of many research
and development programmes within the public breeding sector,
not to speak of the huge numbers of genebank accessions of barley
and wheat kept world-wide in genebanks. Again, loss of a line
91
92
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
variety equals the loss of a single genotype or a couple of closely
related genotypes. If the parents are known genotypes, progeny
with a very similar set of characters can be bred again much more
easily than a specific form of a perennial crop. The risk of genetic
erosion can therefore be considered less. Moreover, it will be hard
to furnish proof that there is a significant risk of genetic erosion
within these crops that can seriously affect breeding progress in
Germany. Investigations into the long-term temporal trend of
diversity of European barley (Ordon et al. 2005; Malysheva-Otto
et al. 2007) and wheat (Donini et al. 2000) show significant loss of
genetic variation in the breeding pool of barley over time. The loss
is compensated by gains in genetic variation, for example from the
introgression of genes of crop wild relatives into the crop gene pool.
As a result there is a balance between loss and gain over decades
of plant breeding activities. The adaptability of the crop gene pool
obviously was always high enough to service the breeders’ needs
either in the 1930s or today.
There are good reasons to assume that the loss of genetic
diversity between populations increases with decreasing breeding
activities in a crop. In the early 1900s 53 farmers were breeding oats
in Germany (Funke 2008); today two breeding companies and one
breeders’ association are left. During the decline of oat breeding
activities in Germany three groups of material reported by Zade
(1918, cited by Funke 2008) were completely lost (Kanadische
Fahnen, Nauener Land, Böhmerwald Gebirgs), of others at least the
descendants still exist in genebank holdings. In total 26 of the 56
varieties of Zade’s oat pedigree have been lost (Figure 7.2). Due to
a lack of investigations into the dynamics of genetic diversity in oat
breeding over the past decades we have no idea whether the crop
gene pool of oat is balanced, as in wheat and barley, or threatened
by genetic erosion.
If the candidates for the national catalogue of conservation
varieties need to be prioritized within the group of self-pollinating
agricultural species, crops of the line breeding category with
declining breeding activities in Germany should receive higher
priority. Incentives should be set to stimulate breeding activities
in the informal sector to compensate for possible genetic losses
within the formal sector. Oat as a model crop stands for many other
crop species with declining breeding activities in Germany such as
Phaseolus beans and Lactuca salad, just to mention two important
vegetable crops.
Varieties or populations of outbreeding crops share most of the
genetic diversity contained in the whole crop gene pool in common
(e.g. Jain 1975; Loos 1994). It is the different frequencies of genes
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
and alleles within individual populations which cause the trait
differences between them. A loss of genetic diversity by extinction
of a population or variety can only happen if genes or alleles occur
within that particular germplasm which are not available elsewhere.
Hence, the loss of a single or several accessions of an outbreeding
crop does not necessarily cause genetic erosion.
In the long run, as a result of past (genetic bottlenecks) and
current genebank management practices (small effective population
sizes), inbreeding depression of accessions of outbreeding crops
will increase and the reproductive ability may decrease until the
accession gets lost. Advisory bodies responsible for the compilation
of the national catalogue should therefore consider conserving
varieties representing heterotic groups such as the rye varieties
‘Carsten’ and ‘Petkus’ (Hepting 1978). As for line varieties, priority
should be given to crop species with decreasing breeding activities
within Germany, i.e. in general outbreeding vegetable crops.
7.6 Perspective
The regulation 2008/62/EC has actually come into force to promote
a broader deployment of genetic diversity in agricultural systems
and to improve management of plant genetic resources for food
and agriculture. The organization of an integrated germplasm
management system allowing the best possible conservation of
genetic diversity of a crop should be the common interest of the
system’s stakeholders. Interrelated fields of interest for conservation
that can be used to fulfil the fourth criterion set by directive 2008/62/
EC, namely the specific conservation interest, are:
• compensation of inherent shortcomings of the ex situ conservation
method
• maintenance of heterotic groups
• maintenance breeding, in particular in vegetables
• conservation by use
• conservation of the cultural heritage.
The implementation of the directive in Germany should not be
governed by an incorrect historical understanding of the last 150
years of our agricultural system, including the breeding history
of varieties. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection (BMELV) with its political mandate for sustainable agrobiodiversity management should rather steer the management of
the genetic diversity of our crops through actions only where they
are really needed owing to a failure of market mechanisms.
Rational decisions require a monitoring of the gene pool of crops
including a risk analysis for crops as conducted by Vögel et al. (2006),
93
94
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
suggesting a threat assessment system for crops very similar to
the wild plant species threat categories. The red list system should
be applied as a tool for monitoring the active state of germplasm
only. This can be achieved by calculating trends (increasing, stable,
declining production) by using existing agricultural production data.
To improve the management of germplasm, different
mechanisms are required for the different germplasm states.
Marketing mechanisms are required to stabilize the production of
crops still in use but with a clear decline in acreages. Mechanisms
such as the directive 2008/62/EC can be applied in the active state
to prevent crops and their landraces from devolving from a lower
threat category into a higher. Support of the activities of seed saver
associations will be an effective measure in this context.
A wider use of genetic diversity in the agricultural system usually
requires enhancement programmes to improve the competitiveness
of a crop. Programmes specifically designed to promote breeding
research will be more effective in the ‘planned’ state of a germplasm
example. Finally, if it is not possible to keep germplasm in the
planned or active state, actions need to be undertaken guaranteeing
the best possible ex situ management of the genetic resources of
that crop.
If all stakeholders interested in well-managed crop gene pools
understood the management of PGRFA as a cyclic system, then the
discussion on the best management of plant genetic resources for
food and agriculture would be less prone to controversies between
the formal sector, stressing the great advances of modern breeding,
and the informal sector, stressing the high value of landraces.
Commercial, private and public partners have important and
complementary roles to play in this system where landraces do
play a role but only their specific one.
The role of BMELV would be to monitor the system and
take actions when needed to guarantee effective and efficient
conservation of PGRFA. We hope that this paper may help to
implement the directive 2008/62/EC which actually aims at a better
management of plant genetic resources in agricultural systems.
References
Anonymous (2008) Tiergenetische Ressourcen in Deutschland. Nationales
Fachprogramm zur Erhaltung und nachhaltigen Nutzung tiergenetischer Ressourcen
in Deutschland. Hrsg.: Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und
Verbraucherschutz (BMELV), Bonn, Germany.
Becker, H., Marggraf, R., Bergmann, H. and Jantsch, P. (2000) Darstellung und Analyse
von Konzepten des On-farm-Managements pflanzengenetischer Ressourcen
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der ökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen
in Deutschland. Studie für das Bundesministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft
und Forsten. Förderkennziffer 317-7723-2/1.
Chnell, F.W. (1982) A synoptic study of the methods and categories of plant
breeding. Z. Pflanzenzüchtg. 89, 1-18.
Donini, P., Law, J.R., Koebner, R.M.D., Reeves, J.C. and Cooke, R.J. (2000) Temporal
trends in the genetic diversity of UK wheat. Theretical and Applied Genetics 100,
912-917.
EADB (2008) http://eadb.bafz.de/CCDB_PHP/eadb/ (accessed 14 July 2008)
EURISCO (2008) http://eurisco.ecpgr.org/ (accessed 14 July 2008)
EC (2008a) http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nuts/codelist_de.cfm?list=nuts,
last update: 19.02.2008
EC (2008b) http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nuts/excel_files/GGTSPU-styx.
bba.de-25134-1950424-DAT/DE_LAU_2007.xls, last update: 19.02.2008.
Frese, L., Harrer, S. and Vögel, R. (2007) Genetisches Monitoring bei
landwirtschaftlichen Kulturpflanzen und mit ihnen verwandten Wildarten.
In Begemann, F., Schröder. S., Wenkel, K.-O. und Weigel, H.J. (Hrsg.) Monitoring
und Indikatoren der Agrobiodiversität. Tagungsband eines Symposiums am 7.
und 8. November 2006 in Königswinter. Agrobiodiversität, Schriftenreihe des
Informations- und Koordinationszentrums für Biologische Vielfalt, Band 27,
Bonn, Germany. pp. 66-92.
Funke, C. (2008) Hafer, Avena sativa L. Bemühungen um das ehemals wichtigste
Futtergetreide. In Röbbelen, G. (Hrsg.) Die Entwicklung der Pflanzenzüchtung in
Deutschland (1908-2008). Heft 75 der GPZ-Reihe „Vorträge für Pflanzenzüchtung“,
Saatgut-Treuhandverwaltung-GmbH, Bonn, Germany. pp. 312-320.
Held, Th. (1917) Der Gemüsebau. Ein praktisches Lehrbuch des Gemüsebaus zur
Selbstbelehrung für Gartenbesitzer in durchaus klarer, leichtverständlicher Darstellung
und durch Abbildungen erläutert. 9. Auflage. Friedrich Euler Verlag, Berlin Germany.
Hepting, L. (1978) Analyse eines 7 x 7 Sortendiallels zur Ermittlung geeigneten
Ausgangsmaterials für die Hybridzüchtung bei Roggen. Z. Pflanzenzüchtung.
80, 188-197.
Jain, S.K. (1975) Population structures and the effects of breeding system. In:
Frankel, O.H. and Hawkes, J.G. (eds.) International Biological Programme 2, Crop
genetic resources for today and tomorrow. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
UK. pp. 15-36.
Katsiotis, A., Leggett, J.M., Germeier, C., Koenig, J. and Veteläinen, M. (2004)
Evaluation and enhancement of Avena collections: for extensification of the genetic
basis of Avena for quality and resistance breeding. Grant GENRES CT99-106 of the
Regulation (EC) 1467/94 on the conservation, characterization, collection and
utilization of genetic resources in agriculture. Final project report submitted
to the European Commission.
Kuckuck, H. (1979) Gartenbauliche Pflanzenzüchtung: Züchtung von Gemüse, Obst
und Zierpflanzen. 2., erw. Aufl./neubearb. Von Hans Buttenschön. Parey, Berlin,
Hamburg, Germany.
95
96
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Loos, B.P. (1994) The genus Lolium; taxonomy and genetic resources. Thesis,
Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Louette, D. (1999) Traditional management of seed and genetic diversity: what is
a landrace? In: Brush, S.B. (ed.) Genes in the field. On-farm conservation of crop
diversity. pp. 109-142. CRC Press, USA.
Malysheva-Otto, L., Ganal, M.W., Law, J.R., Reeves, J.C. and Röder, M.S. (2007)
Temporal trends of genetic diversity in European barley cultivars (Hordeum
vulgare L.). Molecular Breeding 20, 309-322.
Negri, V. (2006) Landrace definition. In: Del Greco, A., Negri, V. and Maxted, N.
(compilers) Report of a Task Force on On-farm Conservation and Management.
Second Meeting, 19-20 June 2006, Stegelitz, Germany. Bioversity International,
Rome, Italy. p. 20
Ordon, F., Ahlemeyer, J., Werner, K., Köhler, W. and Friedt, W. (2005) Molecular
assessment of genetic diversity in winter barley and its use in breeding.
Euphytica 146, 21-28.
Pomologen-Verein e.V. (2008) www.pomologen-verein.de/, last update: 16.06.2008.
Ribeiro-Carvalho, C., Guedes-Pinto, H., Heslop-Harrison, J.S. and Schwarzacher,
T. (2001) Introgression of rye chromatin on chromosome 2D in the Portuguese
wheat landrace ‘Barbela’. Genome 44, 1122-1128.
Ribeiro-Carvalho, C., Guedes-Pinto, H., Igrejas, G., Stephenson, P., Schwarzacher, T.
and Heslop-Harrison, J.S. (2004) High Levels of Genetic Diversity Throughout
the Range of the Portuguese Wheat Landrace “Barbela”. Annals of Botany 94,
699-705.
Ruckenbauer, P. and Steiner, A.M. (1995) Die agronomischen Eigenschaften des
Nachbaus eines 110 Jahre alten Hafers – die Wiener Probe von 1877. Die
Bodenkultur 46, 293-302.
Schnell, F. W. (1982). A study of methods and categories of plant breeding. Zeitschrift
für Pflanzenzuchtung 89:1–18.
Schwerz, J.N. von (1836) Beschreibung der Landwirtschaft in Westfalen. Faksimiledruck
nach der Ausgabe von 1836. Landwirtschaftsverlag Münster-Hiltrup. 438 Seiten.
Steiner, A.M. and Ruckenbauer, P. (1997) Zur Genotyperhaltung in Genbanken, ein
Fallbeispiel - Die Nürnberger Hafer von 1831. Bericht über die 47. Arbeitstagung
der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Saatzuchtleiter, Gumpenstein, 26.-28.11.1997, pp. 119-124.
Vögel, R., Meyer, A. and Götting-Frosinski, J. (2006) Fachbeiträge des Landesumweltamtes, Titelreihe, Heft -Nr. 100, Rote Liste für gefährdete Kulturpflanzen – Handlungsmöglichkeiten und ausgewählte Fallbeispiele aus der Region Brandenburg.
Landesumweltamt Brandenburg (LUA), Potsdam, Germany.
VEN (2008) www.nutzpflanzenvielfalt.de/ (accessed 14 July 2008)
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
8. Inventory of Greek Landraces
Andreas Katsiotis ¹ , Penelope Bebeli ¹ , Athanasios Mavromatis ² and
Athanasios Tzivelikas³
¹ Agricultural University of Athens, Crop Science Department, Plant Breeding &
Biometry Laboratory, Iera Odos 75, 118 55 Athens, Greece. E-mail katsioti@aua.gr
² University of Thessaly, Department of Crop Production and Rural Environment,
School Agricultural Science, University Thessaly, Volos, 38446, Greece
³ Greek Genebank, National Agricultural Research Foundation, Thermi,
Thessaloniki 57001, Greece
8.1 Introduction
Greece is located in the south-eastern part of Europe and, more
precisely, at the southern end of the Balkans. Four-fifths of Greece
consists of mountains or hills, with the Pindus mountain range
dominating. The range starts from the north-west borders of Greece,
continues through the western Peloponnese, crosses the islands of
Kythira and Antikythira and ends at the island of Crete. The Pindus
mountain range strongly affects the climate of the country by making
the western side of it more wet on average compared with the areas
lying to the east of it; thus, the average yearly rainfall in the island
of Corfu is 1165 mm, while in the island of Syros it is less than 400
mm. Greece also has a long coastline (more than 14 000 kilometres)
with more than 2000 islands (of which at least 75 are inhabited)
present in the Aegean (mostly) and the Ionian Seas. Depending on
the location, the climate can be alpine (in the mountainous areas
of the north-west), temperate (north-central and north-east) and
Mediterranean in the rest of the country.
Parts of modern Greece have been inhabited since 6800 BC,
including settlements that have domesticated plants, such as
olives, wheat, figs etc. (Foxhall 2007). Thus, geographic and
climatic diversity, combined with the long presence of certain
cultivated crops in the area, have an impact on plant diversity.
Furthermore, in excess of 1275 plant species, including wild
species, are endemic to Greece, some of them having narrow
distributions due to their geographic isolation (present in islands
or high mountainous ranges).
8.2 National Greek PGR System
At present the public sector is mainly responsible for collecting,
storing, conserving and distributing annual and perennial crops
grown in Greece. The public sector includes the Ministry of Rural
97
98
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Development and Food (Research Directorate of Land Planning
and Environmental Protection as the competent authority), the
Greek Genebank, the National Agricultural Research Foundation
(NAGREF) institutes throughout Greece, the universities
(Agricultural University of Athens, Aristotelian University
of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly and the Democritus
University of Thrace) and the technological education institutes.
Collection, characterization, documentation, regeneration and
conservation activities are carried out mainly by the Greek
Genebank. The National Genebank at Thermi, Thessaloniki,
was recently reorganized and is about ready to be relocated
in new buildings with modern facilities. The total number of
accessions stored at the National Genebank is 10 650, belonging
to 66 genera and 169 cultivated species, from which 3523
accessions are wild species (Stavropoulos et al. 2006). In 2003
the National Genebank was the recipient of a state-funded
project for collecting, regenerating and storing germplasm
from all around Greece. During the project, which is still
under way, more than 5500 accessions were collected and are
currently being characterized. Currently more than 4000 landrace
accessions are held by the Greek Genebank and the NAGREF
research institutes (Table 8.1). The universities and other
institutes maintain small working collections for their continuing
research and are involved in characterization of landraces using
morphological, cytological, biochemical and molecular markers.
All of the above organizations evaluate landraces for agronomic
or horticultural traits and exploit their value for breeding
programmes. Thus far, cabbage (Koutita et al. 2005), cherries
(Hagidimitriou, unpublished data), dry beans (Arvanitoyannis
et al. 2007; Tertivanidis et al. 2008), faba beans (Terzopoulos et
al. 2003; Lithourgidis et al. 2004), melon (Staub et al. 2004), oats
(Katsiotis et al. 2006), olives (Hagidimitriou et al. 2005, 2008),
oregano (Katsiotis, unpublished data), tomato (Terzopoulos
and Bebeli 2008; Terzopoulos et al. 2009) and wheat (Agorastos
and Goulas 2005; Mantzavinou et al. 2005; Abdellatif 2007) are
among the crops that have been characterized. For some of
these crops characterization was accomplished through projects
funded either nationally (from the Ministry of Development) or
internationally (mostly by the EU under Council Regulation No.
1467/1994 for Genetic Resources).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Table 8.1. Number of landrace accessions maintained by the Greek National
Genebank for different genera.
Genus
Species
Number of accessions
1.
Abelmoschus
esculentus
20
Collection years
1983-1999
2.
Allium
cepa
53
1982-1999
3.
Allium
porrum
64
1982-2005
4.
Allium
sativum
30
1982-2005
5.
Anethum
graveolens
7
1983-1999
6.
Apium
graveolens
16
1982-1999
7.
Arachis
hypogaea
2
1999
8.
Avena
sativa
47
1979-2005
9.
Beta
vulgaris
448
1979-2005
10.
Brassica
oleracea
150
1982-2005
11.
Capsicum
annuum
41
1982-1999
12.
Cicer
arietinum
184
1981-1999
13.
Citrullus
lanatus
10
1993-1999
14.
Cucumis
melo
18
1993-1999
15.
Cucumis
sativus
38
1983-1999
16.
Cucurbita
maxima
52
1983-2005
17.
Cucurbita
moschata
7
1992-1999
18.
Cucurbita
pepo
20
1982-1999
19.
Cynara
scholymus
4
1992-1999
20.
Daucus
carota
38
1982-1999
21.
Dolichos
lablab
3
1999
22.
Ervum
ervilia
16
1982-2005
23.
Gossypium
barbadense
1
1984
24.
Gossypium
herbaceum
1
1931
25.
Gossypium
hirsutum
305
1931-1985
26.
Helianthus
annuus
3
1999
27.
Hordeum
vulgare
111
1982-2005
28.
Lactuca
sativa
53
1982-2005
29.
Lathyrus
spp.
55
1982-1999
30.
Lens
culinaris
102
1982-2005
31.
Lupinus
spp.
87
1983-1999
32.
Lycopersicon
esculentum
75
1982-2005
33.
Medicago
sativa
18
1995-2005
34.
Nicotiana
tabacum
488
1982-1984
35.
Petroselinum
sativum
15
1982-1999
36.
Phaseolus
coccineus
30
1982-2005
37.
Phaseolus
vulgaris
436
1982-1999
38.
Pisum
sativum
46
1982-2005
39.
Prunus
spp.
142
1995-2005
40.
Raphanus
sativus
17
1982-1999
41.
Solanum
melongena
22
1995-2005
42.
Spinacia
oleracea
11
1982-1999
43.
Triticum
aestivum
126
1982-2005
44.
Triticum
baeoticum
50
1995-2005
45.
Triticum
durum
154
1982-2005
46.
Vicia
faba
171
1981-1999
47.
Vicia
sativa
50
1982-1999
48.
Vigna
unguiculata
37
1982-2005
49.
Vitis
vinifera
567
1995-2005
50.
Zea
mays
353
1965-2005
99
100
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Non-governmental organizations and farmers have also shown
interest in landraces and they contribute to their on-farm conservation.
Some of these organizations cooperate with the Greek Genebank.
In addition, an unknown number of accessions (cultivated and
wild species) were collected in Greece during the last century by
foreign collecting expeditions. Thus, plant material, including Greek
landraces, can be found in a large number of genebanks world-wide
but are not present in the Greek National Genebank.
8.3 Landrace perspective
During the last decades, due to the introduction of pure lines and
hybrids, a severe decline in large-scale cultivation of landraces has
been recorded. However, due to the geographical morphology of
Greece (almost 70% is hilly and/or mountainous) and the presence
of small-size farms (the average size of a farm is 10 acres), landraces
can still be found under cultivation, especially by people in villages
in remote regions and isolated islands, who keep their own seeds
and use them mainly for their own consumption and, to a lesser
extent, market them as speciality crops. Also, depending on the
economic value of the crop, landraces are still grown in certain areas
(tomatoes in the island of Santorini, beans in the region of Prespes
lakes), or spread throughout Greece (olives).
Tomato, a plant introduced into Europe from the New World,
started to be cultivated in several Mediterranean countries by
the end of the 16th century. In Greece tomato landraces present
a wealth of fruit shape, size and colour, and gained an important
place among the local agricultural products of various regions.
However, due to the introduction of improved tomato cultivars,
nowadays landraces are mostly cultivated in gardens or small
fields by a few elderly farmers for personal consumption or local
markets. Recently, there is an increased interest in tomato landraces
for cultivation in sustainable farming systems and production of
locally named added-value products. The most famous Greek
tomato landrace is ‘Tomataki Santorinis’ a small-fruited tomato
that is grown in the volcanic soil of the island of Santorini under
rain-fed conditions. It produces a very tasty small tomato that is
connected with the local culinary habits and is characteristic of
the local cuisine. However the evaluation of tomato landraces
collected from various regions of Greece has shown that Greek
tomato landraces present very good horticultural traits and a
wealth of phenotypic and molecular diversity. Most of them have
a potential to be cultivated per se and also constitute promising
breeding material. The Greek Genebank maintains a large number
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
of tomato landrace accessions but the promotion of their on-farm
conservation is imperative for the conservation of this valuable
genetic resource (Terzopoulos and Bebeli 2008; Terzopoulos et al.
2008).
Legumes are an important source of proteins, contributing to
human diet all over the world. The adequate nutritive composition
and variable uses of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, P. coccineus, P.
lanatus), lentils (Lens esculentum), chickpeas (Cicer arietinum)
and vetchling (L. clymenum) in different culinary forms (canned
or frozen grain and pod, dry seeds) makes them interesting
crops for consumers and processors. In Greece these legumes
are an important component of the Mediterranean diet and are
cultivated in a number of areas located in northern (Macedonia,
Thrace) and central (Thessaly, Hepirus) regions as well as the
Aegean islands (Crete, Santorini). In some such cropping areas,
farmers have maintained some common landraces, whereas in the
majority of others they have progressively been replaced by elite
cultivars. However, because the quality, nutritional composition
and morphological characteristics of some landraces of beans (in
the Prespes region of lakes), lentils (in the island of Kefallonia) and
chickpeas (in the region of Maronia) are preferred by consumers,
they are also willing to pay higher prices. In a number of cases
legume products are characterized as ‘regionally protected’, giving
them the opportunity of cultivation under in situ conditions close
to their places of origin.
Greece is considered to be a secondary centre of diversity
(Damania 1995). Fossils of olive leaves found in the islands of
Santorini and Nisyros date back to more than 30 000 years ago.
According to Tavanti, in ancient Greece, at least 15 cultivars were
described based on morphological characters whereas, at the same
period, only two were described in Egypt and three in the Middle
East (Prevost and Mostardini 1999). Nowadays Greece is among
the leading olive producing countries with an average annual
production of more than 85 000 tonnes of table olives and more
than 350 000 tonnes of olive oil. More than 90% of the total acreage
is cultivated with about 20 cultivars that have adapted in a wide
range of environmental conditions, such as ‘Koroneiki’ (grown
in areas with less than 400 mm of rainfall), ‘Lianolia Kerkyras’
(grown in areas with more than 1100 mm of rainfall), ‘Karydolia’
(cultivated in the province of Chalkidiki, Macedonia, tolerant to
frost), and ‘Kalamon’ (grown in areas with high rainfall and air
humidity), to name a few. A total of 130 Greek olive landraces have
been differentiated using molecular markers, indicating the genetic
diversity present in the region (Hagidimitriou et al. 2005, 2008).
101
102
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
References
Abdellatif, K.F. (2007) Determination of the genetic relationships among wheat
varieties using morphological, molecular and cytogenetical markers.
Agricultural University of Athens, Ph.D. thesis. 150 pp.
Agorastos, A.G. and Goulas, C.K. (2005) Line selection for exploiting durum wheat
(T. turgidum L. var. durum) local landraces in modern variety development
program. Euphytica 146(1-2), 117-124.
Arvanitoyannis, I.S., Mavromatis, A., Rodiatis, A. and Goulas, C. (2007)
Physicochemical and sensory analysis of dry bean landraces in conjunction
with multivariate analysis: An exploratory approach. International Journal of
Food Science and Technology 42(7), 819-826.
Damania, A.B. (1995) Olive, the plant of peace, reigns throughout Mediterranean.
Diversity 11, 131-132.
Foxhall, L. (2007) Olive cultivation in ancient Greece: seeking the ancient economy.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 320 pp.
Hagidimitriou, M., Katsiotis, A., Menexes, G., Pontikis, C. and Loukas M. (2005)
Genetic diversity of major Greek olive cultivars using molecular (AFLPs and
RAPD) markers and morphological traits. Journal of the American Society for
Horticultural Science 130(2), 21-217.
Hagidimitriou, M., Linos, A., Kostelenos, G., Kostelenou E. and Katsiotis, A. (2008)
Characterization of a Greek olive variety collection using molecular markers.
VI International Symposium on Olive Growing. Evora, Portugal, 9-13 September.
Katsiotis, A., Germeier, C.U., Koenig, J., Leggett, M., Bondo, L., Frese, L.,
Bladenopoulos, K., Ottoson, F., Mavromatis, A., Veteläinen,M., Menexes, G.
and Drossou A. (2006) Screening a European Avena landrace collection using
morphological and molecular markers for quality and resistance breeding.
EUCARPIA, Cereal Section Meeting: Cereal science and technology for feeding ten
billion people: genomics era and beyond. Lleida, Spain, 13-17 November.
Koutita, O., Tertivanidis, K., Koutsos, T.V., Koutsika-Sotiriou, M. and Skaracis, G.N.
(2005) Genetic diversity in four cabbage populations based on random amplified
polymorphic DNA markers. Journal of Agricultural Science 143(5)377-384.
Lithourgidis, A.S., Roupakias, D.G. and Damalas, C.A. (2004) Evaluation of faba
beans for resistance to sclerotinia stem rot caused by Sclerotinia trifoliorum.
Phytoprotection 85(2), 89-94.
Mantzavinou, A., Bebeli, P.J. and Kaltsikes, P.J. (2005) Estimating genetic diversity
in Greek durum wheat landraces with RAPD markers. Australian Journal of
Agricultural Research 56, 1355-1364.
Prevost, G. and Mostardini, S. (1999) The scholarly study and botanical classification
of the olive. Olivæ 78, 60-77.
Staub, J.E., López-Sesé, A.I. and Fanourakis, N. (2004) Diversity among melon
landraces (Cucumis melo L.) from Greece and their genetic relationships with
other melon germplasm of diverse origins. Euphytica 136(2), 151-166.
Stavropoulos, N., Gogkas, D., Chatziathanassiou, A., Zagilis, E., Drakopoulos,
G., Paitaridou, D., Trigas P., Thanopoulos, R., Koutsomitros, S., Perdikaris,
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
A., Lourida, B. and Alesta, A. (2006) Greece: Second Country Report concerning
the state on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Hellenic Democracy,
Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Athens Greece.
Tertivanidis, K., Koutita, O. , Papadopoulos, I.I., Tokatlidis, I.S., Tamoutsidis, E.G.,
Pappa-Michailidou, V. and Koutsika-Sotiriou, M. (2008) Genetic diversity in bean
populations based on random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. Biotechnology
7(1), 1-9.
Terzopoulos, P.J. and Bebeli, P.J. (2008) DNA and morphological diversity of selected
Greek tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) landraces. Scientia Horticulturae 116, 354-361.
Terzopoulos, P.J., Kaltsikes, P.J. and Bebeli, P.J. (2003) Collection, evaluation and
classification of Greek populations of faba bean (Vicia faba L.). Genetic Resources
and Crop Evolution 50, 373-381.
Terzopoulos, P.J., Walters, S.A. and Bebeli, P.J. (2009) Evaluation of Greek Tomato
Landrace Populations for Heterogeneity of Horticultural Traits. European Journal
of Horticultural Science 74, 124-29.
103
104
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
9. Inventorying and on-farm Maintenance of
Hungarian Landraces
László Holly, Attila Simon, István Már, G.M. Csizmadia, Zs. Kollár and
Zs. Hock¹
¹ Central Agricultural Office, Research Centre for Agrobotany, Tápiószele, Hungary.
E-mail lholly@agrobot.rcat.hu
9.1 Introduction
The National Institute for Agrobotany, as the predecessor of the
Central Agricultural Office, Research Centre for Agrobotany (CAO,
RCA) was founded by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1958 with the
following responsibilities:
“...collection, maintenance and taxonomic, botanical, physiological,
biochemical as well as plant pathological examination of domesticated
plant species, and a world collection of cultivated crops”.
After several reorganizations, RCA has been functioning as
a department of the CAO since 1st January 2007. In spite of the
reorganizations, RCA has kept its responsibilities concerning the
development and maintenance of collections of field and vegetable
crop genetic resources and has performed overall genebank
activities for 50 years, including the following tasks:
• Exploration and collection of genetic resources of field and
vegetable crops with special emphasis on local Hungarian
material
• Medium- and long-term conservation of seed samples in cold
storage rooms and by using meristem cultures in the case of
vegetatively propagated crops
• Multiplication and regeneration of accessions in order to obtain
sufficient quantities of high-quality seeds for medium- and longterm conservation, evaluation and distribution
• Isoclimatic regeneration of Hungarian landraces, ecotypes and
populations in their places of origin (in situ, on-farm and home
garden multiplication)
• Characterization and evaluation of plant genetic resource (PGR)
collections according to internationally accepted descriptor lists
• Development and maintenance of the National Base Collection
for seed-propagated crops
• Documentation of passport and evaluation data for the PGR
collections maintained by RCA and other partners in Hungary
(National Database)
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• Distribution of seed samples to users, together with relevant
information
• Nationwide responsibility for the technical coordination of
Hungarian PGR activities
• Participation in the ECP/GR and other international and national
programmes.
9.2
The collections of the Research Centre for Agrobotany
The collection of RCA consists of Active, Base, In vitro and Field
Collections containing a total of 87 373 accessions representing
1914 taxa of 314 genera (Table 9.1). The collections of RCA show a
wide range of diversity by country of origin, five continents with
108 countries are represented as sources of germplasm. The most
important part of the collections, 30 780 accessions (35.5% of the entire
collection) originated from Hungary and 80.1% of the Hungarian
accessions maintained in the collections of RCA are landraces and
ecotypes collected from 1364 collecting sites since 1959 (Figure 9.1).
Table 9.1. RCA collections in 2008.
Crops
Active
Base
Cereals
33 037
3 167
36 204
Food legumes
14 139
2 446
16 585
Forage legumes
4 926
410
5 336
Grasses
3 201
283
3 484
Industrial crops
6 131
932
7 063
Medicinal plants
1 165
70
Roots & tubers
349
33
Vegetables
12 378
3 807
Other
272
10
Total:
75 598
11 158
In vitro
Field
Total
1 235
474
54
910
89
16 274
282
474
143
87 373
During the collection of landraces all information related to the
collected samples is documented. A new collecting protocol is being
developed, which will support a new documentation system to be
introduced in relation to the planned establishment of a ‘Pannon
Seed Bank’ for collections of native cultivated and wild germplasm.
In addition to the minimum collection data sets (collecting site,
altitude, latitude, longitude, etc.), a module in the new system will
facilitate the documentation of all kinds of cultural, traditional,
nutritional etc. information related to the collected samples and
105
106
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
their habitats. Some examples of the additional information to be
registered are listed below:
• Description of the collecting mission (e.g. date, duration,
participants, itinerary, collector’s name and institute, etc.)
• Description of the collection site (habitat, farmer’s name and some
relevant socio-economic information about the farmers, etc.)
• Description of the collected material (e.g. taxonomy, status of
the material collected, quantity of the collected sample, number
of plants sampled, isolation, usage, local name(s), tradition
related to the production, related popular customs, unique
morphological, phenological, quality features, etc.).
SVK
UKR
AUT
Tápiószele
ROM
SVN
YUG
HRV
Figure 9.1. Landrace collection sites in Hungary.
9.3 Hungarian National Inventories for PGRFA
Holdings in all Hungarian institutions maintaining ex situ genetic
resource collections (field crops, vegetables, fruits, grapes, medicinal
and aromatic plants and microorganisms of relevance to agriculture)
were assessed in 2003, in order to develop the National Inventory
of PGRFA and to assist the supervision of collections funded within
the state programme of Conservation and Improvement of the
Biological Basis of Agriculture. In addition, a detailed survey was
undertaken from 2000 to 2004 to assess the diversity of landraces
in three target areas (ecologically sensitive areas) with special
reference to Phaseolus bean and maize. This project also included a
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
socio-economic component and was conducted within the frame of
IPGRI’s global programme 'Strengthening the scientific base of in situ
on-farm conservation of crop genetic resources'. The Plant Gene Bank
Council decided to update the state of the ex situ collections in 2007.
Negotiations have also started between the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development and the Ministry of Environment and Water
in order to develop effective collaboration among stakeholders
concerned in biodiversity issues, including the maintenance and
utilization of agro-biodiversity. According to the latest application
for support of the national genebank activities, the total number of
accessions of the Hungarian National Inventories is 144 340 accessions
including the collections of RCA (see Table 9.2).
Table 9.2. Institutions holding PGR collections and their contributions to the National
Inventory.
Crop groups
2003/2007
No of inst.
Total number of accessions
RCA’s share
Fruits
12
8 067
-
Grapes
11
4 758
-
Field crops
12
89 716
69 582
Medicinal plants
5
4 789
1 235
Microorganisms
9
2 890
-
Ornamentals
22
10 392
282
Vegetables
9
23 728
16 274
Total:
-
144 340
87 373
9.4 Protected area management
In situ conservation of crop wild relatives and landraces is closely
associated with nature conservation in Hungary. Populations of
several crop wild relatives live in protected natural habitats and such
areas can also play an important role in in situ on-farm conservation
of locally developed landraces. Protected natural areas can provide
optimal conditions for long-term maintenance of protected species.
The Hungarian law (especially Act on Nature Conservation No. LIII,
1996) classifies protected natural areas (on the basis of the extent of
measures of conservation, their aims and national and international
importance) into the following categories¹:
¹ Source: State Secretariat for Nature and Environment Protection: www.
termeszetvedelem.hu
107
108
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1. Protected natural areas and assets of national interest
a. Natural areas protected by a specific law
• National parks
• Landscape protection areas
• Nature conservation areas
• Natural monuments
b. Ex lege protected natural areas
• All qualified as nature conservation areas
- Bogs
- Alkaline lakes
• All qualified as natural monuments
- Tumulus
- Earth fortifications
- Springs
- Sinkholes
c. Ex lege protected natural assets
2. Protected natural areas of local interest
a. Nature conservation areas
b. Natural monuments.
National parks, landscape conservation areas and nature
conservation areas (of national or local interest) are the most
important protected habitats for crop wild relatives and can be
seen to be increasing in number and area over time (see Table 9.3).
Ecologically sensitive areas can also play an important role in
in situ conservation of landraces. Over 3 million hectares have
been identified as ecologically sensitive areas in Hungary. It is
anticipated that continued high-input and intensive agricultural
practices would lead to further degradation of such areas. Strict
restrictions in land management and use of fertilizers and
pesticides should be introduced to prevent the degradation of
natural, semi-natural and agro-ecosystems in these sensitive areas
(Holly et al. 2002).
In Hungary the definition of Environmentally Sensitive
Area (ESA) was first used in the Act on Nature Conservation
No. LIII, of 1996. Accordingly, ESAs are such areas (Figure
9.2, Table 9.4) within which low-input cultivation should be
applied and conservation of biodiversity, diverse habitats and
cultural and natural values should receive high priority. The
establishment of the ESA system is associated with the National
Agri-environmental Programme (Government declaration
NAKP – 2253/1999). The joint decree of the Ministry of
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
109
Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Agricultural and
Rural Development (2/2002 (I.23.) KöM – FVM rendelet) has
provided a regulatory mechanism for the designation of ESAs
(Angyán et al. 2003). The different ESAs are classified on the
basis of the level of protection required:
• Very important areas. These areas and their value are
internationally recognized. Without low-input production their
maintenance is doubtful in the medium time period.
• Important areas. These have national value. Low-input
production is necessary to the conservation of their value or to
improve their condition.
• Possible areas. The rate of extensive agricultural areas is large,
whereas the importance of natural and land values is less. The
natural value of these areas can be increased by supporting
extensive cultivation.
• Pilot areas. In 2000 one ESA was established in each national
park as a pilot area for further studies.
Table 9.3. Changes in Hungarian protected natural areas between 1997 and 2007.
Number of
National
Parks
Total area
of National
Parks (ha)
Number of
Landscape
Protection
Areas
Total area of
Landscape
Protection
Areas (ha)
Number of
Nature
Conservation
Areas
Total area
of Nature
Conservation
Areas (ha)
Total
area (ha)
1997
9
423 700
35
319 832
139
25 462
768 994
1998
9
429 415
37
341 696
146
26 440
797 551
1999
9
440 839
38
349 242
141
25 853
815 934
2000
9
440 839
38
349 242
142
25 927
816 008
2001
9
440 928
38
349 641
142
25 927
816 496
2002
10
484 883
36
309 817
142
25 927
820 627
2003
10
484 883
36
309 817
143
25 937
820 637
2004
10
484 126
36
316 677
144
27 687
828 490
2005
10
486 056
36
324 014
147
28 950
839 020
2006
10
485 806
36
324 035
152
29 191
839 032
2007
10
485 864
37
326 743
162
32 095
844 702
Twenty-one percent of Hungary’s area is part of the Natura 2000
Network. The indicated areas comprise agricultural areas such as
arable fields, grasslands, pastures and wetlands where traditional
production has been going on for a long time.
110
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Border of National Park Directorate
Pilot ESA area
Very important ESA area
Important ESA area
Possible ESA area
Figure 9.2. Environmentally Sensitive Areas in Hungary recognized in 2003.
Table 9.4. The areas and relative proportions of ESA categories.
ESA categories
Area (1 000 ha)
Ratio (%)
Pilot area
179.4
1.9
Very important area
1 883.2
20.2
Important area
936.4
10.1
Possible area
294.4
3.2
Total:
3 293.7
35.4
Country total:
9 300.8
100.0
9.5 On-farm management
In the frame of an IPGRI global project (Strengthening the scientific
basis of in situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity) the Institute
for Agrobotany (predecessor of the RCA) conducted detailed surveys
in three ESAs (Szatmár-Bereg, Dévaványa, Őrség-Vendvidék ESA).
Based on experience, and due to the difficulties in running the
backyard multiplication system, RCA has developed collaborative
linkages with different civil organizations in the field of in situ onfarm maintenance of native landraces. The following organizations
and NGOs are involved in nature protection and maintenance of
biological diversity including local landraces in Hungary:
• Ormánság Foundation (ormansag@axelero.hu): The aims of the
foundation are:
- The protection of lands against potential damage
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
•
•
•
•
•
•
- Improvement of the land’s condition by developing and
spreading adequate landscape management techniques
- Training and advising interested people
- Propagation of local fruit varieties and distribution of grafted
material.
Gyűrűfű Foundation, Gyűrűfű Society (www.gyurufu.hu):
Gyűrűfű is a self-supporting village in the south-western part of
Hungary. The people in the village intend to live in harmony with
nature. The most important aims of the society and foundation:
- Establishment of the harmonic coexistence model in terms of
nature, technology and sociology
- Representation of the interests of the members of the society
- Training (Jurta University, permaculture course), advising
- Ensuring democratic frame of local government
- Dealing with social problems of local population.
Association of Visnyeszéplak Village’s Protection (www.
visnyeszeplak.hu): Visnyeszéplak is a self-supporting village in
the region of Zselic. The local population tries to live in harmony
with nature. They realize it through ecological farming and bioproduction. The most important aims of the association:
- Protection of natural values including local varieties of Zselic
subregion
- Development of ecological wood felling and cutting methods
- Cultural, social questions and problems of local population
- Training and advising interested people.
Gaia Ecological Foundation (www.gaiaalapitvany.hu):
- Participation in local rural development
- Participation in the functioning of Galgafarm (the first
Hungarian Organic Agricultural Society)
- Participation in the functioning of Galgahévíz Ecovillage
Eco-resources Foundation, Budakeszi:
- Participation in the on-farm evaluation and maintenance of
landraces
- Safeguarding the scientific heritage of Prof. Andor Jánossy
- Utilizing local landraces in ecological farming and on-farm
selection.
Hungarian Permaculture Association (www.permakultura.hu):
- Training, advising
- Spreading of permaculture methodology
- Low-input production (use of landraces).
Biohistorical site of Szarvasgede (gyulai.ferenc@kti.szie.hu):
- Production of einkorn and fruit landraces (more than 200
landraces – cherry, sour cherry, apricot, plum, apple, pear –
from the Carpathian Basin)
111
112
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
- Archeobotanical research
- Participation in higher education.
• Nimfea Nature Conservation Association (www.nimfea.
hu): The ‘Nimfea’ works in the Great Hungarian Plain as a
non-governmental organization, solving tasks related to the
environment and nature protection. The association deals with
practical realization of local sustainable agricultural production.
• Hungarian Bioculture Union (www.biokultura.org):
- Low-input production, ecological production.
• Pangea Cultural and Environmental Heritage Protection
Association (www.pangea.hu):
- Environmental education (camps for children, ‘on the spot’
training)
- Low-input production: biological farming using landraces
- Biological sewage systems.
9.6
On-farm (dynamic) conservation of PGRFA in Hungary
At the beginning of the 21st century, when genetic erosion threatens
most cultivated species, the need for using diverse conservation
methodologies is important. The traditional genebank activity
has therefore been complemented by two additional forms of
conservation in the Hungarian National Programme, see Figure
9.3 and Már and Holly (1999) for discussion:
• ‘Backyard’ multiplication: In 1959 Andor Jánossy initiated a
programme for the multiplication of landraces under equivalent
conditions. The principal purpose of this programme was
to conserve the original genetic composition and integrity
of landraces, old cultivars and local varieties by minimizing
directional selection pressures. The programme is based on the
multiplication of locally adapted populations in selected districts
where the climatic and edaphic conditions are similar to those of
the places of origin. In such districts farmers were contracted to
grow about 400-500 accessions each year (Table 9.5).
• On-farm conservation: Within a given landscape and agricultural
district, locally adapted populations are the most stable varieties.
The specific genetic adaptation to local biotic and abiotic factors
is the result of long-term selection and adaptation processes.
Collecting seeds in the field and recording information concerning
the motivation of farmers in growing them contribute to our
knowledge on this neglected aspect of biodiversity. Recently,
landraces of crops such as maize (Zea mays), vetch (Vicia spp.),
cucurbits (Cucurbita spp.), bean (Phaseolus spp.), paprika (Capsicum
annuum), rye (Secale cereale) and some under-utilized species (i.e.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
113
safflower, Carthamus tinctoria L.) are used in on-farm conservation
in various regions within Hungary. By extending the evaluation
of local populations kept in genebanks or farmers’ fields, they
become known and readily available to the public.
Figure 9.3. Information and material flow-chart of on-farm management
of landraces in Hungary.
The dynamic conservation of landraces is based on the principles
of on-farm activity and it is realized by a connected management
of the informational and seed supplying system. It includes the
‘back garden’ system (adding benefits by drawing the attention of
farmers involved in this system to landraces) and restoration activity
(adding benefits by informing farmers interested in the application
of principles of sustainable agriculture and quality food production
on the real advantages of the cultivation of landraces).
The ‘back garden’ system has been running since 1959 and it
has an essential role in the overall PGR conservation. The system
includes several activities with additional benefits such as:
• The multiplication of the accessions stored in the ex situ collection
in regions where the natural conditions are similar to the conditions
of the original collecting sites. The main objective of this activity
is the optimal maintenance of the original genetic composition of
the accessions. It is realized by contracting farmers living in the
relevant regions to grow landraces of different species originated
114
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
in their villages or nearby areas. The harvested seed is partly
reintroduced to the ex situ collection as a regenerated sample of the
original accession. The climatic conditions of the multiplication
districts (Táplánszentkereszt, Lókút, Nagykálló, Dévaványa,
Szatmár-Bereg, Őrség-Vendvidék) cover the conditions of the
major agro-ecological sites of Hungary.
• The contractual multiplication of the stored accessions also
plays an essential role in the reintroduction of partly forgotten
cultivation knowledge among younger farmers, who, through
the propagation of the landraces, can also satisfy their families’
own consumption needs. Cultivation of landraces especially: bean
(Phaseolus spp.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), green and red
pepper (Capsicum spp.), onions (Allium spp.) cucurbits (Cucurbita
spp.), garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa), spinach (Spinacia oleracea),
broad bean (Vicia faba), clover (Trifolium spp.) and maize (Zea mays)
can complement the cultivation of modern cultivars, especially in
regions where the average farm size is relatively small.
Table 9.5. Multiplication of landraces by crop groups and by five-year cycles.
Years of
regeneration
Cereals
Food
legumes
Forage
legumes
Industrial
crops
Vegetables Other
Total
Before 1980
79
136
120
39
157
11
542
1981-1985
181
400
839
232
755
16
2 423
1986-1990
418
404
1 249
506
690
17
3 284
1991-1995
216
363
802
394
750
92
2 617
1996-2000
40
233
200
86
297
41
897
After 2000
15
183
38
45
247
3
531
Total:
949
1 719
3 248
1 302
2 896
180
10 294
High Nature Value Areas have been identified among the
Environmentally Sensitive Areas on the basis of level of biological
diversity and the occurrence of protected species, and special protection
was assigned to such areas. We also used these districts to conduct
surveys on the status of landraces and local agricultural practices.
As an example, we can cite the results of a survey of the Dévaványa
Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) which includes five settlements
and is located in the centre of the Hungarian Great Plain. The landscape
is flat and consists of mosaics of cultivated lands and grasslands. One
of the aims of the survey was to identify the species composition and
diversity index of kitchen gardens and small plots belonging to the
households. As a first step, the average size of kitchen gardens in the
region was calculated, the national average being 591 m². The following
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
table shows data concerning the size of kitchen gardens in the five
settlements within Dévaványa ESA (Table 9.6). The size of kitchen
gardens was found to vary between 30 and 5000 m², with an average
size of 478 m². This value is lower than the national average, which
may be due to the urbanized character of the region.
The second step was to estimate the diversity of home gardens
using the Shannon-Weaver and Simpson indices. Between 1958 and
2002, the Research Centre for Agrobotany conducted 11 collecting
trips to the five settlements and in total 143 samples belonging to
37 crops were collected (Table 9.7).
Table 9.6. Size of kitchen gardens in Dévaványa ESA.
Settlement
Average size of
kitchen gardens (m²)
Minimum size of
kitchen gardens (m²)
Maximum size of
kitchen gardens (m²)
Dévaványa
498.25
30
2 160
Gyomaendrőd
622.20
30
2 880
Körösladány
309.20
40
720
Szeghalom
425.71
100
1 440
Túrkeve
534.72*
70
5 000
Average
478.02
54
2 440
Table 9.7. Numbers of crops and landraces collected in the settlements of Dévaványa ESA.
Settlement
Number of crops
Number of landraces collected
Dévaványa
18
70
Gyomaendrőd
20
42
Körösladány
5
15
Szeghalom
5
5
Túrkeve
8
11
Total
37
143
The most common crops found were common bean (Phaseolus
spp.) and maize (Zea mays L.) landraces. A total of two scarlet runner
bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.), one Lima bean (Phaseolus lanatus L.)
and 36 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) samples were collected
in Dévaványa ESA. The majority of the 29 maize open pollinated
varieties found are used predominantly but not exclusively for
feeding animals. The majority of the collected species belong to
the Poaceae and Fabaceae families. The most important agronomic
groups of the collected material are vegetables, pulses and cereals.
Among the total 42 crop species collected, potato (Solanum
tuberosum L.), maize (Zea mays L.) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) are
grown on the largest areas. Vine grape (Vitis vinifera L.) and plum
115
116
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
(Prunus domestica L.) are the most common among the 21 woody
plant species registered during the survey. The shares of different
species in the entire cultivated areas clearly show the importance
of small farms and kitchen gardens in meeting the food and feed
needs of the rural households in the target area.
In each Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA), the agricultural
diversity and biodiversity were assessed and documented. Results
of the surveys supported the expectation that in such areas
where high-input crop production technologies are harmful to
the environment, excellent conditions might be provided for
the survival and conservation of traditional farm management
techniques and local landraces (Holly et al. 2002).
Another field of the work on landraces is the restoration of local
varieties by on-farm maintenance in different regions. This activity is
primarily based on the strong motivation of farmers and/or farmer
communities (coordinated by NGOs) to maintain and use one or
several elements of native PGR. The activity is promoted through
a seed supply system: the seeds of landraces are taken from the
national genebank (RCA) or directly from the local markets according
to the needs of farmers involved. In many cases the farmers are
interested in the cultivation of the earlier local varieties which had
disappeared. Civil organizations (South Transdanubian Regional
Centre, Drávafok; Ecological Institute for Sustainable Development,
Gömörszölös), scientists and students from universities and research
centres (Agricultural University of Debrecen - DATE, Agricultural
University of Gödöllö - GATE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the Ministry of Environment and Water have
supported and been involved in the survey and implementation.
Another important experience is the recognition of the importance
of local markets. These places should be considered as an integral
and complex system providing a chance for the exchange of local
plant materials among farmers and gardeners. Any changes in the
legislation and in the functional structure of the local markets may
strongly influence the survival of local plant genetic resources.
References
Ángyán, J., Tardy, J. and Vajnáné Madarassy, A. (2003) Védett és érzékeny természeti
területek mezőgazdálkodásának alapjai. Mezőgazda Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.
Holly, L., Gyovai, Á., Már, I., Málnási Csizmadia, G., Horváth, L. and Kollár,
Zs. (2002)Az ökológiailag érzékeny területek lehetséges szerepe az agrobiodiverzítás megőrzésében. Acta Agronomica Hungarica 2002, 145-154.
Már, I. and Holly, L. (1999) Economical challenges and perspectives in the using of
landraces maintained on-farm. Tiszántúli Mezőgazdasági Tudományos Napok
‘99 at www.date.hu/kiadvany/tessedik/1/mar.pdf.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
10. Landrace Inventories in Italy and the Lazio
Region Case Study
Oriana Porfiri¹, Maria Teresa Costanza² and Valeria Negri¹
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo
XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail ori@mercurio.it
² Agenzia Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l’Innovazione dell’Agricoltura del Lazio
(ARSIAL), via Lanciani 38, 00162 Roma, Italy
10.1 Introduction
Landraces have been cultivated and continuously developed by
local farmers for centuries in Italy. Although they run a severe
risk of extinction, they are still part of the local productive systems
especially (even though not exclusively) because of traditions
linked to food (Silveri et al. 2002; Negri 2003; Porfiri 2004; Dalla
Ragione and Porfiri 2005; Falcinelli et al. 2005; Dalla Ragione and
Dalla Ragione 2006; Nanni et al. 2006; Negri et al. 2007 just to
cite some of the numerous papers concerning them). In Italy the
risk related to their genetic erosion, and to the loss of agricultural
biodiversity in general, was fortunately perceived earlier than
in other countries. A first national inventory of landraces still
maintained on-farm was recently compiled within the frame of
the national seed project PRIS2 (Azioni di Innovazione e Ricerca
a Supporto del Piano Sementiero), which is available at www.
catalogovarietalocali.pris2.parco3a.org/.
Italy was the first country in Europe (and probably in the
world) to have created national and regional regulations (see
Lorenzetti et al., Chapter 33 this volume; see also www.ense.
it or www.semirurali.net) aimed at landrace inventorying and
conservation. As early as the year 1997, long before any other
European or Italian legislative initiatives, the Tuscany Region
promulgated the first law which was then followed by other
regional laws.
These laws are also concerned with the use of genetic resources
in relation to the development of local agricultural systems. In
particular, the relationship between genetic resources, territory,
typical products and local traditions has generally been a focal
point in establishing the measures aiming to preserve landraces.
This corpus iuriis is probably unique in Europe as both an
applicative and operative system. We are here taking the Lazio
law (see www.arsial.regione.lazio.it/portalearsial/default.htm)
and its implementation as an exemplar case study.
117
118
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
10.2 The Lazio Region law: main points
The law protects both animal and plant genetic resources; here
we will refer only to the latter with specific reference to landraces.
The law (Legge Regionale 1 marzo 2000, n 15. “Tutela delle risorse
genetiche autoctone di interesse agrario”) – similarly to other regional
laws – initially defines genetic resources of concern and the concept
of ‘autochthony’ (Article 1). All species (including wild relatives of
cultivated species), varieties, populations, ecotypes and clones that
have their origin in the regional area, or which were introduced
into the regional territory at least 50 years ago and are integrated in
the regional agro-ecosystem, are to be considered ‘autochthonous’.
They are going to be protected by the law only if they are subject to a
process of ‘genetic erosion’. The evaluation criteria of genetic erosion
are one of the main features of this law which, needing an extensive
treatment, will be reviewed in a purposely dedicated paragraph.
Article 2 provides for the setting of an official regional ‘repertory’
(i.e. inventory) in which to register the above-mentioned genetic
resources at risk and the criteria for registering them in the repertory
itself. The Agricultural Extension Service of Lazio Region (ARSIAL)
is defined as the subject that takes care of the law’s application
and as the responsible holder of the repertory. The registration is
submitted to the evaluation of a panel of experts (Art. 3). A network
of conservation and security (Art. 4), which brings together different
stakeholders, both public and private, is another tool created by
the Lazio law with the purpose of promoting in situ and on-farm
conservation of genetic resources and to organize the propagation
of landraces. Article 5, recalling the Rio Convention on Biodiversity,
declares that local genetic resources belong to local people and
that benefits coming from their use should be equally subdivided
among them. Article 6 defines the implementation plan and states
that financial support should be given to people maintaining
genetic resources at risk in situ (on-farm). The other Articles define
constraints and finances.
10.3 The implementation of the law
The repertory or inventory is the pivotal tool to protect
genetic resources under threat (www.arsial.it/portalearsial/
RegistroVolontarioRegionale/Default.htm). It is a voluntary register
since any subject (private persons, organizations, public institutes)
can ask for free to include a certain genetic resource in the repertory.
In particular, a written request must be send to ARSIAL jointly
with a technical report where a detailed morphological description,
inclusive of photographic documentation, and information about
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
the place of conservation and multiplication, its extension, the
maintaining farmers, area of origin, history and main agronomic
characteristics are to be described. Since the year 2000 the Lazio
region has funded the implementation of the law which followed
the steps reported below:
• the creation of a dedicated web page where all the information
about the law and its implementation processes are given and
continuously updated;
• the nomination of the technical-scientific committee whose main
tasks, besides providing general information, have been to work
out the forms for acknowledging the existence of a certain genetic
resource, set the criteria to define it as ‘under threat’, evaluate all
the requests for registration which arrive and give suggestions
about the way to carry out characterization;
• the progressive collection of all possible information related to
each signalled genetic resource (including historical documents
and oral testimonies, etc.) in order to verify the autochthony
of landraces, their diffusion, their relationship with rural
communities, local traditions and their potential economic value;
• the elaboration and loading of information;
• the collection of seed/propagating materials and their multiplication;
• the characterization of genetic materials, by different tools (morphophysiological traits, molecular patterns, comparative trials);
• the compilation of an on-line repertory of collected materials;
• the promotion of a stakeholders’ network, which organizes the
exchange of seed/propagating materials among its members,
according to commercial seed regulations.
This work has been possible because since the publication of
the law the ARSIAL officers have built up a consistent personal
experience on issues related to on-farm conservation. After eight
years the Lazio region has built up a repertory with more than
100 accessions of different species which are currently being
characterized. At present Lazio has also prepared a list of the
landraces which includes an estimate of the erosion risk they
are running. This would be a prioritization tool to fund on-farm
conservation activities.
10.4 The evaluation of genetic erosion threat: a model
As mentioned above, the evaluation of the threat level of a certain
genetic resource conditions its inclusion in the Register. In addition,
considering that finances are usually limited, the level of threat was
assumed as the priority parameter to fund on-farm conservation
activities.
119
120
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 10.1 Indicators and indicator scores to evaluate genetic erosion and levels of
risk adopted by Lazio Region.
Indicator
Description²
Risk level Score
A
Presence of the
product on the
market
B
Presence in the
catalogues of the
seed companies/
nurseries
Markets and/or producer’s cooperatives
Sector: main variety in a certain DOC, DOP, IGP,
IGT certified production
Low
1
Niche market: locally limited cultivated areas
Market section: secondary varieties in a DOC,
DOP, IGP or IGT certified production
Medium
2
Only some fruits/few seeds available for
consumption or research
No product on the market
High
3
Fruits: presence in variety list A, B and C
Vegetables and plants: listed in the national
register of varieties
Grapevine: listed in the regional register
Low
1
Grapevine: under registration to regional register Medium
Propagation materials available at a few nurseries
2
Fruits: not registered in the variety list
Vegetables and plants: not registered in the
national register of varieties
Grapevine: not registered in the regional register
No propagating material available out of the
maintaining farm
3
High
C
> 100
Number of
30 to100
cultivating farmers
< 30
Low
1
Medium
2
High
3
D
Areas under
cultivation (as
percentage of the
total regional area
for the species)
>5%
Low
1
1 to 5 %
Medium
2
< 1%
Isolated plants or home garden cultivations
High
3
E
New dedicated
area trend
New areas dedicated to landrace present
Low
1
No new areas dedicated to landrace present
High
3
The setting of criteria to establish the level of genetic erosion has
been a crucial step in the application of the law.
Despite the many authors who have studied the problem and
given different definitions of genetic erosion, no studies are available
that propose models to quantify it. In addition, the estimate of
² Data to be recorded by ARSIAL extension officers.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
level of erosion may require different criteria in relation to the
species, the environment and the interaction between the species
and the environment (where environment is to be intended sensu
latu, i.e. including the ‘human environment’). It was a task of the
expert committee to set criteria (i.e. indicators), based on personal
experience and scientific expertise and the available literature and
data which were useful to define the level of threat. The committee
initially recognized that a changing socio-economic environment is
the main cause of genetic erosion (or loss) of genetic resources (cf.
Negri 2003): the increasing rate of farming drop-out, the farmers’
ageing, the unwillingness of younger generations to reproduce
seeds on the farm, the insufficiency of information exchange, the
increasing use of modern varieties, all cause a progressive depleting
of genetic resources. In addition some of the genetic resources that
were signalled as autochthonous to the committee serve a niche or
a wider market locally, since typical products are highly appreciated
in Italy. In some cases they are also available on the seed market
(i.e. some horticultural crops and fruit trees). The biological traits
and cultivation conditions of different species (type of reproductive
systems, propagation type, agronomic density of plants, etc.) were
also taken into account in formulating criteria.
After discussion, the following indicators were chosen (Table 10.1):
a. existence of the product on the market;
b. presence of a landrace on the catalogues of a seed company or
nurseries;
c. numbers of farmers still cultivating the landrace;
d. cultivated areas of the landrace in comparison with the total
regional area for that crop;
e. trend of new cultivation areas dedicated to that specific landrace.
Each indicator was then associated to other conditions to attribute
a risk score (1 = low; 2 = medium; 3 = high, Table 10.1). It was then
decided that the sum of different values would have given a total
level of erosion, with the following classification of the erosion risk:
• low risk as total value ≤ 9
• medium risk as total value 10 to 13
• high risk as total value ≥ 14.
It was also decided that the presence of only one indicator with
a score equal to 3 was sufficient to consider the landrace as under
threat and, as a consequence, enough to activate the law procedures
(i.e. to register the landrace in the inventory). However, considering
the financial aspect, the higher the level of threat the higher is the
possibility of funding on-farm conservation activities through
subsidies.
121
122
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
10.5 Lessons learnt
The experience of Lazio Region, as well as that of other Regions
(i.e. Tuscany, Marche), demonstrates that a regional law is a good
instrument to preserve agricultural biodiversity and to promote
the use of landraces. The Regional Government, having good
knowledge of the territory, is able to inventory its genetic resources
better than other public bodies in Italy. In addition, the local
regulations are generally discussed and applied with easier and
more flexible procedures than national or EU laws. However, Italian
experiences also show limits with regard to the followings aspects:
• Parameters used to identify local varieties are different from one
Region to another, which makes for confusion at the national level.
• In defining landrace identity and autochthony it is difficult to
take into account the rural traditions because they have mostly
been passed from one generation to another orally.
• It is difficult for a farmer who cultivates a landrace on a limited scale
and in a (usually) small farm to sell seed conforming to the official
regulations on seed production and certification. This is especially
true for rules such as those concerned with purity, traceability and
packing. Specific skills and equipment are necessary for them,
which are not generally present on small farms.
• A system that efficiently transfers the benefit of farmers’ rights to
the local agricultural communities (according to the enunciation
of ITPGRFA) has not yet been found.
According to the experience gained by Lazio, two tools are
particularly useful to preserve genetic resources on-farm:
a. the inventory: because (i) it publicly acknowledges the existence
of single local varieties (which are well identified, differentiated
from others of the same species, located in a specific area of
origin, and described in terms of the genetic erosion threats) and
(ii) it represents the basis for safeguarding landraces by a solid
legal instrument,
b. the network of conservation and security: because it promotes
seed multiplication and diffusion of the landrace registered in
the regional repertory.
We would also like to note that the exchange of experiences
between neighbouring Regions would be important not only for the
best application of Regional laws but also for a better safeguard of
genetic resources at a European level. Recently, a national law (Law
n. 46, April 6, 2007, see Lorenzetti et al., Chapter 33 this volume)
was approved which makes provision for the compilation of a
national catalogue of landraces. The national catalogue will collate
all the regional inventories in one. It further promotes the inventory
of the cultivated biodiversity under threat and should harmonize
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
the regulations of different regions so as to avoid overlapping and
inefficiencies.
References
Dalla Ragione, L. and Dalla Ragione, I. (2006) Archeologia arborea. Diario di due
cercatori di piante. [Arboreal archeology. A diary of two fruit explorers] 3rd edn.
Ali&no publ., Perugia, Italy.
Dalla Ragione, I. and Porfiri, O. (2005) La situación de la conservación de las
variedades locales en Italia. Especies herbáceas y leñosas. Red de Semillas
“Resembrando e Intercambiando (www.redsemillas.net) 10, 16-19.
Falcinelli, M., Albertini, E., Castellini, G., Concezzi, L., Dalla Ragione, I., Desantis,
F., Falistocco, E., Fatichenti, F., Ferranti, F., Giampiccolo, C., Maceri, S., Micheli,
M., Paliotti, R., Paladin, C., Porfiri, O., Prosperi, F., Rossi, F., Scerna, G.C.,
Standardi, A., Reale, L. and Torricelli, R. (2005) La biodiversità vegetale in Umbria
e la sua conservazione. 3A-PTA publ., Pantalla di Todi, Italy.
Nanni, L., Bellucci, E., Bitocchi, E., Mazzucato, A., Piermattei, S., Porfiri, O., Rossi,
M. and Papa, R. (2006) La conservazione dell’agro-biodiversità nella regione
Marche. In: Micheletti, A. and Cecconi, F. (eds) Biodiversità e risorse genetiche.
Esperienze nelle Marche. Assam e Regione Marche. Stampa Erebi Grafiche Ripesi,
Falconara, Italy. pp. 17-26.
Negri, V. (2003) Landraces in central Italy: where and why they are conserved
and perspectives for their on farm conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 50, 871-885.
Negri, V., Branca, F. and Castellini, G. (2007) Integrating wild plants and landrace
conservation in farming systems: a perspective from Italy. In: Maxted, N.,
Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Kell, S.P., Iriondo, J., Dulloo, E. and Turok, J. (eds) Crop Wild
Relative Conservation and Use. CAB International, Wallingford, UK. pp. 392-402.
Porfiri, O. (2004) Le varietà locali delle piante coltivate: un patrimonio genetico,
culturale e storico da recuperare, salvaguardare e valorizzare. In: Gallo, G.,
Porfiri, O., Venora, G., Lombardo, G.M. and Blangiforti, S (eds) I frumenti
siciliani. Patrimonio da mantenere e valorizzare. Giuseppe Maimone Editore,
Catania, Italy. pp. 17-68.
Silveri, D.D., Dalla Ragione, I., Porfiri, O., Torricelli, R., Tosti, N. and Veronesi, F.
(2002) Collection, evaluation and conservation of plant genetic resources in
the Abruzzo region, Central Italy. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 129, 36-43.
123
124
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
11.
Landrace Inventory for Portugal
Pedro M.R. Mendes Moreira¹, Maria Manuela Veloso²
¹ Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra. Departamento de Fitotecnia. Sector
de Protecção Vegetal, Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Bencanta, 3040316, Coimbra, Portugal, E-mail pmoreira@esac.pt
² Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biológicos, L-INIA, Quinta do Marquês, 2784505 Oeiras, Portugal
11.1 Introduction
Portugal, at the confluence of Atlantic and Mediterranean
climates, and with irregular landscapes and different types of
soils is an interesting case study of the adaptability of plant
genetic resources. Eurasian crops such, as wheat (Triticum
aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), arrived in the
country between 3800 and 2500 BC (Diamond 1998), and the
olive tree (Olea europaea L.) and grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)
were greatly spread during Roman times (Kiple 2007). Similar
adaptation occurred with New World crops, such as beans
(Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) (Costa-Rodrigues
1971; Ferrão 1990). As a consequence, many landraces originated
for each crop. Despite the great importance of these landraces,
their maintenance has been seriously threatened, especially
since the 1970s, when emigration was intensified and the land
abandoned (Pêgo and Antunes 1997).
Empirical knowledge and Portuguese collective memory
were also partially lost. At present, 68% of Portuguese farmers
are older than 55, and only 3% are younger than 35 (Benoist and
Marquer 2006). Furthermore, traditional agricultural systems are
not economically viable, although environmentally sustainable
(Alves et al. 2003). Thus, farmers need to be multifunctional (Pêgo
2007) i.e. genetic resources curators, environmental protectors,
and service providers of green care in agriculture and keepers
of cultural traditions.
In the beginning of the 1980s, landraces of several crops
were collected (on the mainland and in the Azores and Madeira
Islands) in order to complement the on-farm conservation.
The samples were deposited in Portuguese genebanks (Mota
et al. 1981; Bettencourt and Gusmão 1982), which necessarily
functioned as a backup system (Maxted et al. 2002). A special
situation was found with grapevine. More than 200 ancient
cultivars still exist in Portugal and are maintained at the National
Ampélographique Collection (Almandanim et al. 2007).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
More recently (2000-2002), following the Global Plan of
Action (FAO 1996) a strategy plan which aims to integrate the
environmental components into the agricultural and forestry
activities was established. One of the scheduled activities was
the inventorying of traditional cultivars still grown by farmers
(Anonymous 2000). A similar procedure was followed in the Azores
and Madeira Islands with the Project ‘Germobanco Agrícola da
Macaronésia’ and an inventorying of the traditional crops grown
in the Islands was undertaken (I Workshop Germobanco Agrícola
da Macaronésia, Açores, 2008).
The efforts developed by non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) should also be acknowledged. For instance, ‘Colher
para Semear ’ is mostly active in inventorying and preserving
traditional crops. It published a list of about 350 landraces of
22 species, yearly available to members. A catalogue was also
prepared for landraces of 14 important crops of the Península
de Setúbal, south of Lisbon (Ribeiro and Fonseca 2006; Moreira
et al., in press-a).
This communication gives information about: 1) landraces
still grown on-farm; 2) studies and research activities carried
out (genetic relatedness, pre-breeding, participatory plant
breeding).
11.2 Methodology
The inventorying of traditional cultivars has been conducted by
governmental institutions (Research Institutes, Universities) and
NGOs, always with the cooperation of the Agricultural Regional
Services. Guidelines were followed referring to five main fields:
farmer identification and localization, farm characterization,
species grown, species phenology and traditional utilization. For
herbaceous species, seeds were collected and conserved in the
Portuguese genebanks: Banco Português de Germoplasma Vegetal
(BPGV), Banco de Germoplasma – Genética, Banco da Estação
Nacional de Melhoramento de Plantas, Banco de Germoplasma
of Madeira University (ISOPLEXIS) and Banco do Centro de
Biotecnologia dos Açores. For plants propagated vegetatively,
such as garlic, sweet potato, yam and woody species, propagules
were sent to the Germplasm Centres where the collections are
located.
The collected germplasm was subsequently characterized
according to the IPGRI descriptors, which for apple and pear
were complemented with UPOV methodologies. Olive tree
characterization followed the rules of the International Oleicole
125
126
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Council. Molecular markers have also been used for the
identification of synonyms and for monitoring the diversity of
genetic relatedness.
11.3 Results
Cereals
Traditional maize is still cultivated in Portugal (mainland,
Azores and Madeira Islands) and was recently (Vaz Patto et al.
2007) collected, from central and northern rural communities, as
landraces used for bread production (broa). Traditional wheat
(Barbela and Barbelinha) is still grown in the Mogadouro and
Bragança regions (in the north of the country). In the Madeira
Islands other traditional wheat cultivars are also still being grown
(see Tables 11.6 and 11.7).
Legumes
Many common bean landraces are in use, in mainland north/
central regions, Azores and Madeira Islands (see Tables 11.6 and
11.7). Important examples are ‘Papo de Rola’, ‘Patareco’, ‘Canário’,
‘Sete Semanas’, ‘Manata’, ‘Bencanta’, ‘Vagem Rajada’ and ‘Tarrestre’
(Carvalho and Proença 2000). Another important legume is broad
bean (Vicia faba L.). The ‘Do Algarve’ traditional cultivar has great
significance in the south (Carvalho 2008). A national inventory for
grain legume collections was organized by Duarte et al. (in press)
(Table 11.1).
Table 11.1. Portuguese landraces of grain legumes conserved in Portuguese genebanks.
Species
Total no. of accessions
Landraces %
Cicer arietinum L.
1 659
37%
Phaseolus vulgaris L.
3 262
100%
Pisum sativum L.
834
56%
Vicia faba L.
788
70%
Vegetables
Traditional vegetables that should be referred are: Onion
(Allium cepa L.) - ‘Branca da Lezíria’, ‘Setúbal Portuguesa’,
‘Vermelha de Povairão’; Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Miller)
- ‘Pendura’; Portuguese cabbages (Brassica oleracea L.) - ‘Penca
de Chaves’, ‘Penca de Mirandela’, ‘Penca da Póvoa Verde’ which
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
are traditionally cultivated in the north of the country. Some
traditional turnip (Brassica rapa L.) landraces are ‘Greleiro Senhora
da Conceição’, ‘Gandra’, ‘Greleiro Temporão’, ‘São Cosme’, and
for muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) ‘Lagarto’, ‘Carrasco’, ‘Casca
de Carvalho Fino’, ‘Casca de Carvalho Robusto’ and ‘Casca de
Carvalho Ponderado’.
Woody plants
Olive tree - Several olive autochthonous landraces are still grown
(Table 11.2) (Leitão et al. 1986).
Table 11.2. Portuguese traditional olive landraces and most important regions for
their cultivation.
Traditional name
Most important region(s) for the
crop cultivation
Galega Vulgar (Galega)
Very common in the country
Carrasquenha
Alentejo
Redondil
Alentejo, Elvas
Azeitoneira (Azeiteira)
Alentejo, Campo Maior
Conserva de Elvas
Alentejo, Elvas
Galega Grada de Serpa
Alentejo, Serpa, Moura
Cordovil de Serpa
Alentejo, Serpa, Moura
Verdeal Alentejana (Verdeal de Serpa)
Alentejo, Serpa, Moura
Maçanilha Carrasquenha de Almendralejo
Alentejo
Cordovil de Castelo Branco
Beira Interior
Bical de Castelo Branco
Beira Interior
Maçanilha Algarvia
Algarve
Redondal
Trás-os-Montes
Verdeal Transmontana
Trás-os-Montes
Cobrançosa
Trás-os-Montes
Madural
Trás-os-Montes
Negrinha
Trás-os-Montes
Grapevine - The most important cultivation regions of
autochthonous cultivars for wine making are referred to by
Bohm (2007) in Table 11.3.
127
128
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 11.3. Portuguese autochthonous grapevine landraces cultivated for wine making.
Traditional name
Most important region(s) for the crop cultivation
Antão Vaz
Alentejo
Arinto
In the whole country
Avesso
Minho
Azal
Amarante, Basto, Vale do Sousa
Baga
Bairrada
Bical
Beiras
Borraçal
Vinhos Verdes region
Castelão
Alentejo, Estremadura
Cerceal Branco
Beiras
Cercial
Bairrada
Diagalves
Alentejo
Encruzado
Dão
Espadeiro
Minho
Fernão Pires
Ribatejo
Folgasão
Trás-os-Montes
Malvasia Preta
Dão, Douro
Marufo
Beira Interior, Trás-os-Montes
Moreto
Alentejo
Rabo de Ovelha
All the country, particularly Alentejo, Ribatejo, Estremadura
Rabigato
Trás-os-Montes
Ramisco
Colares region (near Lisbon)
Sercial
Minho
Síria
Alentejo
Tinta Barroca
Douro
Tinta Caiada
Alentejo
Tinta Carvalha
Estremadura, Trás-os-Montes, Minho
Tinta Francisca
Douro
Tinto Cão
Douro
Touriga Franca
Douro
Touriga Nacional
Dão, Douro and in recent times the whole country
Trincadeira
Alentejo
Trincadeira das Pratas
Ribatejo
Vinhão
Minho
Viosinho
Douro
Vital
Estremadura
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Fruit trees - More than 100 traditional fruit tree landraces were
recently inventoried by Anonymous (2003), these included: pears
(Pyrus communis L.), apples (Malus domestica Borkh.), fig trees
(Ficus carica L.), cherries (Prunus avium L.), chestnuts (Castanea
sativa Mill.), almonds (Prunus dulcis [Miller] D.A.Webb) and
carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua L.). Tables 11.4 and 11.5 summarize
the most important regions for apple and pear cultivation
(Crespi et al. 2006; Godinho and Lampreia 2006). Apple is also
very important for the Azores and Madeira Islands (see Tables
11.6 and 11.7)
Table 11.4. Traditional Portuguese mainland apple landraces.
Traditional name
Most important region(s) for the crop cultivation
Bravo
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Esmolfe
Gigante do Douro
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Vousela
Maçã das Velhas
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Carregal do Sal
Riscadinha Chão da Cunha
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Mangualde
Verdeal de Bodiosa
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Bodiosa
Malápio da Ponte
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Mortágua
Pipo de Basto
Beira Litoral, Viseu, Lamego
Camoesa de Alcongosta
Beira Interior, Castelo Branco, Alcongosta
Maçã do Limoeiro
Entre Douro e Minho, Viana do Castelo, Melgaço
Pero de Coura (Pero Mulato)
Entre Douro e Minho, Braga
Porta da Loja
Entre Douro e Minho, Braga, Tibães
Malápio de Gouveia
Trás-os-Montes
Table 11.5. Portuguese traditional pear landraces.
Traditional name
Most important region(s) for the crop cultivation
Bela de Junho
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Fim de Século
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Malheira
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Pêra Joaquina
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Pêra Marmelo
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Rabiça
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
S. Bento
Trás-os-Montes, Bragança, Mirandela
Boticas Inverno
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real, Boticas
Nacional
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real
Coradinha
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real
Marmela
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real, Boticas
Pêra Cabaça
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real, Boticas
Perola
Trás-os-Montes, Vila Real, Boticas
129
130
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 11.6. Traditional cultivars of several crops in the Azores Islands.
Crop
Number of traditional cultivars
Apple (Malus domestica)
74
Pear (Pyrus communis)
19
Plum (Prunus salicina)
6
Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa)
15
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
30
Yam (Colocasia esculenta)
18
Milho (Maize) (Zea mays)
14
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
17
Broad bean (Vicia faba)
1
Onion (Allium cepa)
1
Table 11.7. Traditional cultivars of several crops in the Madeira Islands.
Crop
Number of traditional cultivars
Apple (Malus domestica)
20
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)
37
Milho (Maize) (Zea mays)
21
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
95
Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
47
Onion (Allium cepa)
9
11.4 Discussion
The inventory is of extreme importance to identify the landraces
that are still grown and the most susceptible to genetic erosion.
Important studies were performed with several landraces and they
could be grouped into the three following categories:
• Collecting and morphological, molecular and biochemical
characterization;
• On-farm conservation;
• Traditional knowledge, pre-breeding and participatory plant
breeding.
Cereals
The adoption of modern hybrids of maize and wheat has been
responsible for intensive genetic erosion. However, the existing
landraces still represent an important reservoir of biodiversity
and source of novel gene alleles for breeding programmes. Vaz
Patto et al. (2004) assessed the genetic diversity of Portuguese
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
maize germplasm using microsatellite markers and concluded
that the Portuguese maize inbred lines represent a valuable
source of interesting genes to introduce into modern cultivars.
Maize germplasm from Madeira Islands was morphologically
characterized (Pinheiro de Carvalho et al. 2008). Ribeiro-Carvalho
et al. (2004) measured the diversity of the ‘Barbela’ wheat landrace
and concluded that it had a high genetic diversity.
The most advanced work of on-farm conservation in Portugal refers
to maize. The VASO project, a participatory breeding programme, was
initiated in 1984 to improve maize landraces mainly used for bread
production (Moreira 2006; Moreira et al. 2008). The VASO project
also aims to decrease the gaps in commercial value between hybrids
and landraces. Evidence from landrace cultivation in other regions
of the world suggests that sustainability can only be ensured if there
is a ‘real’ requirement for the locally adapted material (Scholten et
al. 2008). Pre-breeding is an important tool to screen new potential
germplasm, either for classical on-station breeding, or for on-farm
conservation and participatory breeding projects, where adaptation
to traditional sustainable organic farming and poly-cropping systems
is recommended. At present selection for good-quality bread maize is
under way (Moreira et al. 2007; Vaz Patto et al. 2007). So, pre-breeding
evaluation of landraces continues (e.g., HUNTERS, Overlapping
Index, heterotic groups, inbreeding depression and combining ability)
(Moreira and Pêgo 2003; Moreira et al., in press-b).
Legumes
Common bean forms the biggest grain legume collection maintained
in Portuguese genebanks with a total number of accessions of 3262
(Table 11.1). Some of these accessions have been studied under
different perspectives, for instance, seed protein content (Palha et
al. 1988) and seed content of eight minerals (K, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn,
Zn and Cu) (Pinheiro et al. 2007). A high degree of variability was
observed in these studies. The genetic diversity of landraces still
grown in the north of the country was studied through RAPDs
(Martins et al. 2006). Rodiño et al. (2001), using the phaseolin marker,
concluded that the Portuguese germplasm is important to widen
the genetic base of currently cultivated bean varieties in Europe.
Woody plants
Olive - Olive is grown in 9% of the agricultural area (corresponding
to 368 397 ha and 21 245 tonnes of olives, INE, 2008). The most
representative traditional cultivars (Table 11.2) were morphologically
characterized according to international descriptors (www.
internationaloliveoil.org/resgen/eng/rg-var-por.htm). RAPD and
131
132
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
ISSR are relevant methodologies for management of olive genetic
resources (Gemas et al. 2000; Martins-Lopes et al. 2007). The
Portuguese cultivars Galega and Cordovil de Serpa are being replaced
by Spanish cultivars, particularly in the Alentejo region, due to higher
yields and less susceptibility to abiotic stress. However, some large
farms in Alentejo and Ribatejo (e.g. Herdade do Freixo do Meio and
Companhia das Lezírias) have programmes for the preservation of
traditional Portuguese cultivars.
Grapevine - Grapevine is (1 029 127 tonnes of grapes, INE, 2008)
important all over the country, where more than 200 ancient cultivars
continue to be used. Besides the cultivars for wine making there are
ten used for direct eating. Genetic erosion is being detected due to
replacement of traditional cultivars by just a few commercial ones. For
preservation of the cultivars, field collections have been set up, and in
order to maintain the genetic variability existing within the cultivars
(clonal variability) a further 73 collections were established in the
farmers´ fields by the Portuguese Vitis Network. A molecular study
for discrimination of the main Portuguese autochthonous cultivars
used for wine making was published (Almadanim et al. 2007).
Fruit trees - Despite the genetic erosion which occurred during the last
50 years, there is still a great diversity of landraces for the various fruit
trees. However, for characterization and molecular studies, work with
apple and pear is more advanced. Apple cultivars most protected from
erosion are those with high commercial value, particularly, ‘Bravo de
Esmolfe’, ‘Riscadinha de Palmela’ and ‘Porta da Loja’, the first two
are widespread and ‘Porta da Loja’ is mainly confined to the Minho
region. ‘Bravo de Esmolfe’ is a Protected Designation of Origin. Goulão
and Oliveira (2001) characterized the cultivars ‘Bravo de Esmolfe’,
‘Casanova de Alcobaça’, ‘Riscadinha’ and ‘Espelho’ concluding that
they are distinct from foreign cultivars. Pear sales in Portugal are
based (75%) on the ‘Rocha’ cultivar, which originated in Sintra during
the last century (Silva 1996). Similarly to apples, pear cultivars most
protected from erosion are those of high commercial value, particularly
‘Rocha’, ‘Carapinheira’ and ‘Perola’. Rocha is protected by Designation
of Origin. AFLP and RAPD markers were used to assess genetic
relationships of pears (Monte-Corvo et al. 2000). This study concluded
that the traditional Portuguese cultivars cluster together.
11.5 Conclusion
Considering farmers’ mean age, the next five years will be crucial
for landrace conservation, as well as for maintenance of traditional
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
farming systems (where landraces interact in poly-cropping).
Traditional farming needs to be better understood and studied and
to attract younger farmers. Knowledge obtained from these systems
can be extended to organic farming and low-input agriculture for
which there is a fast-growing interest. Rural development that is based
on multi-task agriculture should integrate: 1) management of genetic
resources (e.g. on-farm conservation, participatory plant breeding,
legal issues on landraces); 2) Protected Designations of Origin (21
have already been attributed for vegetable products in Portugal); 3)
tradition, social and health aspects (e.g. green care in agriculture);
and 4) food sovereignty. As landraces are precious goods they need
to be kept by the farmers with help from governmental and nongovernmental organizations and with coordination by official services.
Financial support is also fundamental for increasing the commercial
value of landraces, implying the public awareness of their relevance.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the information on olive trees provided by Fausto
Leitão and Maria de Fátima Potes, the information on pear and
apple provided by Alberto Santos, the information on traditional
cultivars from Azores and Madeira Islands provided by David Horta
Lopes, Miguel Ângelo Carvalho and Fruter at the I Workshop on
Germobanco Agrícola da Macaronésia.
References
Almadanim, M.C., Baleiras-Couto, M.M., Pereira, H.S., Melo, E., Valero, E.,
Fevereiro, P., Eiras-Dias, J.E., Morais-Cecílio, L., Viegas, W. and Veloso, M.M.
(2007) Genetic diversity of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars most utilized
for wine production in Portugal. Vitis 46, 116-119.
Alves A.L., Carvalho, N.S., Silveira, S.C.B., Marques, J.P., Costa, Z. and Horta, A.L.L.
(2003) O abandono da actividade agrícola. Ministério da Agricultura, do Desenvolvimento
Rural e das Pescas (www.agroportal.pt/agros/agricultura/index.htm).
Anonymous (2000) Grupo de Trabalho Agro-Ambiental. Plano de Acção 2000-2002.
Ministério da Agricultura, do Desenvolvimento Rural e das Pescas. Lisbon,
Portugal.
Anonymous (2003) Relatório do Grupo de Trabalho Agro-Ambiental. Ministério da
Agricultura, do Desenvolvimento Rural e das Pescas e Ministério das Cidades,
do Ordenamento do Território e do Ambiente. Lisbon, Portugal.
Benoist, G. and Marquer, P., (2006) Farm structure in Portugal – 2005. EUROSTAT,
Statistics in Focus-Agriculture and Fisheries 24, 1-7.
Bettencourt, E. and Gusmão, L. (1982) Colheita de Germo-plasma de Milho nos
Acores -S. Miguel e Terceira, sep. Agronomia Lusitana 41, 241-258.
133
134
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Bohm, J. (2007) Portugal Vitícola – O Grande Livro das Castas. Chaves Ferreira
Publicações, Lisbon, Portugal.
Carvalho, P.C. (2008) Catálogo Nacional de Variedades. Direcção Geral de Agricultura
e Desenvolvimento Rural, Lisbon, Portugal.
Carvalho, A. and Proneça, M. (2000) Valorização dos produtos locais. In: ARDAL
and CMAV (eds.) Património culinário de Arcos de Valdevez. www.ardal.pt/
modules/historia/.
Costa-Rodrigues, L. (1971) Races of maize in Portugal. Agronomia Lusitana 31, 239-284.
Crespi, A.L., Santos, A., Lopes, A., Neves, N., Fernandes, S., Curado, F., Meireles,
O., Ponteira, D. and Assunção, A. (2006) Conservação e valorização dos recursos
genéticos de pomóideas regionais. Edição: Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto
Douro e Ministério da Agricultura, Pescas e Florestas.
Diamond, J. (1998) Guns, Germs and Steel. Vintage, UK.
Duarte, I., Pereira, G. and Veloso, M.M. (in press) Collections of Grain Legumes
in Portugal. In: Report on the 4th meeting of the Working Group on Grain Legumes.
16-17 November 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.
FAO, (1996) Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and sustainable utilization of
plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Ferrão, J. (1990) Difusão das plantas no mundo através dos descobrimentos. Mare
Liberum 1130, 142.
Gemas, B.V., Rijo-Johansen, M.J., Tenreiro, R. and Fevereiro, P. (2000) Inter and
intra varietal analysis of three Olea europaea L. cultivars using RAPD technique.
Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 75, 312-319.
Godinho, C. and Lampreia, F. (2006) Caracterização de variedades regionais portuguesas.
Edição: Direcção-Geral de Protecção das Culturas. Lisbon, Portugal.
Goulão, L. and Oliveira, C.M. (2001) Malus characterization of cultivars of apple
using microsatellite (SSR and ISSR) markers. Euphytica 122, 81-89.
INE (2008) Produção das principais culturas agrícolas (t) por Localização geográfica
(NUTS - 2002) e Espécie – Anual em 2006; INE, Estatísticas da Produção Vegetal,
Lisbon Portugal.
Kiple, K.F. (2007) A Movable Feast: Ten Millennia of Food Globalization. Cambridge
University Press, New York, USA.
Leitão, F., Potes, M.F., Calado, M.L. and Almeida, F.J. (1986) Descrição de 22
variedades de oliveira cultivadas em Portugal. Ministério da Agricultura, Pescas
e Alimentação. Lisbon, Portugal
Martins, S.R., Vences, F.J., Sáenz De Miera, L.E., Barroso, M.R. and Carnide, V. (2006)
RAPD analysis of genetic diversity among and within Portuguese landraces of
common white bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Scientia Horticulturae 108, 133-142.
Martins-Lopes, P., Lima-Brito, J., Gomes, S., Meirinhos, J., Santos, L. and Guedes-Pinto,
H. (2007) RAPD and ISSR molecular markers in Olea europaea L.: Genetic variability
and molecular cultivar identification. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54, 117-128.
Maxted, N., Guarino, L., Myer, L. and Chiwona, E.A. (2002) Towards a methodology
for on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 49, 31-46
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Monte-Corvo, L., Cabrita, L., Oliveira, C. and Leitão, J. (2000) Assessment of genetic
relationships among Pyrus species and cultivars using AFLP and RAPD markers.
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 47, 257-265.
Moreira, P.M. (2006) Participatory maize breeding in Portugal. A Case Study. Acta
Agronomica Hungarica 54, 431-439
Moreira, P.M., Malta, M., Vaz Patto, M.C. and Veloso, M.M. (in press-a) Portuguese
in situ / on-farm conservation. The role of ONG\’S. In: Proceedings of 18th
Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section - Plant Genetic Resources and their Exploitation
in the Plant Breeding for Food and Agriculture. Piešťany, Slovakia.
Moreira, P.M. and Pêgo, S. (2003) Pre-breeding evaluation of maize germplasm. The
case of a Portuguese open-pollinated variety. In: Abstracts of the Arnel R. Hallauer
International Symposium on Plant Breeding. Mexico City, Mexico, pp. 133-134
Moreira, P.M., Santos, J.P., Antunes, M., Simões, P., Santos, J.P., Vaz Patto, M.C. and
Pêgo, S. (in press-b) Pré-avaliação de populações de milhos regionais da região
centro. Proceedings of the II Colóquio de Melhoramento de Plantas e Conservação de
Recursos Genéticos. Escola Superior Agrária de Santarém, Santarém, Portugal.
Moreira, P.M., Vaz Patto, M.C., Pêgo, S.E. and Hallauer, A.R. (2008) Comparison
of selection methods on ‘Pigarro’, a Portuguese improved maize population
with fasciation expression. Euphytica 163(3), 481-499.
Moreira, P.M., Vaz Patto, M.C., Santos, J., Morgado, L., Santos, J. and Pêgo, S.E. (2007)
Pre breeding methods used on Portuguese maize germplasm and its applications for on
farm conservation. Plant breeding for organic and sustainable, low-input agriculture:
dealing with genotype-environment interactions. WICC Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Mota, M., Farias, R., Teixeira, M. and Bettencourt, E. (1981) Report on a mission to collect
Zea mays and Phaseolus germplasm. Oeiras EAN Report 1981, Lisbon, Portugal.
Palha, M.G., Ricardo, C.P.P. and Baeta, J.M.P. (1988) O teor proteico da semente de
linhas nacionais de feijoeiro. Agronomia Lusitana 43, 115-131.
Pêgo, S. (2007). Conservação dos Recursos Genéticos no Campo do Agricultor. Workshop
Biodiversidade em Sistemas Agrícolas e Florestais. Portugal, Oeiras, 25 e 26 de
Outubro de 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.
Pêgo, S. (1996) Maize genetic resources in Portugal. In: Lipman, E., Ellis, R.H. and
Gass, T. (eds) Maize genetic resources in Europe. Report of a workshop, Rome, Italy,
IPGRI, Rome, pp. 52–54.
Pêgo, S.E. and Antunes, M.P. (1997) Resistance or tolerance? Philosophy, may be
the answer. In: Proceedings of the XIX – Conference of the International Working
Group on Ostrinia. Guimarães, Portugal. pp. 303-341.
Pinheiro, C., Baeta, J.P., Pereira, A.M., Domingues, H. and Ricardo, C.P. (2007)
Mineral elements correlations in a Portuguese germplasm collection of Phaseolus
vulgaris L. Book of Abstracts 6th European Conference on Grain Legumes. Lisbon,
Portugal 12-16 November. 125 pp.
Pinheiro de Carvalho, M.A., Teixeira Ganança, J.F., Abreu, I., Sousa, N.F., Marques
Dos Santos, T.M., Vieira, M.RC. and Motto, M. (2008) Evaluation of the maize
(Zea mays L.) diversity on the Archipelago of Madeira. Genetic Resources and
Crop Evolution 55, 221–233.
135
136
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Ribeiro, G.C. and Fonseca, J.M. (2006) Levantamento de variedades regionais da
peninsula de Setúbal. Colher para Semear, Figueiró dos Vinhos, Lisbon, Portugal.
Ribeiro-Carvalho, C., Guedes-Pintoh, H., Igrejas, G., Stephenson, P., Schwarzacher, T.
and Heslop-Harrison, J.S. (2004) High levels of genetic diversity throughout the
range of the Portuguese wheat landrace ‘Barbela’. Annals of Botany 94, 699-705.
Rodiño, A.P., Santalla, M., Montero I., Casquero P.A. and De Ron, A.M. (2001)
Diversity of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) germplasm from Portugal.
Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 48, 409-417.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and
Shetland oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L.) landraces: occurrence and conservation issues. Plant Genetic Resources
Newsletter 154, 1-5.
Silva, A.V. (1996) El cultivo del peral en Portugal. Pera Rocha: una variedad rainha.
Fruticultura Profeissional. Especial peral II 78, 8-29.
Vaz Patto, M.C., Moreira, P.M., Carvalho, V. and Pêgo, S.E. (2007) Collecting maize
(Zea mays L. convar. mays) with potential technological ability for bread making
in Portugal. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54, 1555-1563.
Vaz Patto, M.C., Satovic, Z., Pêgo, S. and Fevereiro, P. (2004) Assessing the diversity
of Portuguese germplasm using microsatellite markers. Euphytica 137, 63-72.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
12.
Landrace Inventory for Romania
Silvia Strajeru, Manuela Ibanescu and Dana Constantinovici¹
¹ Banca De Gene, B-Dul 1 Mai Nr.17 Suceava 720224, Romania. E-mail
genebank@suceava.astral.ro
12.1 Introduction
Many centuries of Romanian agriculture have shaped important
traditional agro-ecosystems that constitute significant in situ
repositories of crop genetic diversity. Even today the maintenance
of inter- and intra-specific diversity in peasants’ fields is a base
element for livelihood security, especially for resource-poor people
practising agriculture under low-input conditions in certain remote
and marginal areas in the mountainous depressions.
A core sub-set of agricultural ecosystems is represented by landraces
providing the rural communities with food and some income. Recent
field work showed that in Romania many farmers are involved de facto
in on-farm conservation of different crop species through continued
cultivation of local populations of cereals, grain legumes, vegetables,
industrial and technical plants, spices and medicinal plants (Ibanescu
et al. 2002). These landraces are cultivated in either their own fields or
home gardens, in order to meet the particular needs and preferences of
the grower. In most cases in the home gardens is to be found a broader
range of plant species which the family uses for culinary, medicinal
or cultural purposes, or for the market.
12.2 Material
Landraces in this paper are defined as locally adapted varieties of a
species grown for at least ten years from farmers’ saved seeds, and
that lack formal breeding. The traditional, low-input farming system
is used to grow these cultivars, where no herbicides, pesticides and
chemical fertilizers are applied.
12.3 Methods and sources of information
While the national inventory of plant genetic resources kept ex situ
was published in 2000, this is the first attempt to collate all data
on landraces conserved on-farm over our country. The primary
source of information was the BIOGEN Database designed and
managed by the Genebank in Suceava that includes passport and
on-farm descriptors gathered during 20 years of systematic survey
and collecting missions. Selected villages were those of remote
137
138
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
and isolated areas, in most cases placed at the bottom of a hill
or in mountainous depressions. Geographically, the focus was
on three strategic areas, i.e. Suceava, Maramures and Apuseni
Mountains, where a broad range of genetic diversity, in terms of
local populations in the major crops such as wheat, maize, bean,
potato and faba bean still exists. The method adopted was to
contact agricultural extension services, local authorities, biology
and agronomy teachers, as well as local priests to help us to
identify the farmers recognized as ‘conservationists’ across the local
community. Later, this category of growers was directly approached,
and in-depth semi-structured interviews were used to record
local knowledge. As regards crop selection, priority was given to
Phaseolus vulgaris L., based on its importance in rural people’s diet,
the high number of landraces, and the wide distribution in Romania.
The baseline information was revalidated with farming
communities during the recent collecting trips undertaken in 2007
and 2008 in Apuseni, Suceava and Maramures, the areas richest in
landraces in general and in particular for common bean varieties.
A second source of information for this study was the Internet and
scientific literature.
12.4 Results
A general picture of the current distribution of landraces in Romania
was got by building a map based on information in BIOGEN for the
period from 2000 until today, and by using GIS technique (Figure
12.1). It could be considered that in Romania, a country where
differences between rural and urban areas still persist, traditional
MARAMURES
SUCEAVA County
APUSENI AREA
Figure 12.1. Landraces distribution in Romania.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
farming, in terms of local populations, remains an important
component of agriculture. Those three regions, Maramures, Suceava
and Apuseni Mountains, already mentioned in the background,
are clearly identified as places of interest for on-farm conservation
activities. Details on the main crop groups and species of which
landraces are maintained on-farm, with their extent expressed as
number of counties and villages, is summarized in Table 12.1.
The data reveal that in almost all major species landraces are
continuously cultivated, with wider distribution in the cases of bean,
maize and potato. It was noted that many families grow vegetables,
spices and medicinal plants on very small surfaces, particularly
for home consumption. However, this valuable genetic pool of
local populations is currently subject to serious genetic erosion and
irreversible losses. The threat is the result of the interaction of certain
factors including the replacement of autochthonous landraces by new,
genetically uniform cultivars, changes in agriculture and land use,
destruction of habitats and ecosystems, and recently inter-activity
competition (Negri et al. 2000). Today, more and more peasants refuse
to spend their poor resources in agricultural work: they are migrating
abroad in search of more and immediately profitable income.
The speed of genetic erosion occurs at different rates depending on
regions and crops. The worst situation is recorded in fibre crops, where
extinction reached 100% in flax, and in the case of hemp, an old variety
was found in cultivation in 2008, in Grosii Tiblesului, Maramures
County. The same is going to happen with Triticum monococcum L.
(einkorn), a relic crop found only in Apuseni Mountains, which is
mostly used as fodder for animals, or in mixture with bread wheat
(Triticum aestivum L.) for human consumption. Well adapted to grow
under extreme environmental conditions, and carrying interesting
characters including rust and powdery mildew resistances, before
1994, different winter, spring or intermediate varieties were common
in many villages of Alba, Cluj and Hunedoara Counties. In the autumn
of 2007, just one intermediate form was cultivated on a restricted area
of less than 0.5 hectares belonging to one family living in Almasu
Mare, Alba County.
At the opposite pole is Phaseolus vulgaris L. that is well represented
(up to ten landraces/farm) in Maramures County, even if on smaller
and smaller surfaces (under 0.05 hectares) in the home gardens. In
the 1990s almost every household of Maramures area was growing
up to 20 local bean types with seeds showing a rich variation in
colours, patterns, size and shape (Strajeru et al. 2000). A narrow
distribution in Suceava and Apuseni Mountains was noted in runner
bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.), where the variety with white seeds is
preferred and is intercropped with maize cultivars.
139
140
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 12.1. Major crop species with their landrace distribution across Romanian
counties and villages recorded between 2000 and 2008.
1
Crop
Group
Genus
Species
Counties
Included
Villages
Included
Cereals
58
Avena
sativa L.
10
2
Fagopyrum
esculentum Moench
1
1
3
Hordeum
vulgare L.
5
16
4
Secale
cereale L.
6
24
5
Triticum
aestivum L.
11
50
6
Triticum
monococcum L.
1
2
7
Zea
mays L.
13
175
Brassica
napus L.
2
3
Cucurbita
maxima Duchesne
2
6
Cucurbita
pepo L.
11
74
31
8
9
Fodder
crops
10
11
12
13
Vicia
faba L.
3
Grain
legumes
Phaseolus
coccineus L.
8
44
Phaseolus
vulgaris L.
12
174
Pisum
sativum L.
2
27
Industrial
and technical
crops
Beta
vulgaris L.
6
17
Cannabis
sativa L.
6
10
14
15
16
17
Helianthus
annuus L.
6
24
18
Humulus
lupulus L.
1
1
19
Linum
usitatissimum L.
1
4
20
Solanum
tuberosum L.
9
111
21
22
23
Medicinal
and aromatic
plants
Calendula
officinalis L.
1
1
Carthamus
tinctorius L.
1
1
Carum
carvi L.
4
8
Ocimum
basilicum L.
5
7
25
Papaver
somniferum L.
4
13
26
Pimpinella
anisum L.
3
5
24
27
Satureja
hortensis L.
7
19
28
Sinapis
alba L.
2
2
Allium
cepa L.
7
22
Allium
sativum L.
7
14
29
30
Vegetables
31
Anethum
graveolens L.
7
28
32
Apium
graveolens L.
3
4
3
33
Atriplex
hortensis L.
2
34
Brassica
oleracea L.
3
5
35
Capsicum
annuum L.
8
35
36
Cucumis
melo L.
2
2
37
Cucumis
sativus L.
9
41
38
Daucus
carota L.
3
10
39
Lactuca
sativa L.
6
21
40
Levisticum
officinale W.D.J. Koch
1
1
41
Pastinaca
sativa L.
5
8
42
Petroselinum
crispum (Mill.) Nyman ex A.W. Hill
6
16
43
Petroselinum
hortense Hoffm.
2
4
10
44
Raphanus
sativus L.
5
45
Solanum
esculentum Mill.
6
12
46
Solanum
melongena L.
2
2
47
Spinacia
oleracea L.
3
3
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
In general, cereals are among the crops most threatened by the
progressive introduction of the new breeding varieties. Before the year
2000, the most valued maize landraces of five local races (Cincantin,
Hanganesc, Portocaliu, Moldovenesc, and Optac Romanesc), and
three sub-races (Cincantin / Moldovenesc, Cincantin / Hanganesc,
Hanganesc / Moldovenesc) used to be grown in about 399 localities, up
to 800 m altitude, and where cooperative agriculture had not penetrated
(Cristea 2004). As a result of a strong pressure of the hybrids, in the
year 2008 a limited number of original traditional varieties belonging
to two races (Hanganesc, Moldovenesc) and one sub-race (Hanganesc/
Moldovenesc) were identified in six villages of Suceava County
(Frumosu, Moldovita, Pojorata, Vama, Deia, Putna). In Maramures and
Apuseni Mountains, a few variable local populations within the Optac
Romanesc race are present exclusively at altitudes ranging between
600 and 900 m on plots smaller than 0.05 hectares. It was found that,
especially in maize, the majority of today’s peasants’ varieties are
derived from high-yielding modern cultivars (Strajeru et al. 2003).
In the case of potato, the situation is even worse as currently only
five and three local genotypes respectively are passed down from
generation to generation in the Bucovina and Apuseni Mountains
areas. The genetic erosion has also been very fast for Vicia faba (faba
bean) a crop at present only cultivated in Bucovina, especially in
villages of the Dornelor Depression.
12.5 Conclusions
The present study has shown that Romania represents an important
reservoir or genetic pool of landraces in the main crops, particularly
in Phaseolus vulgaris L., and either farms or home gardens contribute
to the country’s agro-biodiversity conservation. Further concluding
remarks are listed below:
1. Activities related to on-farm conservation of landraces in the
major crops are not sustained by the formal agricultural sector,
and peasants are the only actors maintaining and managing
genetic diversity in their own fields.
2. Farmers in the richest crop diversity regions in Romania, i.e.
Suceava County, Maramures County and Apuseni Mountains,
preserve a large amount of variability in landraces through
continued cultivation and use.
3. Rural people practising agriculture assess crop diversity in
functional terms, the varieties chosen to be planted each year
being closely linked to the family’s needs or market demands.
4. The variety name cannot be used as a proxy indicator of diversity,
at least as has been found in Phaseolus vulgaris L.
141
142
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
5. In order to keep alive this unique agricultural heritage,
governmental and political measures are needed to establish as
well as to promote in situ on-farm conservation national plans
and programmes, in which farmers need to be involved.
References
Cristea, M. (2004) Porumbul - Studiu Monografic (The Maize Monographic Study).
Romanian Academy of Sciences, Bucharest, Romania. pp. 61-84.
Ibanescu, M., Strajeru, S. and Constantinovici, D. (2002) Conservarea in situ a
biodiversităţii agricole (In situ conservation of agro–biodiversity) Sănătatea
plantelor 10, 2.
Negri, V., Becker, H., Onnela, J., Sartori, A., Strajeru, S. and Laliberte, B. (2000) A
first inventory of on-farm conservation and management activities in Europe
including examples of formal and informal sector cooperation. In: Laliberté,
B., Maggioni, L., Maxted, N. and Negri, V (eds) ECP/GR In situ and On-farm
Conservation Network, Report of a joint meeting of a Task Force on Wild Species
Conservation in Genetic Reserves and a Task Force on On-farm Conservation and
Management, 18-20 May 2000, Isola Polvese, Italy. International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. pp. 14-30.
Străjeru, S., Murariu, D., Nimigean, M. and Avramiuc, M. (2000) Catalogul Naţional
de Leguminoase pentru Boabe şi Legume (Romanian Catalogue of Grain Legumes and
Vegetables). Stephen the Great University, Suceava, Romania. 92 pp.
Strajeru, S., Constantinovici, D. and Ibanescu, M. (2003) Romanian Genebank’s
collection activity undertaken during 2001 – 2002. In: Abstract volume of European
Workshop on National Plant Genetic Resources Programmes, Alnarp, Sweden.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
13.
Cultivated Plant Inventory of Russia
Tamara Smekalova¹
¹ N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), 42 Bolshaya Morskaya
Street, St. Petersburg, 190000, Russia. E-mail t.smekalova@vir.nw.ru
13.1 Introduction
Crop production in Russia, if compared with other European
countries, the USA or Canada, tends to exist mostly under extreme
environments of the forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones.
Peculiarities of the country’s geographical position do not allow
plant biomass yield to exceed the level of 12.5–75 kg/m², while
over the greater parts of Europe or the USA this parameter reaches
75–125 kg/m² (Fedorov and Gilmanov 1980). However, Russia’s
diversity of soils and climates brought about a rich assortment
of local crop varieties. The process of their development went on
under the significant influence of natural selection accentuated by
generally rather low levels of agricultural practice. Local varieties
from other countries also had an impact on this process (Zhukovsky
1957; Merezhko 2001). Nikolai Vavilov (1935) observed that in Russia
even in the early 20th century “the assortment of cultivated plants
and selection of crop varieties featured a spontaneous, disorganized
process”. The attempts to transfer foreign varieties directly to the
Russian territory were inefficient because of the negative effect of
its specific soil and climate conditions.
The idea of making a collection of the country’s cultivated plants
and wild species promising for utilization belonged to R. Regel, ‘the
father’ of national applied botany and one of the first directors of the
Bureau for Applied Botany (now the N.I. Vavilov Research Institute
of Plant Industry). In 1900 he started the collection of barley and
later in 1907 the collections of wheat, oat and other cereals and later
of industrial crops, forages and potato. Germplasm accessions were
shipped to the Bureau by local agronomists and breeders from all
over Russia and the composition of crops and varietal characteristics
were then studied.
N.I. Vavilov, who superseded Regel as the Bureau’s director, and
his colleagues continued active replenishment of the collection. A
network of experiment stations was set up in different regions of the
country in order to maintain the collection. Numerous plant collecting
missions were launched, at first in the USSR and then to foreign
countries. The collection was enriched with domestic materials during
the All-Union Agricultural Fair (1922–1923), as Vavilov was one of
its organizers (Sinskaya 1991). Seeds were sent to the Fair even from
143
144
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
the most faraway corners – from agricultural institutes, agronomists,
individual farms, etc. Thanks to the Fair, the collection received new
accessions of cereals, grain legumes and, to an even greater extent,
vegetables. The most valuable materials were found in cabbage and
other cruciferous plants, and among root crops.
The largest part of the collection was accumulated during
the two decades of 1920–1940 – more than 100 000 accessions of
cultivated plants and their wild relatives from 65 countries. While
the collection was being formed, special attention was paid to
local varieties, whose major advantage lay in their high level of
adaptation to local environments (Brezhnev 1977). These included
numerous landraces, which were understood as populations
developed through artificial selection without targeted crosses and
cultivated for a long period of time. A good example of how actively
local varieties were added to the existing stock may be found in the
collection of spring bread wheat: in the 1930s alone it was enriched
with 2044 local accessions (Zuev 2008), nearly one half of which
(958) were Russian, while 429 accessions were collected personally
by Vavilov in 36 countries of the world.
13.2 The relay race of the centuries
13.2.1
Agricultural practice in European Russia
On the whole, agricultural practice in Russia developed uniquely and
very slowly. While Western Europe inherited from ancient Greece and
Rome a ready-made and quite advanced agricultural system, Russia
was far away from the developed countries and did not experience
much of their influence. In the south of the Russian Plain, the local
agricultural system was preceded by the Tripolian and Scythian
cultures, between which there was direct succession (Sinskaya 1969).
The Tripolian culture (3rd–2nd millennium BC) developed in
the Dnieper-Dniester region, along the Danube and in the Balkans.
Its farming system involved not vegetable gardening, but field
husbandry, which is witnessed by large grain stores found by
archaeologists in local settlements (Petrov 1947; Bibikov 1960). For
example, they excavated ears of emmer wheat with oval seeds and
uniform glumes, naked barley, millet, vetch and lentil. Even at the
early stages of the Tripolian culture, two types of wheat were sown:
durum and bread wheat. There was no oat crop in Tripoli, and their
rye was weedy. The end of the Tripolian epoch is marked by a shift
toward pre-Scythian ethnic formations. Scythians, who populated
the Ante-Caucasus, southern steppes of European Russia along
the Volga, Don and Dnieper, and the Crimean Peninsula, evidently
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
cultivated the same plants as the peoples who had resided in those
regions before: wheat, millet, lentil, onion, garlic; very likely, barley;
probably flax and hemp (Mavrodin 1948).
From the end of the 1st century BC through the early 1st century
AD, when classes and political systems took shape, the Slavonic
language and culture were moulded. Agriculture undoubtedly played
the main role in the economy of ancient Slavs. Excavations in Slavonic
settlements dating back to the Antean and pre-Antean periods
discovered wheat, barley, millet and peas. Besides, archaeologists
dug out hemp, flax, rye, turnip, onion, garlic, buckwheat and poppy
attributed to the 9th–12th centuries AD. It is interesting that in the
southern areas of Russia, as in Western Europe, dwarf wheat was
quite familiar to the population (Yakubtsiner 1956), having won its
popularity even earlier than the common one. Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a
trade envoy to the Caliph of Baghdad (10th century AD), reported
an important role with the Rus of such crops as wheat, barley, millet
and onion, while hazelnuts and apples were gathered from the wild
(Sinskaya 1969). Numerous archaeological data and written evidence
attest to the assertion that one of the oldest crops cultivated by the
ancient Slavs (if not the most ancient) was millet (Chukhina and Shitov
2007). Probably, this crop preceded naked wheat and barley. Millet,
like the ancient emmer and einkorn wheats, was used to make gruel
(gruel cooking is known to be older than bread making).
Cultivated in Kievan Rus were such field crops as wheat (bread
and durum), barley (six-row, two-row and naked), millets, oats, rye,
buckwheat and spring vetch (as food grain). Habitual domesticated
vegetables were turnip, cabbage, onion, garlic, probably carrot and
celery (it was grown by the Scythians). Spice crop diversity included
mustard, bird rape, dill, mint, anise and pepper. Fruit trees were
also domesticated – apple, cherry and plum (Voronin 1953). Headforming types of cabbage were quite widespread all over Kievan
Rus as garden vegetables. There is reliable documentary evidence
of the 11th–12th centuries that cabbage was very popular in ancient
Rus and widely used (Sinskaya 1969). Cabbage remains one of the
favourite vegetables in present-day Russia, as cabbage soup (shchi)
is still the basic traditional component of the national cuisine.
In the north of the Russian Plain, isles of crop husbandry emerged
as early as the end of the Stone Age. Later the ancient agriculture
of northern tribes got in touch with the Slavonic crop system,
characterized by a higher cultural level. Slavonic influence spread
from the south-west, and its outposts reached far into the north
even in the 5th–7th centuries (Pskov, Novgorod and Old Ladoga).
Explorations undertaken in north-western Russia, especially
archaeological excavations in Old Ladoga (Petrov 1945; Ravdonikas
145
146
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1949; Kiryanova 1992; Aalto and Heinajoki 1997; Chukhina and
Shitov 2007) and Novgorod (Artsikhovsky 1951; Yanin 1953),
witnessed a considerable diversity of cultures in this region of
the Russian Plain in the 8th–9th centuries AD. Major local crops
of that period were emmer wheat, bread wheat and millet. Also
domesticated were oats, rye and hemp, and in the vicinities of Pskov
(Tarakanov 1953) at the turn of the 5th–6th centuries two-row barley
and pea. Occasional findings of rye could not attest to its wide
distribution in the north-west before the 13th century. Excavations
in the 10th-century layers brought to the surface sporadic seeds of
cucumber, possibly of Byzantine origin, and pumpkin. Widespread
fruit trees were cherry and apple, plus blackcurrant and raspberry
of the small fruit shrubs.
One of the most ancient kitchen-garden plants in the northern
parts of Russia was turnip (Brassica rapaeuropaea Sinsk.), a typical
crop of northern shifting cultivation. Shallow topsoil led to the
development of local vegetable landraces with flat-shaped roots –
for example, Petrovskaya turnip (subsp. rossica Sinsk.) and Karelian
turnips. In the south turnips were not as important as in the north.
By now, turnip has practically disappeared from cultivation in the
country’s southern regions; occasionally it can be found in areas
adjacent to the Caucasian foothills. However, southern populations
of this plant are much more likely linked not with the northern
turnips, but with the ones grown in Asia Minor.
The non-black-soil belt of the Russian Plain, as early as in the
2nd–1st centuries BC, harboured a centre of flax cultivation for
spinning, based mainly on var. elongata. However, flax cannot be
called a primary crop for this territory, because wild flax forms never
occurred there. Probably, flax had arrived from south-western Asia,
and in the course of passing millennia the north-west of Russia
became the homeland of famous unique types of fibre flax that
differed from native and intermediate forms of other countries.
Since ancient times (3rd–2nd centuries BC), northern areas of the
Russian Plain had also been known for short hemp cultivation.
Northern landraces of turnip and short hemp are endemic varieties,
live fossils of the north.
13.2.2
Agriculture of the Asian part of Russia (Siberia and
the Far East) and its relationship with the agricultural system
of the European part
Siberia, with its severe climate, houses a rather limited assortment
of cultivated plants that developed within its territory. In ancient
epochs, crop husbandry had an expressly discrete pattern throughout
Siberia and was regarded as a secondary economic activity. Its basic
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
feature was shifting cultivation and spring cropping. The Khakass
sowed millet, filmy barley, wheat and naked Himalayan barley.
Among fossil plants found in Altai there were such materials
as Panicum miliaceum, Echinochloa crus-galli and Setaria viridis
that date back to the period of the Early Bronze Age, and also
Triticum antiquorum of a later age. In the 7th–8th centuries AD the
development of Siberian cropping culture was greatly influenced
by the Sayan-Altaic Kirghiz culture (Okladnikov 1949).
Among Altaic weedy oats there are forms similar to the Ural
and North Russian ones (Mordvinkina 1960); some of the forms of
fibre flax from Tuva look like the populations native to the Urals
and the North. Violet turnips grown in Karelia are also found in the
Urals and Altai. Probably, they entered the Russian Plain through
the Ural Mountains and Altai in the same way that millet came to
modern Russia from China.
Southern tribes of the Amur valley were the first to practise
crop husbandry in the Far East; from this region agriculture could
have penetrated the adjacent territories (Sinskaya 1969). In the 8th
century AD, the kingdom of Bohai arose on the Far Eastern seacoast,
with its advanced civilization and agriculture. It was considerably
influenced by the neighbouring Chinese agricultural system. After
the Bohai realm was destroyed by the Mongols, those territories for
a long time remained deserted and wild.
A new agricultural epoch in Siberia started in the 17th century
with the development of Russian cropping practice (Silantjeva
2008). There is no documentary evidence of any relation between
this phase and the ancient farming culture in this region, but some
old landraces were revived there – such as Mongolian-Buryat millet,
Altaic spring rye and old wheat varieties. Out of the south, from
neighbouring China, came millet and rice; later they were followed
by the soybean landrace, Perilla, Oriental radish, green mustards,
etc. Comparative analysis of germplasm samples collected in Siberia
with archaeological and historical data suggests, for instance, the
following route of wheat distribution: from Western Asia through
China and Mongolia to Siberia (Sinskaya 1969). Coriander and turnip
could have moved along the same route. From Siberia, cultivated
plants might disperse across the Volga region to the southern lands
of European Russia and over the Urals to the north-west. During
the last centuries, migrants usually carried crop seed backwards
– from the Russian Plain to Siberia and the Far East. Even now
plant explorers find in isolated villages of the Far East samples of
pumpkin, cabbage, tomato, maize and some other vegetables that
were brought there about a hundred years ago by settlers from the
Ukraine (Smekalova 2007).
147
148
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The rich and interesting vegetation of Siberia (Altai in particular)
and the Far East served as a source for domestication of quite a
few fruit, forage and vegetable plants. The most important among
them were wild onions, actinidia, magnolia vine, Manchurian
walnut, Amur grape, Ussurian pear, Siberian apple tree, currant
and gooseberry species, sea buckthorn, melilot, brome grass, red
and lupine clover, sainfoin, vetch, etc.
13.3 Local crop populations originated in Russia
Analysis of the materials accumulated by VIR’s plant explorers
over many years of collecting, as well as comparative assessment
of historical, ethnobotanical and archaeological data and references,
confirm that despite the relative scarcity of plant resources in the
Russian Plain (if compared, say, with the Caucasus), its territory,
nevertheless, generated quite a few unique cultivated plants. Its
natural vegetation undoubtedly contributed to agriculture local
forms of wild caraway (Carum carvi), hop (Humulus lupulus),
horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), and many forage plants (Sinskaya
1969). Landraces of horseradish may still be found in different
regions of Russia.
Unique local populations of crop varieties, which have no wild
relatives among the indigenous vegetation of the Russian Plain,
could evolve there either from local (or imported) weedy plants
(Vavilov 1924; Sinskaya 1969; Ulyanova 1997), or from crop seeds
introduced from elsewhere.
The Russian north is the area of primary domestication for timothy
grass (Phleum pratense). Also here was the origin of indigenous
forms of awnless brome grass, meadow and red fescue, foxtail,
bentgrass, cock’s foot, Kentucky bluegrass and sloughgrass.
Northern forms of these meadow grasses are distinguished by their
special morphological, biological and economic characters. Many
northern forms of clover (Trifolium pratense, T. repens, T. hybridum)
and yellow medic (Medicago falcata) evolved in that region, not to
mention that northern landraces of the latter emerged both from
the northern meadow ecotypes of this species (known as marusinsky
varieties) and from the ecotypes of the southern steppe. Landraces
of Melilotus albus (sweet clover) are also represented within Russia
by its northern and southern (steppe) ecotypes.
No less rich in diversity of meadow grasses and legumes is the
central forest zone of Russia. For example, local forms of red clover
(Trifolium pratense) originated in that region.
Cultivated rye (Secale cereale) was domesticated by ProtoSlavonic tribes in the 7th–9th centuries. Earlier findings exposed
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
uncultivated weedy rye. As far back as in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, one could observe in the southern regions of Russia,
especially in the steppes of the Ante-Caucasus, plantings of rye
and wheat mixture (maslin crop). Pure cultivated rye appeared
more to the north, in the forest zone of the Russian Plain, where
environments were more favourable for its cultivation.
Oat (Avena sativa) also may be numbered among Slavonic crops.
Local diversity and uniqueness of its forms can be matched with
Chinese oats (in Western Europe another oat species, A. strigosa,
was domesticated).
Barleys (Hordeum L. spp.) within the Russian Plain were
domesticated earlier than rye and oats, and in the north earlier
than even wheat. They came here probably from Western Asia and
in Russia formed two groups of landraces: the Northern group,
entering even into Scandinavia, and the West European one,
widespread in the forest and forest-steppe zones of Russia.
Wheat also arrived in the Russian Plain from western and southwestern Asia. Landraces of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) are
classified into several agro-climatic groups: Northern Forest, ForestSteppe, Steppe-Volga and Steppe ones (Dorofeyev et al. 1979). There
are two groups of local durum wheat (T. durum Desf.) varieties: with
loose ears (kubanka) and with solid ears (beloturka). Russian durum
wheats have won world-wide renown and are widely utilized not
only in domestic breeding programmes, but also by breeders in the
USA, Canada and other countries.
Emmer wheat (T. dicoccon), distributed from Asia Minor to the
Volga Region, gradually moved northwards and then again retreated
to the south, where one could find sporadic foci of this crop even
in the early 20th century. By now, however, they have disappeared.
Millet (Panicum miliaceum), the oldest crop of the Russian Plain,
was inherited by the Proto-Slavs and Scythians from the Tripolian
culture and formed several ecogeographic groups in Russia.
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum sagittatum) came from Asia and could
disperse over the Russian Plain by two routes: from the East (it
had been used by the Sarmatians very early) or from Western Asia.
Pea (Pisum sativum) landraces, now completely ousted from the
Russian territory, lingered in the north (near the Urals and in Komi)
longer than elsewhere. A specific form of pea is known in the Volga
Region as a weed in vetch plantings.
In the northern and central areas of the Russian Plain, faba beans
(Vicia faba) were widely cultivated. Numerous landraces varied in
seed shape, colour and size.
In the European part of Russia, common vetch (Vicia sativa) had
greater diversity than any other leguminous crop. It had arrived
149
150
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
there, like other legumes, mostly from Western Asia and partly
from Western Europe.
The central and southern areas of Russia are the place of origin for
local cold-hardy varieties of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) and a
number of apple, pear and plum landraces. North Russian apple
and pear varieties are cold-hardy and undemanding as to soil,
while the group of Volga apple-tree varieties demonstrate drought
resistance and earliness.
Russian fibre flax varieties are of Central Asian origin (Zhukovsky
1964; Sinskaya 1969). Unique landraces of fibre flax (Linum
usitatissimum) and hemp (Cannabis sativa) were cultivated in the
north-western areas of the country. Russian fibre flax varieties served
as a breeding source for cultivars produced in many countries.
In Russia, there are two agro-ecological groups of cultivated
hemp (Cannabis sativa): Northern and Mid-Russian. Both may have
developed from local weedy forms. The most interesting are the
northernmost landraces – short, early-ripening and suitable only
for oil production purposes.
There is no information yet on which species or forms were the
ancestors of Russian oil-bearing sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
varieties. Local populations most likely had in their pedigree the
forms imported into Central Russia in the 18th century from the
Netherlands, and possibly, around the same period, from Armenia.
Local varieties were actively involved when breeding improved
cultivars with high oil content.
Poppy (Papaver somniferum) had been known in the Russian
Plain since the times of ancient Slavonic tribes. It was used for
confectionary purposes. Until recently, old garden landraces were
maintained in the central and southern provinces of Russia.
Russian varieties of mustard (Brassica juncea) spread into the
Volga Region from Asia. Before domestication, they were weeds in
flax, millet and cereal crop fields. Unique local forms belong to the
endemic B. juncea var. sareptana Sinsk.
The European part of Russia was also native soil for original forms of
onion (Allium cepa, A. ascalonicum, A. fistulosum and A. schoenoprasum),
cucumber (earlier spread from Byzantium, later from Western
Asia), water-melon (brought here in the 1st century AD by TurkicMongolian tribes) and pumpkin (came from Spain and the Balkans).
Melons have comparatively limited distribution in the European part
of Russia, but in some areas (in the North Caucasus in particular)
they evolved into local varieties, early and late ones.
Beet (Beta vulgaris) had been winning Russian territories since the
11th–14th centuries. In the 16th century it was already a customary
garden crop (Domostroy 1908–1910). In various regions of Russia,
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
in different times, local populations generated unique cultivated
forms of radish, swede (Brassica napobrassica), bird rape (Brassica
campestris), false flax (Camelina sativa) and other crops.
A number of crops developed into local variety populations in the
Asian part of Russia as well. There are landraces of barley, divided
into two groups – East Siberian and Far-Eastern (Bakhteyev 1956);
oats, with the origin of its northern group in Altai and the eastern
group in Mongolia (Mordvinkina 1936); and rye (Sinskaya 1969).
Local winter rye landraces are more early-ripening than North
European ones. The Altaic ecotype of spring rye, distinguished by
its rapid growth at early phases of development, has unfortunately
been lost as a crop. Few accessions are preserved in VIR’s collection.
Some authors (Pisarev 1960) argue that Siberian wheats descended
from an ancient group of Chinese wheats, until recently having
occurred in China as an admixture in plantings of modern cultivars.
Local landraces of millet, Japanese millet and buckwheat also trace
their origins to Mongolia or China.
13.4 Modern state of landraces in Russia
In recent years, VIR has continued the practice of collecting landraces
of different crops. However, plant explorations of recent decades have
confirmed that, unfortunately, a greater part of the Russian landrace
diversity is not being maintained any more. The first to be lost were
landraces of cereals, legumes, industrial crops and potato that had
been cultivated on a large scale, as they were replaced with more
high-yielding modern cultivars or destroyed by outbreaks of diseases.
It is interesting that the best domestic crop cultivars of the second
half of the 20th century were bred on the basis of VIR’s germplasm
accessions – primarily those of crop landraces. For example, the
collection materials were used as breeding sources for more than
200 domestic cultivars of barley, oat and rye, 84 potato cultivars, and
dozens of grain legumes, vegetables and industrial crops.
Several decades have completely changed the assortment of
crops used in cultivation. Practically lost now are the traditions
of growing such crops as winter false flax (Camelina sylvestris
subsp. pilosa Zing.), spring bird rape (Brassica campestris), hemp,
poppy, etc. Fortunately, many landraces are still preserved in
VIR’s collection, although part of them has unfortunately been
lost. For example, some populations of wheat varieties, combining
several sub-populations (eco-elements or lines) were regenerated
in the same form as they had been collected – in mixtures, without
separating their components. In the course of time, it led to the
loss of some components.
151
152
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Today it is almost impossible to find in Russia any landraces of
cereals, industrial crops or potato. Nevertheless, there is a chance
to encounter, however occasionally, landraces of vegetables, fruits,
grain legumes or forage plants, especially in northern, mountainous
or foothill areas – near isolated settlements or derelict farmsteads, far
from crop production fields. The urgent need for such discoveries is
obvious. The first step towards this aim should be the inventorying of
crop landraces. Its results will help to work out targeted conservation
recommendations for separate crops and for certain territories.
Inventorying is to be accomplished by plant explorations planned
on the basis of literary references, archaeological data, information
contained in the databases of national and international genebanks,
and materials preserved in archives, herbaria and live collections.
An illustration of such endeavours is the inventory of spring
bread wheat landraces developed at VIR (Zuev 2008). A database
was made for all old local varieties and populations. It contains
the following information: taxonomic identity (including common
and local names of varieties and forms); collection site (name
of the settlement or location, altitude, geographic coordinates);
date of collection; name(s) of collector(s); and data of the donor
institution (if sent on a seed request). These data served for making
up electronic maps of the regions explored by VIR’s collecting
missions (for individual regions). Such kinds of research not
only yield information on the areas of collecting, plant collectors,
details of plant distribution, but also serve as a tool of prognosis,
facilitating identification of the areas where this or that local form
of crop landrace might still be found.
References
Aalto, M. and Heinäjoki, H. (1997) Vegetation and environment of Old Ladoga in the
epoch of Vikings. In: Kirpichnikova, A.N. and Nosova, E.N. (eds). Relics of Volkhov
River Basin. Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia. pp.182-187.
Artsikhovsky, A.V. (1951) Archaeological discoveries in Novgorod. Bulletin of the
USSR Academy of Sciences 12.
Bakhteyev, F.H. (1956) Concerning the history of barley cultivation in the USSR.
In: Materials on the history of crop husbandry in the USSR, collection 2. Academy
of Sciences of USSR, Moscow/Leningrad, USSR. pp.204-257.
Bibikov, S.N. (1960) Palaeolithic findings in the caves of the Southern Urals. Soviet
Archaeology, 12.
Brezhnev, D.D. (1977) Global plant resources at the service of public economy
in the USSR. Works on Applied Botany, Genetics and Plant Breeding 60(1), 3-19.
Chukhina, I.G. and Shitov, M.V. (2007) Diversity of wild and cultivated plants in the
vicinity of medieval Ladoga (study of carpological findings). In: Fundamental
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
and Applied Problems of Botany in the Beginning of the 21 Century: Proceedings of the
All-Russian Conference (Petrozavodsk, 22–27 September 2008), Part 3, Petrozavodsk,
Russia. pp. 218-219.
Domostroy (1908–1910). Konishevsky copy and similar, Editor: A. Orlov, book 1–2.
Imperial society of history and Russian antiquities at Moskow University, Moscow,
Russia.
Dorofeyev, V.F., Filatenko, A.A. and Migushova, E.F. (1979) Wheat. In: Cultivated
Flora of the USSR. Kolos, Leningrad, USSR.
Fedorov, V.D. and Gilmanov, T.G. (1980) Ecology. Moscow State University, Moscow,
USSR.
Kiryanova, N.A. (1992) Agricultural crops and cropping system in the forest zone of Rus
in the 11th–15th centuries. Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, Moscow, Russia. 162 p.
Mavrodin, V.V. (1948) Genesis of the ancient Russian state. USSR Academy of Sciences,
Leningrad, USSR.
Merezhko, A.F. (2001) Wheat pool of European Russia. In: Bonjean, A.P. and
Angus, W.J. (eds). The World Wheat Book. A history of wheat breeding. Lavoisier
Publishing, Paris, France.
Mordvinkina, A.I. (1936) Oats. In: Cultivated Flora of the USSR. The state publishing
house of the collective-farm and state-farm literature. Leningrad, USSR.
Mordvinkina, A.I. (1960) Concerning the history of oat cultivation in the USSR.
In: Materials of the History of Agriculture and Peasantry in the USSR, collection IV.
Institute of History of the USSR, Moscow, USSR.
Okladnikov, A.P. (1949) The past of Yakutia prior to its joining with the Russian
state. In: History of Yakutia, vol. 1. USSR Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, USSR.
Petrov, V.A. (1945) Vegetative remnants from the cultural layer of Old Ladoga. Brief
Reports of the Institute of Tumulary Culture History 11.
Petrov, V.A. (1947) Vegetative remnants from clay lutings of the Early Tripolian
times in the Ukraine. In: Synopses of Research Works for 1945. Dept. of History
and Philosophy, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow/Leningrad, USSR.
Pisarev, V.E. (1960) Origin of East Siberian spring wheats. In: Issues of Evolution,
Biogeography, Genetics and Plant Breeding. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow/
Leningrad, USSR.
Ravdonikas, V.I. (1949) Old Ladoga (from the results of archaeological investigations
in 1938–1947): Part 2. Soviet Archaeology, 12.
Silantjeva, M.M. (2008) Flora of Altai territory: the Analysis and a History of
Formation. Abstract of PhD Thesis. Printing House of the Altay State University,
Novosibirsk, Russia. 35 p.
Sinskaya, E.N. (1969) Historical geography of cultivated flora (at the dawn of crop
husbandry). Acad. D.D. Brezhnev, Kolos Publishers, Leningrad, USSR.
Sinskaya, E.N. (1991) Memoirs about N.I. Vavilov. Naukova Dumka Publishers,
Kiev, Ukraine.
Smekalova, T.N. (2007) Report of the collecting mission to the Far East. In: Archival
Materials of the Plant Introduction Department. VIR, St. Petersburg, Russia.
153
154
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Tarakanova, S.A. (1953) Relics of Pskov lands. In: Tracking the Ancient Cultures, vol. 2.
USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR.
Ulyanova, T.N. (1997) Weedy plants in the vegetation of Russia and other CIS countries.
VIR, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Vavilov, N.I. (1924) About the Oriental centres of crop origin. New East, 6.
Vavilov, N.I. (1935) Botanical and geographical fundamentals of plant breeding.
In: Theoretical Principles of Plant Breeding, vol. 1. USSR Academy of Sciences,
Moscow/Leningrad, USSR.
Voronin, N.N. (1953) On the banks of the Klyazma and the Neman. In: Tracking the
Ancient Cultures, vol. 2. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR.
Yakubtsiner, M.N. (1956) Concerning the history of wheat cultivation in the USSR. In:
Materials on the history of crop husbandry in the USSR, collection 2. USSR Academy
of Sciences, Moscow/Leningrad, USSR.
Yanin, V.L. (1953). Novgorod the Great. In: Tracking the Ancient Cultures, vol. 2:
Ancient Rus. USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR.
Zhukovsky, P.M. (1957) Wheat in the USSR. Selhozgiz, Moscow/Leningrad, USSR.
Zhukovsky, P.M. (1964) Cultivated plants and their relatives: Systematics, geography,
cytogenetics, ecology, origin and utilization. Kolos Publishers, Leningrad, USSR.
Zuev, E.V. (2008) Local Spring bread wheats in the global collection of VIR. VIR, St.
Petersburg, Russia.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
14. ‘Swedes Revisited’: a Landrace Inventory in
Sweden
Jens Weibull, Eva Jansson and Katarina Wedelsbäck Bladh¹
¹ Centrum för biologisk mångfald (Swedish Biodiversity Centre), Sveriges
lantbruksuniversitet (Swedish University of Agriculture Science), Box 57, SE230 53 Alnarp, Sweden. E-mail jens.weibull@cbm.slu.se
14.1 Brief historic background
Sweden has a long history of research on plant genetics and plant
breeding. When crop improvement began at the turn of the last
century, the breeders’ raw material consisted of landraces or
locally adapted cultivars that were often collected from the nearby
farmer’s field. We should envisage the Swedish early-20th-century
agricultural landscape as a mosaic of crops and cultivars, most of
them locally improved and genetically variable landraces, very
much like today’s crops in marginal areas where agriculture has not
undergone modernization. Some plant varieties had been introduced
from abroad, such as Chevalier and Hanna barley, the Squarehead
wheat, Golden Tankard and Red Mammoth fodder beets, but most
of the crops grown were local selections.
This was before the rediscovery of Mendel’s laws of heritability.
The possibilities inherent in recombination, or crossing of genotypes,
had not yet been exploited. Breeding meant selecting superior
individuals from the mixture present in the landrace, further
multiplying it to the stage where the amount of seed was large
enough to be sold as a new variety. Now and then a new selection
would be made from the released variety and marketed under a new
name as an improvement, simply because the rules for uniformity
were not as strict as under modern variety legislation.
With the arrival of varieties bred through recombination the
traditional landraces gradually lost their importance in Swedish
agriculture and by the 1950s they were basically no longer extant in
cultivation. Thanks to the visionary work of some breeders, however,
many of the original landraces were maintained and saved, both as
testimony of the traditional agriculture and as a source of possibly
new genetic variation that might be tapped anew. While this was
especially true for the larger cereal crops, many other crops, such
as vegetables, were not conserved to the same extent.
When the former Nordic Genebank was established in 1979
(NordGen as from 1 Jan 2008) much of the genetic stock, including
traditional landraces, was provided by the breeding community
itself. This included, among others, einkorn, emmer, spelt wheat
155
156
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
and lentils from the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, and oat,
rye and barley from many parts of mainland Sweden. A few swede
(rutabaga) and turnip cultivars were also provided. Over the years
NGB has made several surveys to find and collect additional
landraces, and by the end of the 1990s the collection contained
some 300 accessions, including those of potato, Pisum, Phaseolus
and local fruit and berry cultivars.
14.2 Programme for the diversity of cultivated plants
The programme for the diversity of cultivated plants (POM) was
a new initiative in Swedish PGR work and was established as a
national commitment in 2000. Through this programme, work
on cultivated plants is to be better coordinated and developed.
Sweden, together with 187 other countries, has pledged itself to
conserve biodiversity by signing the UN’s Convention on Biological
Diversity. The country has also signed the FAO Global Plan of Action
for the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources. POM
is seen as a vital instrument for the conservation and utilization
of Sweden’s plant resources in a sensible and sustainable manner.
A priority issue for POM includes a national inventory to be
made of our cultivated plants and their relatives. A ten-year strategy
has therefore been developed that lays down the priorities and
technical details of how the inventory will be carried out. In 2000,
small-scale inventories were made on a trial basis of three groups
of very popular and well known cultivated plants with the aim of
evaluating inventory techniques. The sample crops were introduced
early daffodils and white narcissi (Narcissus), roses (Rosa) and
turnips (Brassica rapa ssp. rapa). Since then, more comprehensive
inventories of other cultivated plants or plant groups have been
initiated throughout Sweden. These include fruit and berry crops,
perennial ornamentals, ornamental bulb and tuber plants, forage
crops, ornamental trees and bushes, vegetatively propagated crops,
and cultivated roses. Plant material is currently being collected for
evaluation and comparison before any final selection for long-term
conservation in the national collection is made.
The first inventory, however, targeted a very critical group of
crops, namely the vegetables. We know from historical documents
such as garden literature and seed catalogues that the variety of
vegetable cultivars was much larger in the late 1800s and first half
of the 20th century. A sudden change seems to have taken place
after World War II, however, when many of the older cultivars
disappeared during a few years. The focus of the ‘Seed Call’ was
therefore placed primarily on vegetables, annual ornamentals
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
and fibre plants, and was made as a concluding search for any
redundant seed that could possibly still be around in the country.
Other seed of interest was of course also welcomed. The call was
carried out in collaboration with NGB and the Swedish seed
NGO Sesam.
14.3 Methods
We used a wide spectrum of channels to reach the largest possible
number of potential growers: media (TV, radio broadcasting,
newspapers – both local and national, and garden magazines),
exhibitions, relevant organizations (for seed growers, farmers,
retirees), the regional organizations for agricultural outreach, the
so-called ‘book buses’ (i.e. touring libraries) and many others. The
appeal was also advertised at crop demonstration trials set up by
various organizations.
Potential seed donors were asked to contact POM, to inform
the organizers about their plant material and provide as much
documentation as possible. This could include some of the following:
• Where, by whom and how long had it been grown?
• Was something known of its origin?
• Was it still being grown?
• The name of the cultivar, if available.
• The age of the seed.
• The information on the seed bag.
• Some particular traits or characteristics of the cultivar.
All seed that was obtained was carefully documented and sent
to NGB for germination tests or seed multiplication, if necessary.
Seed samples were also multiplied by Sesam. Although the call was
planned to go on during 2002 and 2003 seeds still kept coming in
during 2004.
Today all seeds are kept under long-storage conditions at
NordGen in Alnarp, southern Sweden. Material has also been safetyduplicated at Svalbard. Some accessions are already freely available
from the genebank but some still have to go through additional
regeneration cycles before being available for distribution.
14.4 The findings
In all, seeds of 227 different seed samples came in from all over
the country, except the northernmost part, Lapland. Apart from
these, a large number of unspecified seed collections were sent
in, the identity and origin of which were difficult or impossible to
determine. Many of them were of the kind that early-20th-century
157
158
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
school pupils had to prepare as a compulsory topic in botany.
However, due to the lack of documentation for this seed it was of
little scientific value and in general non-viable. Finally, a number
of original seed bags of named cultivars were also sent in. These
seeds were also generally non-viable but nevertheless represent
interesting reference material for future use.
Viable seeds, or bulbs in the case of Allium, were obtained from
175 accessions representing almost 30 taxa, some of which had not
previously been collected by the genebank. These included common
marigold (Calendula officinalis), sweet William (Dianthus barbatus)
and rose campion (Lychnis coronaria). By far the largest number of
seed samples obtained was of pea (Pisum sativum subsp. sativum
and subsp. arvense), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and broad
bean (Vicia faba). Altogether 59 new accessions of garden or field
pea, 25 common beans and 12 broad beans were obtained. This was
not unexpected since these are self-pollinated crops that are easily
regenerated. Furthermore, legumes generally have hard seeds that
maintain their viability well even under less favourable conditions
of storage. Somewhat more unusual crops included melon (Cucumis
melo), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), garden orach (Atriplex hortensis)
and thorn-apple (Datura stramonium).
Interestingly, 22 accessions were biennial root crops that require
laborious storage of roots and replanting the following year in
order to give seed. Fifteen swedes (Brassica napus var. napobrassica),
six turnips (B. rapa var. rapa) and two fodder beets (Beta vulgaris
var. alba and var. conditiva) were obtained, proving that still today
there are growers who are sufficiently well-informed to be able to
manage seed production of such crops. All swede accessions were
obtained from the northern half of the country (north of 60 °N),
indicating that the tradition of growing swedes is strongest in this
part of Sweden. While only one turnip was received from central
southern Sweden, the remaining five were also sent in from the
north-western part. This may be associated with the fact that turnip
growing has always been popular in neighbouring Norway, and
seed exchange historically may have taken place across the border.
The growing of swedes and turnips for centuries preceded that of
potato cultivation, which was introduced only in the latter part
of the 18th century. This may also explain why these crops have
maintained their popularity in the areas mentioned.
Altogether 148, or 85%, of the accessions that came to POM
through the ‘Seed Call’ can be classified as either landraces (locally
adapted cultivars) or local populations. This was a surprisingly high
figure considering the general belief that Sweden, from a genetic
resources perspective, has been considered a ‘poor’ country and
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
possibly devoid of historical plant material. The basis for classifying
landraces as distinct rests primarily on the source of documentation
and to what extent this can be fully substantiated. Many donors
provided photographs, receipts, seed orders, diaries and other
verifiable documents that helped in this respect. As a result of the
‘Seed Call’ for material the NordGen collection of Swedish landraces
now totals 568 accessions of 38 taxa.
14.5 Seed stories
The conservation of landraces and other traditional plant material
is not only a matter of saving seeds or plants, but it is also about
saving knowledge and memories. During the ‘Seed Call’ POM
received a wealth of information explaining why this particular pea
or swede cultivar had been maintained, perhaps for more than a
generation or two. The guiding questions given in the information
sent out led many donors to write down their personal reflections
and experiences. This information, seldom valued or recognized,
represents a central component in the conservation of our green
cultural heritage.
Many of those responding to the ‘Seed Call’ were elderly people
and very often retirees. A clear majority of the donors were women
(69%) which probably reflects the fact that women have often
been responsible for the vegetable garden and, therefore, also for
maintaining seed stocks. These bearers of traditions also maintain
in silence a rich cultural history, expressed and passed on by their
hands. It is an ageing group of people, whose knowledge could very
well be defined as ‘near threatened’ to use modern terminology.
Their work and efforts to sustain our green heritage deserve to be
documented and acknowledged.
14.6 Genetic analyses of pea
Due to the high number of pea cultivars collected as a result of POM,
some of which had been grown for several human generations, we
found it interesting to compare their variability with that already
occurring in the genebank Pisum collection. Over the years cultivar
names are obviously lost, and the only reliable method remaining
at hand is that of using molecular markers. We decided to look
at variation in microsatellite markers and therefore compared 34
genotypes from the ‘Seed Call’ with 46 others already stored at
NordGen. We used eight primer pairs based on the work by Loridon
et al. (2005) and analysed the data using cluster analysis and Nei’s
diversity index (Nei 1973). To summarize, the surprise finding from
159
160
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
the analysis was that many of the genotypes obtained through the
‘Seed Call’ represented new and previously unknown diversity.
On the basis of only five primer pairs we concluded that 21 of the
34 genotypes were new and unique. The remaining 13 genotypes
shared markers with either other ‘Seed Call’ genotypes or accessions
already stored at the genebank. The analysis is currently being
expanded using more primer pairs.
We find it interesting to conclude that Swedish pea diversity was
significantly enriched through the activities of the ‘Seed Call’. We
may perhaps never find out the true identity of each of the collected
pea cultivars because descriptive documentation about the varieties
that were introduced around the turn of last century is scarce or
even non-existent. A ‘variety’ introduced over 100 years ago was
most probably not a pure line in the strict sense, thereby allowing
for additional (local) selection and improvement. What we see today
are possibly the descendants of those cultivars planted in gardens
and fields at the end of the 19th century.
14.7 Publications
The stories and experiences of generations of growers have been
compiled and described by Nygårds (2005) through interviews and
much of the available documentation has been used. It is a long-needed
and much welcomed recognition of those people who, idealistically,
have contributed to the conservation of our genetic heritage.
Acknowledgements
We warmly thank our colleagues Lena Nygårds and Matti Leino for
their close collaboration through the ‘Seed Call’. Agnese Kolodinska
Brantestam and Alfia Khairullina are gratefully acknowledged for
the work on microsatellite markers.
References
Loridon, K., McPhee, K., Morin, J., Dubreuil, P., Pilet-Nayel, M.L., Aubert, G.,
Rameau, C., Baranger, A., Coyne, C., Lejeune-Hénaut, I. and Burstin, J. (2005)
Microsatellite marker polymorphism and mapping in pea (Pisum sativum L.).
Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 111 1022-1031.
Nei, M. (1973) Analysis of gene diversity in subdivided populations. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 70, 3321-3323.
Nygårds, L. (2005) Vi odlade till husbehov (‘We cultivated for everyday use’). Grahns,
Lund, Sweden. (in Swedish with English summary)
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
15.
Landrace Inventory of the UK
Maria Scholten¹, Niall Green², George Campbell², Nigel Maxted³, Brian
4
Ford-Lloyd³, Mike Ambrose and Bill Spoor¹
¹ Crop and Soil Systems Research Group, Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), King’s
Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK. E-mail maria_scholten@
hotmail.com
² SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture), Roddinglaw Road,
Edinburgh EH12 9FJ, UK
³ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
4
John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK
15.1 Introduction
It has been observed that field crop landraces are the rarest type
of landrace in Western Europe (Hammer 2003). In the UK they
were also the least studied and they form the main subject of this
paper. Some fruit and hops have been covered by field surveys
resulting in extensive ex situ collections at Brogdale (Palmer 1999)
and the hop genebank at East Malling Research (P. Darby, 2004,
pers. comm.). The NGO Common Ground has recently produced
a Gazetteer of local apple varieties (Clifford et al. 2007). Vegetable
heirloom varieties, maintained in home gardens and allotments,
have also been surveyed (Stickland 2001). The heritage seed
growers associated with the Heritage Seed Library assist in
maintaining these heirloom and heritage vegetables. A selected
list of extant historical vegetables and fruits was recently compiled
by Stocks (2008).
Landraces and modern cultivars, in the form of F1 hybrids, can
be seen as two extremes with many intermediate types (Wright and
Turner 1999; Parlevliet 2007). Camacho et al. (2006) discussed the
defining traits of landraces, such as a long history of cultivation,
identity, heterogeneity, lack of formal breeding, as well as often
being genetically diverse, locally adapted and associated with
traditional farming systems. Also as pointed out by Negri (2007),
landraces often have cultural associations with the communities
in which they are maintained. Landraces can be identified as local
varieties with local seed production on farm (Wright and Turner
1999). Almekinders et al. (1994) distinguished formal and informal
seed sectors; in the informal sector landraces occur as farmer’s
varieties and as farm-saved seed. In the formal seed sector, local,
traditional and modern varieties are present as varieties which are
available in commerce, and are registered on National Lists. Both
sectors should be included in an overview of landraces.
161
162
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The UK has a long tradition of certifying local forage varieties,
and many of these varieties were added to the National List when
it was created in 1973. One of the first local varieties to enter seed
certification was Kent Wild White Clover from the Romney Marsh
in 1930 (Caradus 1986). The National List can therefore be viewed
from a plant genetic resources perspective: which landraces and
traditional varieties are listed and who are their maintainers?
15.2 In situ occurrence of field crop landraces and
traditional varieties
Work in the UK on extant cereal landraces includes the Wright et al.
(2002) assessment of Scottish landraces. The National Inventory of
UK Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, commissioned by
Defra in 2003, was carried out by the University of Birmingham as
a desktop study (Scholten et al. 2004). Extant cereal landraces and
local forages were prioritized and results are summarized on the UK
Portal for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (www.grfa.gov.
uk). Associated with the inventory were pilot and follow-up studies
(Camacho Villa 2003; Michailidou 2004; Lever 2006; Scholten et al.
2008; Scholten et al., in press). Simultaneously but independently, an
assessment of the Scottish extant bere (barley) in cultivation was done
as part of a genetic diversity study (Southworth 2007). Background
information on Scottish landraces can be found on a Scottish
Government website for landraces: www.scottishlandraces.org.uk.
15.3 Traditional wheat varieties kept as landraces
In southern England a tradition of thatching with wheat straw has
survived. For this reason and associated with thatchers, a number
of traditional, long-straw wheat varieties are kept as landraces:
Maris Widgeon, Squarehead’s Master, April Bearded, Rampton
Rivet, Blue Cone, Little Joss, Rivet. Most of these are obsolete (no
longer sold commercially) varieties, and are often selections (from
selections) from landraces in the 19th century; many were, or are,
periodically reintroduced from the John Innes genebank collection.
Because their seed is no longer in commerce and seed has therefore
to be generated on farm, these varieties can be viewed as traditional
varieties kept as landraces. The one exception is Maris Widgeon,
one of two pre-1973 wheat varieties on the UK National List. These
two wheat varieties, Maris Widgeon and Maris Huntsman, are also
maintained for their good milling quality. The scale of cultivation
is on average two hectares as can be seen from the data presented
in Table 15.1.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
163
Table 15.1. Overview of traditional wheat varieties maintained as landraces.
Variety
Pedigree
Seed source
Number of farmers
Maris Widgeon
Squarehead’s Master
(Standard Red)
Use
Scale (Ha)
1960s
National List
80-110
Thatch, milling
Early 20th
century
Majority
genebank
7
Thatch
2 –100
10
Rampton Rivet
1939
Genebank
3
Thatch
April Bearded
Landrace/ selection
Genebank
2
Thatch
10
Rivet
Landrace
Genebank
2
Thatch
10
2
Little Joss
1908
Genebank
1
Thatch
N59
1950s
Genebank
2
Thatch
Bere, the Scottish barley landrace
Bere, a six-row barley landrace, described by Jarman (1996) as ‘a living
link with the past’, is one of the oldest surviving landraces in the UK.
An assessment of the current distribution of bere was carried out by
Southworth (2007). On Shetland, bere cultivation in recent years has
3
increased through a heritage project of the Shetland Organic Producers'
4
Group. On Orkney the local watermill grows bere and produces bere
flour for traditional biscuits. The Agronomy Institute, also on Orkney,
has conducted research projects into marketing of bere (Martin et al.,
Chapter 26 this volume). On the southern Outer Hebrides bere is grown
for fodder and will be further discussed in the section on cereal mixtures.
Cereal landrace mixtures
The southern Outer Hebrides form the largest area of extant cereal
landraces in the UK with over 300 hectares of mixtures of Avena
strigosa, rye (of unknown origin) and bere (Scholten et al. 2008). These
are historical landraces with local cultivation and seed saving reported
back over generations (Findlay 1956) and possibly centuries.
Local forages
Grasslands are the largest form of agricultural land use in the UK and
forages are one of the major crops. Forage ecotypes have been collected
extensively for ex situ conservation (Humphreys 2003). Many local
varieties were produced by numerous local seed growers' associations
until the second half of the 20th century (Sneddon 1980). Seven of these
have survived: Kent Wild White clover, Kent perennial ryegrass from
Romney Marsh, Scots timothy in the area around Stirling and Perth
in Scotland; Essex Broad and Kersey White Clover, two local clovers
3
4
www.organics.shetland.co.uk/.
www.birsay.org.uk/baronymill.htm.
164
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
from eastern England and two local sainfoin varieties in southern
England. Essex is the only surviving type of the English Broad-Leaved
clovers and has been in trade for over 70 years. Kersey White Clover
was developed from a local strain from Suffolk (Hawkins 1967).
Scots timothy was threatened by extinction after World War II and a
certification scheme was set up to market the landrace (Gregor 1971).
Its cultivation as a hay crop is nowadays restricted to Perthshire (K.
Pearson, 2008, SASA, pers. comm.). Seed production and the number
of growers of all of these have decreased steadily over recent decades.
Sainfoin has been grown in England since the 18th century
and there were two main sainfoin local types: common and Giant
(Koivisto and Lane 2001). Only Cotswold common and Hampshire
common could be found in 2003. The first is maintained by Cotswold
Seed Ltd and used in Conservation Mixtures. The second, Hampshire
5
common, has been continuously grown on an estate since 1730 . It was
withdrawn from the National List in 1984 because the grower thought
annual certification costs were too high and that it was unfair for a
single grower to pay the same fees as commercial seed producers.
An overview of current seed production is given in Table 15.2.
Table 15.2. Overview of extant forage landraces.
Local forage
name
Scientific
name
Maintainer
Tonnes/
Number
year 2007 growers
Ex situ
holding
Kent Wild
White Clover
Trifolium
repens L.
KWWCPRG
0
2
1 or more DARDNI
Kersey Clover
Trifolium
repens L.
Church of
Bures
Low
Lower
1 or more DARDNI
Essex Broad
Red Clover
Trifolium
pratense L.
Church of
Bures
Low
Lower
1 or more DARDNI
Kent Indigenous Lolium
White Clover
perenne L.
KWWCPRG
15
4-5
1 or more DARDNI
Scots Timothy
Phleum
pratense L.
STSGA
46
6
1 or more DARDNI
Hampshire
Common
sainfoin
Onobrychis
viciifolia
Scop.
ex-NL
2
1
2
DARDNI
USDA-PI
Cotswold
Common
sainfoin
Onobrychis
viciifolia
Scop.
Not NL
Not
available
1
1
ECP-GR
5
6
7
8
6
8
Holding
institute
7
www.sustainable-cholderton.co.uk/.
Kent Wild White Clover and Perennial Ryegrass Growers.
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Northern Ireland (UK).
Scots Timothy Seed Growers' Association.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Traditional cereal varieties kept as landraces
During the National Inventory in 2003-2004 and subsequent
fieldwork, some other traditional varieties kept as landraces were
found. Two examples from Scotland are Murkle oat, a traditional
Avena sativa variety from north-eastern Scotland, grown to provide
straw to Orkney traditional chair makers. The second is an A. sativa
cultivar from 1936, Monarch (Findlay 1956), kept by one farmer,
who had inherited it from his father. It is also grown to provide
high-quality straw to Orkney chair makers.
Brassica field crop landraces
Shetland cabbage, a Brassica landrace grown over centuries on the
Shetland Islands, has shown a steep decline in cultivation over
the last 30 years. In 2006 a research project at the University of
Birmingham resulted in seed collection and an estimation of current
cultivation and an assessment of threat for this century-old local
cabbage (Lever 2006; Scholten et al. 2008). An overview of landraces
present in Scotland is given in Table 15.3.
Table 15.3. Overview of extant field crop landraces and traditional varieties in Scotland.
Landrace
Region
Number of growers
Use
Bere
(barley)
Orkney and
Shetland
15-20
Flour, whisky, beer,
feed
Cereal mixtures
(A. strigosa, rye, bere)
Southern Outer
Hebrides
100 – 250
Winter feed cattle
Shetland cabbage
(B. oleracea)
Shetland
50
Winter feed,
vegetable
Shetland oat
(A. strigosa)
Shetland
Less than 10
Thatch, baskets,
chairs
Orkney traditional oat
(A. strigosa)
Orkney
2
Traditional Orkney
chairs
Murkle oat
(A. sativa)
Orkney,
Shetland
2
Straw for chairs,
seed
Monarch (oat)
(A. sativa)
Orkney
1
Straw for chairs
15.4 UK National List of Plant Varieties
The UK National List of Plant Varieties contains landraces and/
or traditional (pre-1973) varieties for which seed can be assumed
to be available on the market. Present on the 2007 National List
were five local forages (Table 15.2), a long-straw wheat, a pre-1973
barley preferred by Scottish growers, 38 potato varieties, many with
165
166
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Scottish names, several Brassica field crops such as fodder kales,
Swedes and one field pea (Defra and PVRO, 2007).
Many of these represent longstanding local cultivation, such as
for Brassica field crops (Green 1999), and are associated with local
seed growers’ associations such as the Kent Wild White Clover and
Perennial Ryegrass Seed Growers' Association (KWWCPRSG) and
the Scots Timothy Seed Growers' Association (STSGA). Several
names are long associated with local growing traditions: e.g.
Evesham, Ormskirk, Cotswold, Durham and Offenham were named
after areas of cabbage production (Oldham 1948).
With the UK’s entry into the European Community in 1973
many traditional open-pollinated vegetable varieties, which were
maintained as populations, were accommodated on the UK
National List (B-list). Nearly all B-list varieties were well-known
before 1973 and many originate from the 19th century.
The three largest maintainers of traditional or pre-1973 varieties
on the National List are SASA, maintaining 124 of the total 437
vegetable varieties, SEERAD/DARD together maintaining 38
of 119 listed potato varieties, and a commercial English seed
merchant, Church of Bures, who maintains all ten listed pre1973 field crops (Defra and PVRO 2008). This increase in public
maintainers should be seen against the background of a steady
loss of pre-1973 varieties from the National List. The involvement
of SEERAD and SASA (both Scottish Government) keeps older
potato and B-list vegetables in the public domain and secures
reproduction of definitive seed.
15.5 Ex situ conservation and seed availability
All UK landraces that have been discussed above, with the
exception of rye and sainfoin, are represented with one or
more accessions in one of the national germplasm collections.
However, passport data are not always present. New collections
have been created at SASA (Green et al., Chapter 24 this volume).
Two of the three UK statutory variety testing centres conserve
obsolete varieties: Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute Northern
Ireland (AFBINI) and SASA, an overview of these collections
is given by Green (1997). The relevance of these collections to
conservation was shown by the example of Hampshire sainfoin,
where only one accession was conserved (as an obsolete variety)
in the statutory reference collection at AFBINI. The status of these
collections concerning public accessibility and seed availability
remains unclear; therefore seed of this landrace is not currently
available.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
15.6 Conclusion
A number of field crop landraces have been identified, some of these
maintained on farm, and some by local seed companies registered
on the UK National List. The identified varieties showed varying
histories of cultivation. The oldest are probably the cereal landraces
of the Scottish islands, Shetland cabbage and Hampshire common
sainfoin. Others, such as the long-straw wheat varieties are obsolete, or
are traditional varieties kept as on-farm saved seed. If the criterion of
30 years or one generation of seed saving on-farm, following Louette
(2000), is applied, the Scottish and Hampshire varieties are ‘true’
landraces. They are mainly used as home-grown fodder, and are not
maintained for heritage purposes. Barley forms the exception as it is
also marketed as a heritage or niche product. In contrast, the obsolete
varieties and the varieties listed on the National List are of more recent
origin. Nonetheless, they represent local seed production histories and
often longstanding local uses, such as traditional thatching material.
9
Local seed production of local varieties is crucial to keep seeds
available to growers. Concern about seed availability is witnessed in
initiatives such as the heritage cereals project of a group of Shetland
10
growers , instigated by a lack of local seed; the Local Biodiversity
Action Plan for the Western Isles proposing to subsidize local seed
production; or the Scottish Government stepping in as maintainer for
traditional potato and vegetable varieties on the National List to keep
seed available on the market, and the creation of the new Scottish
Landrace Protection Scheme (Green et al., Chapter 24 this volume).
A more active role for genebanks can also be observed at the John
Innes Centre, with an Open Day of the Growing Demonstrations of
UK Cereal landraces, landrace selections and early cultivars from
the BBSRC Small Grain Cereal Collections. The recent work on
cereal landraces has highlighted them as part of the plant genetic
resources of the UK and has stimulated conservation action and policy
development, as described by Green et al. (Chapter 24 this volume).
Acknowledgements
Farmers, crofters and seed merchants are kindly thanked for
their time and information. Mr K. Pearson, Mr G. Hall and Mrs R.
Tulloch at SASA are acknowledged for providing information. The
national inventory assessment was funded by the UK Department
9
In contrast to on-farm saving of modern varieties, reported for the UK by
Brennan and Byerlee 1991.
10
www.organics.shetland.co.uk/news.htm.
167
168
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra grant GCO134).
C.T. Camacho Villa, L.A. Lever and A. Michailidou MSc projects
were funded by the University of Birmingham. The A. strigosa
survey in 2006 was funded by the Botanical Society of the British
Isles (BSBI).
References
Almekinders, C., Louwaars, N. and de Bruijn, G. (1994) Local seed systems
and their importance for an improved seed supply in developing countries.
Euphytica 78, 207-216.
Brennan, J. and Byerlee, D. (1991) .The rate of crop varietal replacement on farms:
measures and empirical results for wheat. Plant Varieties and Seeds 4, 99-106.
Camacho Villa, C.T. (2003) A survey of landraces currently cultivated in the United
Kingdom. MSc Thesis, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham,
Birmingham, UK.
Camacho Villa, C.T., Maxted, N., Scholten, M. and Ford-Lloyd, B. (2006) Defining
and identifying crop landraces. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and
Utilization 3(3), 373-384.
Caradus, J.R. (1986) World Checklist of white clover varieties. Review. New Zealand
Journal of Experimental Agriculture 14, 119-164.
Clifford, S., King, A. and Davenport, P. (2007) The Apple Source Book, particular uses
for diverse apples. Hodder & Stoughton, London, UK.
Defra and PVRO (2007) Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette Special Edition 514 February
2007. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Plant Variety
Rights Office, London, UK.
Defra and PVRO (2008) Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette Special Edition of Plant
Breeders’ Rights and the UK National Lists. 527 2008. Department of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs and the Plant Variety Rights Office, London, UK.
Findlay, W.M. (1956) Oats, their cultivation and use from ancient times to the present
day. Aberdeen University Studies, Oliver and Boyd, London, UK.
Green, F.N. (1997) The value of the United Kingdom statutory seed collections
from a genetic resource perspective. Plant Varieties and Seeds 10, 195-204.
Green, F.N. (1999) The United Kingdom Swede cultivar collection (Brassica napus
L. var. napobrassica (L.) RCHB. In: Andrews, S., Leslie A.C. and Alexander, C.
(eds). Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants. Third International Symposium, Royal Botanic
Garden, Kew, London, UK. pp. 501-503.
Gregor, J.W. (1971) Research on forage crops at the Scottish Plant Breeding Station,
1921 – 1965. In: Scottish Plant Breeding Station Annual Report 1971. Scottish Plant
Breeding Station, Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, UK.
Hammer, K. (2003) Resolving the challenges posed by agrobiodiversity and
plant genetic resources – an attempt. Beiheft Nr 67 zu Journal of Agriculture
and Rural development in the Tropics and Subtropics, Kassel University Press,
GmbH, Germany.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Hawkins, R.P. (1967) A Note on Kersey White Clover. Journal of the National Institute
of Agricultural Botany 11, 226-227.
Humphreys, M.O. (2003) Utilisation of plant genetic resources in breeding for
sustainability. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization 1(1), 11- 18.
Jarman, R.J. (1996) Bere barley: a living link with 8th century. Plant Varieties and
Seeds 9(3), 191-196.
Koivisto, J.D. and Lane, G.P.F. (2001) Sainfoin – Worth Another Look. Published by
the Royal Agricultural College on behalf of the BGS Forage Legumes Special
Interest Group www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Gbase/AddInfo/sainfoin.
pdf. (accessed May 2008)
Lever, L.A. (2006) A Survey of Landraces on the Shetland Islands. MSc thesis, School
of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Louette, D. (2000) Traditional management of seed and genetic diversity: what is
a landrace? In: Brush S.B. (ed.) Genes in the Field: On-Farm Conservation of Crop
Genetic Diversity. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. pp. 109-142.
Michailidou, A. (2004) Molecular Characterisation of Clover landraces in the UK. MSc
thesis, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Negri, V. (2007) Towards a more comprehensive definition of “landrace” than
currently published. In: Del Greco, A., Negri V. and Maxted, N. (compilers)
Report of a Task Force on On-farm Conservation and Management, Second Meeting,
19-20 June 2006, Stegelitz, Germany. 20 pp. Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.
Oldham, C.H. (1948) Brassica crops and allied cruciferous crops. Crosby Lockwood
& Son, London, UK.
Palmer, P. (1999) Orchard mapping. UK Malus Newsletter 2. www.nfc.u-net.com/
newslet5.htm. (accessed May 2008)
Parlevliet, J.E. (2007) How to maintain improved cultivars. Euphytica 153: 353-362.
Scholten, M., Green, N., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (in press) Scottish
landraces: occurrence, research and ex situ conservation. EUCARPIA 18th
meeting on PGR Proceedings.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2004) UK National Inventory of
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Unpublished Report, Defra,
London, UK.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N. Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and
Shetland Oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.), and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L.) landraces: occurrence and conservation issues. BIOVERSITY/FAO Plant
Genetic Resources Newsletter 154, 1-5.
Sneddon, J.L. (1980) End of an era in herbage seed certification. Journal of the National
Institute of Agricultural Botany 15, 236-252.
Southworth, C. (2007) The use of microsatellite markers to differentiate UK barley
(Hordeum vulgare) varieties and in the population genetic analysis of bere barley from
the Scottish islands. Ph.D. Heriot-Watt University and the Scottish Agricultural
Science Agency, Edinburgh, UK.
Stickland, S. (2001) Back Garden Seed Saving. Keeping our vegetable heritage alive.
Eco-logic books, Bristol, UK.
169
170
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Stocks, C. (2008) Forgotten Fruits: A Guide to Britain’s Traditional Fruit and Vegetables.
Guardian Books, London, UK.
Wright, I.A., Dalziel, A.J.I. and Ellis, R.P. (2002) The Status of Traditional Scottish
Animal Breeds and Plant Varieties and the Implications for Biodiversity. Scottish
Executive Social Research, Edinburgh, UK.
Wright, M. and Turner, M. (1999) Seed Management Systems and Effects on
Diversity. In: Wood, D. and Lenné, J.M. (eds) Agrobiodiversity. Characterization,
Utilization and Management. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. pp. 331-354.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Section 3 - Case Studies
16. Tomato Varieties ‘Muchamiel’ and ‘De la Pera’
from the South-east of Spain: Genetic Improvement
to Promote On-Farm Conservation
Juan José Ruiz and Santiago García-Martínez
¹ Department of Applied Biology, EPSO-Miguel Hernandez University, Crta.
Beniel km 32, Orihuela (Alicante), Spain. E-mail juanj.ruiz@umh.es
16.1 Introduction
Tomato is the main vegetable crop in Spain, and furthermore, it is
the horticultural crop with the highest value. South-eastern Spain is
the most important area of fresh market tomato production in the
country, and this production is almost exclusively based on modern
hybrid varieties. However, there are still several traditional tomato
landraces which are renowned for high quality. In fact, in local
markets, traditional cultivars are sold for three to five times the price
of the hybrid varieties. Cultivars such as ‘Muchamiel’, ‘De la Pera’,
‘Valenciano’, ‘Morunos’, and ‘Flor de Baladre’ types, are very popular
in south-eastern Spain for their organoleptic fruit quality, and are still
being cultivated by local farmers in small orchards. However, these
landraces are severely endangered with the risk of extinction.
16.1.1
If appreciated, why then are tomato landraces
being lost?
All these traditional cultivars are highly susceptible to several viruses,
such as those caused by the ToMV, TSWV and TYLCV (Picó et al. 2002).
Although the presence of the viruses in tomato fields varies from
one year to another, their incidence strongly decreases the benefits
obtained by farmers, and even makes the cultivation of landraces nonviable in many areas. The abandonment of these traditional cultivars
would lead to an irreversible loss of genetic diversity. Commercial
hybrid varieties with genetic resistance to the viruses have been
developed, but these resistance genes have not been introgressed into
local varieties, since they represent only a small seed-market share.
16.1.2
Tomato breeding and quality: opportunities for the
promotion of tomato landraces
With the availability of tomatoes all year round and with the spread
of long-shelf-life varieties, consumers began to complain about
171
172
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
fresh market tomato quality, and they frequently associate modern
varieties with a lack of flavour. Although such an association has
not been proven, some authors believe that poor flavour quality
in tomato appears to be a result of breeding practices that do not
select for flavour. Tomato breeding has played a major role in
developing varieties adapted to the new agricultural and processing
technologies. In tomato, to date more than 25 major genes for
disease resistance have been reported, and many recently developed
cultivars now possess multiple disease resistance attributes. In
the breeding programmes, exotic germplasm has been almost
exclusively used as the source for disease and insect resistance
genes. The use of such unadapted material (wild tomato species)
to improve a cultivar can be difficult because of linkage drag, the
transfer of linked, undesirable loci with the gene(s) of interest. The
amount of introgressed DNA varies among cultivars and lines.
When too much unadapted DNA is introgressed into a cultivar,
important agronomic traits can degrade to unacceptable levels.
Modern hybrid cultivars of tomato have several introgressed DNA
segments from different wild species. This could partially explain
why today the quality of modern cultivars is criticized, and could
be an opportunity for the promotion of tomato landraces based on
their recognized quality.
16.2 Landrace diversity
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) was probably domesticated
in Mexico, but the first transfer of varieties to Europe was made
by Spanish explorers. Spain and Italy were the first European
countries where the tomato acquired commercial importance. After
its introduction, a wide range of local cultivars was developed,
organoleptic quality being one of the main selection criteria. In order
to contribute to the conservation of the genetic diversity harboured
by these tomato cultivars from the south-east of Spain, we thought
that we need to know more about what we were going to preserve,
so special emphasis was placed on a detailed characterization of
the variation at several levels, as follows.
16.2.1
Morphological variation
Although cultivated tomato has a very narrow genetic base,
there is a huge diversity of cultivars which greatly differ in
characteristics such as shape, firmness, solid soluble contents,
aroma volatiles, etc. For example, Gomez et al. (2001) have found
important differences for some colorimetric and physicochemical
parameters among some closely related Spanish local cultivars,
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
and other authors have found strong effects of tomato genotype
on foliar micronutrient concentrations.
16.2.2
Variation for micronutrient fruit content and other
parameters
The micronutrient composition of fruits from different forms of
two types of traditional cultivars, the ‘Muchamiel’ and the ‘De la
Pera’ types, and several parameters related to fruit quality, have
been characterized. These landraces are usually consumed at the
breaker maturity stage (less than 10% of the fruit surface showing
red colour). For this reason, analysis was performed at two different
maturity stages. The strong differences found among the traditional
tomato cultivars analysed, both for micronutrients and for the other
quality parameters, confirmed the presence of considerable levels
of genetic diversity among the six cultivars grown in the southeast of Spain (Ruiz et al. 2005c). In addition, a principal component
analysis performed on the most discriminating parameters allowed
us to differentiate among genotypes of the same type. By relatively
simple chemical analyses, we were able to detect important
differences among similar tomato genotypes that we are still not
able to differentiate using molecular tools. In other experiments
important differences between ‘old’ (landraces) and ‘modern’ (F1
hybrids) cultivars have also been found for their respiration rates
and ethylene production, K, P, and Na contents and for organic
acids profile (Ruiz et al. 2006). This knowledge could aid with the
efficient conservation of traditional tomato cultivars.
16.2.3
Aroma variability
Tomato aroma is complex, probably a combination of more than
16 compounds give tomato its unique odour characteristics.
However, reducing the number of compounds to a few with major
contributions to aroma could increase the usefulness of volatile
determinations in tomato. We have quantitatively determined
volatile compounds with a major contribution to aroma in four
traditional tomato landraces and one commercial F1 hybrid. One of
the traditional cultivars was the most appreciated for flavour and
overall acceptability in tests performed using a panel of 30 untrained
tasters. The same cultivar showed significantly higher contents of
the hexanal and cis-3-hexenal volatile compounds, which have been
previously reported to be two of the most important contributors
to tomato flavour. Based on a low number of fruits per cultivar,
significant differences among very closely related tomato cultivars
can be detected for volatile aromas, thus allowing the use of volatile
determination as a possible tool for screening accessions of tomato.
173
174
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Methods to analyse volatile compounds that need high amounts of
tomato samples are not useful for selecting individual genotypes. As
analysis of flavour compounds in the aromatic component requires
expensive equipment and training, if volatile determination is going
to be used as a tool in conservation programmes, a low number of
samples should be needed. We have found significant differences
among closely related cultivars for selected volatile compounds,
using a low number of fruits per cultivar whose maturity stage had
been visually judged. Results from these and others studies (Ruiz et
al. 2005a; Carbonell-Barrachina et al. 2006) will help tomato breeders
in maintaining and improving the traditional tomato cultivars
(‘Muchamiel’ and ‘De la Pera’) by taking into account flavour as
one of the main parameters of fruit quality.
16.2.4
Genetic diversity estimated using molecular markers
Modern genetic and genomic tools have been intensively applied
to the tomato, but these techniques are not of much use yet
for characterizing phenotypic differences among closely related
cultivars. Using 19 SSRs that had been specifically selected for
tomato cultivar characterization, we could not identify all the
Spanish traditional cultivars under evaluation, although they
clearly have different phenotypes (Ruiz et al. 2005b). This result
confirms the narrow genetic background of the cultivated tomato
and, in particular, the limited genetic variation exhibited by our
collection of traditional cultivars. However, we were able to identify
the three main types of cultivars using only four SSR markers. The
discrimination power of different types of markers (SSRs, AFLPs,
SRAPs) used in evaluating traditional cultivar diversity was similar
(García-Martínez et al. 2006). Unique fingerprinting of the most
morphologically similar tomato landraces could not be achieved
using a single type of marker, but required a combination of several
markers.
16.3 Improvement of traditional varieties: introgression
of resistant genes
As already noted, the incidence of several viruses (mainly those
caused by ToMV, TSWV and TYLCV) makes it difficult to cultivate
traditional varieties. We have conducted a breeding programme for
the introduction of three dominant genes (Tm-2a, Sw-5, and Ty-1) that
confer resistance to the three most relevant viruses in south-eastern
Spain (ToMV, TSWV and TYLCV, respectively) into ‘Muchamiel‘
and ‘De la Pera’ landraces. The genes Tm-2a and Sw-5 come from
the wild tomato Solanum peruvianum L., and Ty-1 originated in the
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
accession LA1969 of another wild tomato species, Solanum chilense
(Dunal) Reiche. As a preliminary result of the breeding programme,
we have obtained promising pre-breeding materials, which have to
be further adapted to the specific agroclimatic conditions of different
localities.
16.4 On-farm management
At present, more that 30 field assays are being carried out in different
locations of the southeast of Spain (García-Martinez et al. 2008). Seed
lots from the improved traditional varieties, with genetic resistance
to several viruses, are being distributed to local farmers. Taking into
account their own experience, farmers select the best plants in their
own fields looking for specific adaptation. Special emphasis is being
placed on trials conducted in organic farming conditions. The aim of
the programme is to develop a range of cultivars, adapted to different
environments including open field and protected cultivation, and
composed of different genotypes, in order to maintain their ability
to evolve under different selection pressures. The project is being
funded by the Ministry of Education and Science. In addition, we
are currently starting a project in collaboration with the Council of
Muchamiel, the town which gives its name to the tomato variety,
trying to involve local farmers, consumer associations and local
restaurants. The goal is the preservation of the genetic diversity in
this small area, through the recovery, conservation, improvement
and use of local tomato varieties.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of
Education and Science through grant AGL2005-03946.
References
Carbonell-Barrachina, A.A., Agustí, A. and Ruiz, J.J. (2006) Analysis of flavor
volatile compounds by dynamic headspace in traditional and hybrid cultivars
of Spanish tomatoes. European Food Research and Technology 222, 536-542.
García-Martínez, S., Andreani, L., García-Gusano, M., Geuna, F. and Ruiz, J.J. (2006)
Evaluation of AFLPs and SSRs for tomato germplasm fingerprinting: utility for
grouping closely related traditional cultivars. Genome 49(6), 648-656.
García-Martínez, S., García-Gusano, M., Grau, A., Alonso-Sanchís, A., Valero, M.,
Ferrández, A. and Ruiz, J.J. (2008) Resultados de un programa de mejora genética
para la incorporación de resistencia a virosis en variedades tradicionales de
tomate. Agrícola Vergel 318, 272-277.
175
176
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Gómez, R., Costa, J., Amo, M., Alvarruiz, A., Picazo, M. and Pardo, J.E. (2001)
Physicochemical and colorimetric evaluation of local varieties of tomato grown
in SE Spain. Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture 81, 1101-1105.
Picó, B., Herraiz, J., Ruiz, J.J. and Nuez, F. (2002) Widening the genetic basis of
virus resistance in tomato. Scientia Horticulturae 94(1-2), 73-89.
Ruiz, J.J., Alonso, A., García-Martínez, S., Valero, M., Blasco, P. and Ruiz-Beviá,
F. (2005a) Quantitative analysis of flavour volatiles detects differences among
closely related traditional cultivars of tomato. Journal of the Science of Food &
Agriculture 85, 54-60.
Ruiz, J.J., García-Martínez, S., Picó, B., Gao, M. and Quiros, C.F. (2005b) Genetic
variability and relationship of closely related Spanish traditional cultivars of
tomato as detected by SRAP and SSR Markers. Journal of the American Society
for Horticultural Science 130(1), 88-94.
Ruiz, J.J., Martínez, N., Valero, M., García-Martínez, S., Moral, R. and Serrano, M.
(2005c) Micronutrient composition and quality characteristics of traditional
tomato cultivars in the South-East of Spain. Communications in Soil Science &
Plant Analysis 36, 649-660.
Ruiz, J.J., Valero, M., García-Martínez, S., Serrano, M. and Moral, R. (2006) Effect
of recent genetic improvement on some analytical parameters of tomato fruit
quality. Communications in Soil Sciences & Plant Analysis 37, 2647-2658.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
17. ‘Fagiolina’ (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata
(L.) Walp.) from Trasimeno Lake (Umbria Region, Italy)
Valeria Negri¹
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata (DBA), Università degli Studi, Borgo XX
Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail vnegri@unipg.it
17.1 Introduction
Cowpea is an important grain legume throughout the tropics and
sub-tropics, covering Asia, Africa and Central and South America,
as well as parts of southern Europe and the United States (Singh
et al. 1997). In Italy, cowpea is a minor crop and its cultivation
is restricted to a very limited area. Both V. unguiculata subsp.
unguiculata cv-gr. unguiculata and cv-gr. sesquipedalis (Maréchal et
al. 1978; Pasquet, 1993a,b, 1997, 1999) are cultivated for seeds and for
fresh pods (like French bean), respectively. Cowpea, domesticated
in the sub-Saharan area around the second millennium B.C., was
certainly cultivated by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC and by
the Romans in the 1st century AD as Theophrastus and Pliny state
(Chevalier 1944; Burkhill 1953; Purseglove 1976). The plant could
have been introduced well before then in Italy, since trade in the
Mediterranean area has been intensive since pre-historic times. In
Umbria (central Italy) the species was possibly already introduced
by the Etruscans, who already dominated the area in the 8th century
BC and traded intensively with several Mediterranean countries.
However, historical documents exist (see for example Giunta per
l’Inchiesta Agraria 1885) that testify to cowpea cultivation in the
Trasimeno Lake area in the 19th century.
This contribution reports on studies and actions that were
undertaken to rescue the local cowpea population from the risk of
extinction and allowed an increase of farms and area under which
the crop is grown in the area.
17.2 The history of a rescue
In 1994 cowpea was prevalently cultivated for domestic consumption
by a few families around the Lake and appeared to be a crop under
severe risk of extinction. At that time only one farmer used to sell a
few kilograms of cowpea at the local town (Perugia) market. Cowpea
from Trasimeno Lake was in fact highly esteemed by a small group
of local gourmets.
Financial support was initially given by Provincia di Perugia to
carry out a) a morphological, organoleptic and genetic characterization,
177
178
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
b) ex situ conservation in DBA genebank, c) seed multiplication
and distribution to farmers interested in reintroducing cowpea in
cultivation and, in general, d) to increase farmer awareness about
the importance of local biodiversity and the prospects offered by
this crop.
The area was explored, approaching farmers in a friendly manner
and explaining the reason for the visit. An interview followed, to
gather information on the farming family, the farm and the other
cultivated crops.
Seed samples of cowpea (as well as of other landraces) were
only collected when farmers declared their materials have been
cultivated for ages in their families without exchanging seed or
buying it on the market (Tosti and Negri 1997).
The morpho-physiological and genetic characterization showed
that clearly distinguishable cowpea types were present in the area
(Negri et al. 2000; Tosti and Negri 2002, 2005).
Among the molecular markers used to carry out genetic
characterization, AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length
Polymorphisms) and SAMPL (Selective Amplified Microsatellite
Polymorphic Locus) were particularly useful in the analysis of
the limited genetic diversity present in the cowpea population
from Trasimeno Lake (Tosti and Negri 2002). In addition, the
entire Trasimeno cowpea population was found to be a structured
population in which a substantial differentiation is maintained at
the subpopulation (i.e. farmer population) level. This recommended
the approach of maintaining the entire population on-farm (Tosti
and Negri 2005).
The presumed better quality of cowpea from Trasimeno Lake
in comparison with commercial materials was tested in an ad hoc
experiment. The results showed significant differences between
the different types of cowpea from Trasimeno Lake and a variety
commonly found on the market with respect to organoleptic
characteristics (taste and visual appeal) and nutritional traits (crude
protein content and total carbohydrate percentages on dry matter)
(Negri et al. 2001).
The results of the above-mentioned research were presented
to farmers and farmers' associations in a series of meetings and
seminars during which seed samples from multiplication were
also distributed.
These activities triggered a virtuous process of on-farm
conservation since in a few years an increase of the area under
cowpea cultivation was observed.
Meanwhile one skilled farmer developed an almost completely
mechanized cultivation method for this crop that, when cultivated
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
using the traditional system, requires a great deal of labour
(especially for the cropping and the cleaning of the product) and
consequently has a high cost of production. He was able to sell the
crop to a famous restaurant and outside the region.
In addition, the Fagiolina of Trasimeno Lake provoked the interest
of Slow Food which included it among its Presidia. This cowpea has
now become famous even outside Umbria and is served as a must
in many top restaurants.
The market price of the small, white-seeded type has greatly
increased in the regional capital (Perugia) (from 6 euros/kg in 1994
to the present 20-22 euros/kg). However, other types of cowpea are
also cultivated and often sold as uniform lots or mixtures, locally.
A ‘Consortium’ of Fagiolina growers has been established in order
better to commercialize the crop. Also worthy of note is that some
farmers introduced the crop in Umbrian areas which are outside
the Trasimeno Lake area.
Currently, an area of about 10 hectares (variable from year to
year) is cultivated under this crop around the Lake, the farmers still
have a significant income from it and the potential exists to widen
the market further. Cowpea from Trasimeno Lake appears to have
escaped the risk of extinction and we can define the first steps of its
on-farm safeguarding as a success.
17.3 Enhancing the promotion of on-farm conservation
in the area
Quality labels, such as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO),
can cover food coming from crops belonging to the cultural and
biological heritage of a certain area, produced, processed and
prepared in a given geographical area using recognized knowhow. Increasing the added value of a product, the award of quality
labels can encourage production in a rural development context
and consequently favour on-farm conservation of the landrace from
which production comes.
On the other hand, products that have a rich market need to be
protected to safeguard local heritage and farmers’ interests on one
side, and consumers on the other side. The PDO, better than other
quality marks, suits both purposes.
In 2005, Regione Umbria through the Parco Tecnologico
Agroalimentare of Umbria, that is the responsible body for product
certification in the Region, funded a project for the ‘Characterization
and normalization of Trasimeno cowpea products’. Aims of the
project were, in order, a) to evaluate the possibility and methods
for applying for the PDO, b) to evaluate the strategy to certify the
179
180
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
cowpea identity and its belonging to the environment of Trasimeno
Lake and then c) to prepare a ‘disciplinaire’ (special application
document) for applying for a PDO.
Once it was decided that there was the possibility to gain further
advantages by covering the product with a PDO, all the other
planned steps were undertaken. In respect to point b) a study
was carried out which, by using molecular markers on a wide
sample, showed that all cowpea types from Trasimeno Lake are
distinguishable from commercial cultivars and from landraces from
other regions (Negri and Polegri, in press). By confirming through
genetics that cowpeas from Trasimeno belong to the particular
cultural identity of the human population living around the Lake,
this finding enhances the possibility of certifying the product as
‘typical’ of the Trasimeno Lake and offers the opportunity to protect
both the producers and the consumers from fraud.
As for point c) a round table was set up in order to prepare a PDO
disciplinaire through a participatory approach. Farmers belonging
to the Consortium, anthropologists, food scientists, economists,
agronomists, geneticists and experts on quality certification met
several times, discussed each single issue to be included in the
disciplinaire and reached an agreement on them. Finally the
disciplinaire was completed in all parts, redacted and made ready
for submission.
Although the Consortium played an active part in preparing
the disciplinaire and did not sustain any cost at all for it, it is still
evaluating the convenience of undertaking all the administrative
steps that will lead to having the PDO quality label. Farmers appear
to be especially concerned with costs linked to each year’s product
certification which has a relatively high incidence on the few tonnes
produced yearly. They face the entrepreneurial decision to increase
production further and personally invest in crop marketing, but
they seem irresolute. The process is stagnant at present.
17.4 Lessons learnt
Public sustained and concerted actions appear to be a tool for saving
genetic resources at risk that have the potential to gain a market.
However, farmers may not show the enterprise spirit necessary
to make a typical and high-quality product from local genetic
resources a real business. In addition, the rescue through publicly
sustained efforts of all genetic resources (i.e. landraces) maintained
on-farm, which are still consistently found in Italy, appears to be
an impossible task. Farmers and gardeners themselves should
decide to maintain the biological and cultural heritage represented
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
by the landraces they inherited from their parents. However, they
are often unaware of the importance of these genetic resources,
while in addition several socio-economic factors greatly hamper
on-farm conservation in Italy (cf. Negri 2003). To have some hope
of preserving diversity maintained on-farm for the wealth of future
generations, there is a need to increase awareness of its importance
at every level.
References
Burkhill, I.H. (1953) Habits of man and the origins of the cultivated plants of the
Old World. Proceeding of the Linnean Society 164, 12-42.
Chevalier, A. (1944) Revue de botanique appliquée et d’agricolture tropicale 24, 128.
Frankel, O.H., Brown, A.D.H. and J.J. Burdon (1995) The conservation of plant
biodiversity. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Giunta per l’Inchiesta Agraria (1885) Atti della Giunta per l’inchiesta agraria e sulle
condizioni della classe agricola (Provincie di Perugia, Ascoli Piceno, Ancona, Macerata
e Pesaro). Forzoni e C., Rome, Italy. vol XI, 2, 78.
Maréchal, R., Masherpa, J.M. and Steiner, F. (1978) Etude taxonomique d’un group
complex d’espècies des genres Phaseolus et Vigna (Papilionacaee) sur la base
de données morphologiques e polliniques, traitées par l’analyse informatique.
Boissiera 28, 1-273.
Negri, V. (2003) Landraces in central Italy: Where and why they are conserved
and perspectives for their on farm conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 50, 871-885.
Negri, V., Castellini, G., Tiranti, B., Torricelli, R., Tosti, N. and Falcinelli, M. (in
press) Landraces are structured populations and should be maintained on
farm. Proceedings of the 18th Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section Meeting, May
23-26, 2007, Piestany, Slovakia.
Negri, V., Floridi, S. and Montanari, L. (2001) Organoleptic and chemical evaluation
of Italian cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata (L) Walp.) landraces
from a restricted area. Italian Journal of Food Science 13, 383-390.
Negri, V. and Polegri, L. (in press) Genetic diversity in home gardens in Umbria:
a cowpea case study. Proceedings of the ECP/GR Workshop on Home Gardens,
Ljubliana, Slovenia, October 4, 2007.
Negri, V. and Tosti, N. (1997) Collecting cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.)
germplasm in the Trasimeno area (Umbria, Italy). Plant Genetic Resources
Newsletter 112, 107-109.
Negri, V., Tosti, N., Falcinelli, M. and Veronesi, F. (2000) Characterization of thirteen
cowpea landraces from Umbria (Italy). Strategy for their conservation and
promotion. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 47, 141-146.
Pasquet, R.S. (1993a) Classification infraspécifique des formes spontanées de Vigna
unguiculata (L.) Walp. à partir de données morphologiques. Bullettin du Jarden
Botanique Naturelle du Belgium 62, 127-173.
181
182
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Pasquet, R.S. (1993b) Two new species of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Leguminosae;
Papilionoideae). Kew Bullettin 48, 805-806.
Pasquet, R.S. (1997) A new subspecies of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Leguminosae;
Papilionoideae). Kew Bulletin 52, 840.
Pasquet, R.S. (1999) Genetic relationships among subspecies of Vigna unguiculata
(L.) Walp. Based on allozyme variation. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 98,
1104-1119.
Pasquet, R.S. (2000) Allozyme diversity of cultivated cowpea Vigna unguiculata
(L.) Walp. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 101, 211-219.
Purseglove, J.W. (1976) Origins of African plants domestication. Mounton Publishers,
The Hague, the Netherlands. pp. 291-309.
Singh, B.B., Chambliss, O.L. and Sharma, B. (1997) Recent advances in cowpea
breeding. In: Singh, B.B., Mohan Raj, D.R., Dashiell, K.E. and Jackai, L.E.N.
(eds) Advances in cowpea research. IITA-JIRCAS, Ibadan, Nigeria. pp. 30-49.
Tiranti, B. and Negri, V. (2007) Selective micro-environmental effects play a role
in shaping genetic diversity and structure in a Phaseolus vulgaris L. landrace:
implications for on-farm conservation. Molecular Ecology 16, 4942-4955.
Tosti, N. and Negri, V. (2002) Efficiency of three PCR-based markers in assessing
genetic variation among cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata (L)
Walp.) landraces. Genome 45, 268-27.
Tosti, N. and Negri, V. (2005) On-going on-farm microevolutionary processes in
neighbouring cowpea landraces revealed by molecular markers. Theoretical
and Applied Genetics 110, 1275-1283.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
18. The ‘Farro’ (Triticum dicoccon Schrank) from
Monteleone di Spoleto (Valnerina Valley, Umbria)
Renzo Torricelli, Lorenza Quintaliani and Mario Falcinelli¹
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata (DBA), Università degli Studi, Borgo XX
Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail torricel@unipg.it
18.1 Introduction
Hulled wheat, known in Italy as ‘farro’, includes three predominantly
self-pollinated cereal species: einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.,
2n = 2x = 14), emmer (T. dicoccon Schrank, 2n = 4x = 28) and
spelt (T. spelta L., 2n = 6x = 42). In Northern Europe spelt is the
most widespread while emmer is more widely spread in the
Mediterranean basin. T. dicoccon originated in the mountains of
the Fertile Crescent, where its wild progenitors are still present.
Domesticated emmer was widely distributed from Northern Africa
through most parts of Europe and the Mediterranean area to Central
Asia (Szabo and Hammer 1996).
In Italy emmer cultivation began decreasing from the beginning
of the 20th century when intensive breeding activities produced
more productive varieties of both durum (T. durum Desf.) and
bread wheat (T. aestivum L.). Emmer wheat cultivation decreased
drastically during the 1960s and was confined to marginal areas.
However at present, the area cultivated with emmer has increased
up to 2000 ha (Pagnotta et al. 2005), due to a renewed interest in
natural and healthy food and in organic agriculture. Emmer in
fact has a high protein (ranging from 8.5 to 21.5%, Stallknecht et
al. 1997) and fibre content. Furthermore it is traditionally grown,
without the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. Its cultivation
is of some importance especially in the marginal areas at high
altitude, where its low input requirements and cold resistance
make the crop economically convenient. Highlands of Garfagnana
(Tuscany), Valnerina (Umbria Region), Leonessa (Lazio Region),
Tronto Valley (Marche Region) Aterno Valley (Abruzzo Region),
Aniene Valley (Lazio Region), Molise Region, Dauno Appennine
(Campania Region) and Lucano Appennine (Basilicata Region) are
the main production areas (Falcinelli 2006).
In Italy emmer cultivation is based on landraces that show good
agronomic performance and environmental adaptability. They are
able to compete well with weeds and to exploit areas with poor
soils, so that they can be cultivated in low-input agronomic systems.
The morpho-physiological and genetic characterization of farro from
Monteleone di Spoleto has shown that this population is distinct from
183
184
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
other landraces and can be considered a composite variety originated
by continuous on-farm conservation (Barcaccia et al. 1998; Porfiri et al.
2001; Torricelli et al. 2002; Torricelli and Falcinelli 2007), in other words
it is a genetically heterogeneous population. This heterogeneity results
in phenotypic interactions that provide gains in performance and in
mutual buffering or homeostasis that give steady performances not
only in conventional, but especially in organic farming. In addition, the
diversity of emmer wheat can be considered a useful gene reservoir
for durum and bread wheat breeding programmes for organic and
conventional farming (Sharma et al. 1981).
18.2 Economic aspects and PDO (Protected Designation
of Origin) mark of ‘Monteleone di Spoleto’ emmer
According to interviews, emmer is cultivated on about 120 hectares
in farms generally smaller than 20 hectares. On average, the total
production of ‘Monteleone di Spoleto’ emmer is assumed to be 180
t per year and half of this production comes from just one farm.
The traditional use of emmer is the whole grain, used for soup
dishes. However, product diversification developed in recent years
has made it possible to increase income from emmer cultivation.
Emmer is now processed in order to obtain flour, which allows
farmers to produce and commercialize a wide variety of biscuits,
cakes, pasta, flakes, soups and bread types. Although emmer
bakery performances are not comparable to those of white wheat,
consumers are increasingly appreciating these new products.
The products are all packed in air-tight packets weighing 500 g
for a price of 2.5-3 euro each. The pack carries information about
the origin and special qualities of emmer and suggests recipes.
When sales take place directly on the farm, consumers are able to
appreciate the contact with the farmers, the beautiful landscape and,
obviously, the lower cost of the product. However, small processing
local industries exist that are able to commercialize emmer products
on a wider market. This is another important source of value for
these marginal and low-populated areas.
On farm, with the necessary investment, further products have
been developed from some of the waste processing materials,
representing about 50% of the total harvest weight. The seed hulls
are sold, after a selection and cleaning process carried out on the
farm, to specialized Italian companies, in order to produce different
kinds of anatomical pillows. Revenues obtained from this sale are
approximately equivalent to the average net wage of an employee
in the area (about 10 000 euros per year). The chaff is also used as
pellets for heating the farmers’ houses.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Nowadays the ‘Monteleone di Spoleto’ emmer has undergone a
successful economic invigoration thanks to some farmer initiatives.
In October 2002 seven local farmers constituted themselves
into the ‘Association of Monteleone di Spoleto Emmer ’. The
Association, with the collaboration of the Department of Applied
Biology (University of Perugia), of agriculture associations
and of other local institutions, promoted the procedure to
obtain the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) mark. The
PDO ‘disciplinaire’ strictly defines the area of cultivation and
production of ‘Monteleone di Spoleto’ emmer: the area must be
at an altitude higher than 700 m asl in the territory of Monteleone
di Spoleto, Poggiodomo, Cascia, Sant‘Anatolia di Narco, Vallo
di Nera and Scheggino Municipalities in the Valnerina Valley.
In order to guarantee the origin of the product, every phase of
the production process should also be monitored to document
inputs and outputs.
PDO will increase the added value of emmer and protect both
consumers and producers.
References
Barcaccia, G., Albertini, E., Torricelli, R., Tomassini, C., Russi, L., Negri, V. and
Falcinelli, M. (1998) Caratterizzazione molecolare di colture tipiche locali di
lenticchia e farro. In: M. Agabbio (ed.) Atti IV° Congresso Nazionale Biodiversità
Germoplasma locale e sua valorizzazione, Alghero, Italy, 8-11 September 1998,
Delfino editore, pp. 841-846.
Falcinelli, M. (2006) Monteleone di Spoleto e il suo farro. Regione dell’Umbria, Perugia,
Italy. ISBN 88-87652-09-0
Pagnotta, M.A., Mondini, L. and Atallah, M.F. (2005) Morphological and molecular
characterization of Italian emmer wheat accessions. Euphytica 146, 29–37.
Porfiri, O., Torricelli, R., Silveri, D.D., Papa, R., Barcaccia, G. and Negri, V. (2001)
The Triticeae genetic resources of central Italy: collection, evaluation and
conservation. Hereditas 135, 187-192.
Sharma, H.C., Waines, J.C. and Foster, K.W. (1981) Variability in primitive and wild
wheats for useful genetic characters. Crop Science 21, 555-559.
Stallknecht, G.F., Gilbertson, K.M. and Romey, J.E. (1997) Alternative wheat cereals
as good grains: Einkorn, emmer, spelt, kamut, and triticale. In: Janick J. (ed.)
Progress in New Crops. ASHS Press, Alexandria VA, USA. pp. 156-170.
Szabo, A.T. and Hammer, K. (1996) Notes on the taxonomy of farro: Triticum
monococcum, T. dicoccum and T. spelta. In: Padulosi S., Hammer K. and Heller
J. (eds), Hulled wheats. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and
neglected crops. Proceedings of 1st International Workshop on Hulled Wheats,
July, 21–22, 1995, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Lucca, Italy, pp. 2-40.
185
186
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Torricelli, R. and Falcinelli, M. (2007) Genetic diversity of an emmer population
grown under organic farming in Central Italy. In Proceedings of EUCARPIA
Symposium Plant breeding for organic and sustainable, low-input agriculture:
dealing with genotype-environment interactions, Wageningen, The Netherlands,
7-9 November 2007.
Torricelli, R., Porfiri, O., Falcinelli, M. and Petrillo, S. (2002) L’età del farro. Umbria
Agricoltura, maggio, pp. 21-26.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
19. Grindstad Timothy: the Landrace that Became
a Major Commercial Variety
Petter Marum¹ and Kristin Daugstad²
¹ Graminor AS, Bjørke Research Station, Hommelstadvegen 60, 2322 Ridabu,
Norway. E-mail petter.marum@graminor.no
² Bioforsk Øst Løken, 2940 Heggenes, Norway
19.1 Introduction
Cultivated meadows, established from seed, first came into common
use in Norway from around 1860. Earlier the farmers had only
harvested forage from natural meadows. This new farming practice
first came into use on the larger farms in south-eastern Norway. The
seed they used was imported from other European countries, and
timothy accounted for about 70% of the imported seed.
The imported seed generally resulted in meadows with higher
yields, and timothy also responded much better to fertilizer than
the natural meadows. But the timothy meadows were often severely
damaged due to winter kill. These varieties were poorly adapted
to the growing conditions in Norway. The farmers soon found that
by producing their own seed from a small part of their meadow
they got a more winter-hardy meadow in the next generation. The
national production of forage seed therefore increased rapidly. As
an example, a total of 1125 t of forage seed was used in 1890 of which
only 350 t was imported (Vestad 1952).
Timothy and red clover, the main forage crops, are crosspollinated species. In cross-pollinated species a population consists
of a large number of different genotypes, each with slightly different
characteristics and growing performance. Under a given climate
and growing condition some genotypes will be better adapted than
other genotypes. These adapted genotypes will produce more seed
than the less adapted genotypes, resulting in an improvement in the
next generation. In this way local cultivars developed after several
generations of forage production and seed production in the same
location.
Before 1950 several local cultivars existed in Norway, mainly
in timothy and red clover, the two most commonly grown species
(Vested 1952; Wexelsen 1951). A few of these local cultivars were
distributed over a larger geographic area. Two such local cultivars
were Grindstad timothy and Molstad red clover. Here we will give
the short story of Grindstad timothy which was developed from a
local cultivar to a major timothy variety.
187
188
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
19.2 The Grindstad story
The Grindstad timothy was developed on the Grindstad farm in
Rakkestad. Rakkestad is located in the south-eastern part of Norway.
The first information we have about the use of timothy on the
Grindstad farm is from the 1860s. At that time the neighbouring
farm, Haslem, was used as an agricultural school. It imported seed
of timothy from Scotland for use at the farm. The owner of Haslem
was the nephew of the owner of the Grindstad farm. It was therefore
quite natural that seed of the Scottish timothy was also spread to
the Grindstad farm. It is likely that the Grindstad variety originated
from this seed source. (Tollef Grindstad pers. comm. 1998 and 2009).
The first seed of Grindstad was sold in the 1890s. In the
accounting books for 1898 one can find that the farm had an income
of 69 NOK from the sale of Grindstad.
In 1914 the Royal Norwegian Society for Development started
to organize forage seed production in Norway. After this date the
seed production of Grindstad increased. In 1916 the first registered
seed was sold. That year is considered as the ‘birth year’ of the
variety. From that year and until today the Grindstad variety has
been maintained on the Grindstad farm.
The seed of the Grindstad variety was maintained the same
way as on other farms that produced their own seed. The normal
practice was to set aside the best part of the meadow for seed. This
could be done after one to a few years with forage production. The
farmers used this seed to establish new meadows. In this system the
plants best adapted to the local climate and management practice
gave the highest seed yield and thus moved the population mean
for adaptability up for each generation.
The timothy was used to produce hay. Commonly the farmers
had one main harvest. The meadow was harvested rather late
compared with today’s standards. The regrowth was normally
grazed. This was quite a gentle management of the meadow without
any strong selection.
Over time and many generations Grindstad adapted to the climatic
conditions and the management practice at the Grindstad farm.
In the early 1960s new scientifically developed varieties were
approved which showed better yield results than Grindstad.
This was first and foremost due to the variety ‘Forus’ that was
approved in 1964. Forus was developed in the south-western part of
Norway. Forus was the variety the farmers wanted to use and seed
production of Grindstad dropped to a minimum in the mid-1960s.
Sometime in the early 1960s, Carl Fredrik Grindstad, the father
of the present owner, changed his management of Grindstad to
improve the variety. He had been inspired by a lecture by Professor
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Erling Strand from the Agricultural University of Norway about
crop improvement. Erling Strand helped Carl Fredrik Grindstad to
change his management system.
Up to this period the most common practice to conserve the
forage was as hay. It became more common to conserve the forage
as direct cut silage. The use of silage increased from the early 1960s.
The grass was cut with a flail harvester and put directly into the
silo with a preservative without any pre-drying. The farmers also
started to harvest the forage at an earlier development stage, and
the number of cuts increased. This new management practice was
a lot tougher for the grass sward.
In the new management system the Grindstad timothy was
seeded in year 0. In years 1 and 2 the meadow was cut for silage
and in year 3 they harvested seed. This seed was used to establish
a new meadow in year 4 and so on. Each selection cycle lasted four
years. This new management stressed the plants a lot more than the
traditional hay harvest.
The first years after they started this management practice the
Grindstad meadows were severely thinned and poor looking. The
present owner, Tollef Grindstad, says during these years he was not
very proud to live on the Grindstad farm. The Grindstad meadows
looked poor for two to three selection cycles. The timothy plants
were subjected to a severe selection pressure. The Grindstad timothy
responded to this treatment and over the years the plant stand
started to improve.
In the early 1980s Grindstad timothy started to give good results
in the official variety tests.
In 1987 a second selection site close to Hamar was added. The
winter climate at this location is more severe than in Rakkestad. The
seed of Grindstad harvested on the Grindstad farm was sent to the
Bjørke farm where a new meadow was established. This meadow
was also harvested with three cuts per year, for two years, and
seed was harvested the third year. This seed was sent back to the
Grindstad farm where it was established and the cycle started again.
From the seed harvested at the Grindstad farm pre-basic seed
was sent to Felleskjøpet for production of basic and certified seed.
Today Grindstad is the best timothy variety in southern Norway
and in parts of Sweden and Finland. In 2008 more than 60% of
timothy seed sold in Norway was of Grindstad.
19.3 The future
In 1993 Norway joined the UPOV Convention (the International
Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants). The objective
189
190
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
of the Convention is the protection of new varieties of plants
by an intellectual property right. To be approved on the Official
Variety List in Norway all varieties, old and new, have to follow
the regulations of UPOV. The varieties have to confer to the DUS
requirements. A variety has to be distinct, uniform and stable.
The Grindstad variety has changed over time because of the
method used to maintain it. Grindstad did not meet the ‘stable’
requirement of UPOV. Because of this requirement the Grindstad
variety has now been ‘frozen’ as it was three years ago, and further
development has started on a new breeding population that follows
the same management practice as the ‘old’ Grindstad variety did
for more than 40 years. This breeding population has got a new
name and is kept separate from the Grindstad variety.
In a few years time a ‘New Grindstad’ may be entered into
the official variety testing. And some time in the future a new
variety from the Grindstad farm may be approved. But the ‘New
Grindstad’ will get strong competition from the breeding companies
in the Nordic countries, Boreal, DLF-Trifolium, Svalöf Weibull and
Graminor. In any case the Grindstad variety will probably still be
on the market for several years to come, with a good chance to
celebrate its 100 years anniversary in 2016.
References
Vestad, R. (1952) Norske timoteistammer og stammeforsøk i de forskjellige
landsdeler. Forskning og forsøk 4, 55-78.
Wexelsen, H. (1951) Lokalstammer av norsk rødkløver. Forskning og forsøk 2, 185-191.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
20. On-Farm Management of Vegetables in
Switzerland
Beate Schierscher-Viret¹, Geert Kleijer² and Christoph Köhler¹
¹ Commission Suisse pour la Conservation des Plantes Cultivées, Domaine de
Changins, CP 1012, 1260 Nyon 1, Switzerland. E-mail beate.schierscher-viret@
rac.admin.ch
² Station de recherche Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil ACW, CP 1012, 1260
Nyon1, Switzerland
20.1 Introduction
Switzerland is a rather small country, composed of regions with very
different climatic, soil and geographical conditions. This is reflected
in high genetic variability expressed by the high number of landraces
of different crops which have been cultivated in Switzerland.
As in most countries, decrease of the cultivation of landraces
started very early. For cereals, this decrease started around 1930
and, as from 1950, hardly any landrace was still being cultivated.
Most of these landraces have been collected and are conserved in
the national genebank of Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil (ACW).
A recent inventory of fruit trees showed that a high number of
local varieties are still available. Their conservation is mainly
assumed by private organizations in orchards distributed all over
the country, with financial support from the Swiss government. The
Swiss Commission for the Conservation of Cultivated Plants (CPC)
carries out conservation of seeds and plants in accordance with the
quality standards developed in their concepts for conservation of
plant genetic resources.
The situation for vegetables and seed legumes was slightly
different. Until 1980, several seed producers were active but their
number progressively decreased. At the same time, more and
more traditional varieties were replaced by F1 hybrid varieties.
Agroscope-ACW collected these old and traditional varieties
from 1980 onwards. Two types of varieties were collected, the
old commercial varieties or varieties selected by individual seed
producers and varieties from home gardens. At present, 252 varieties
are on the positive list, in other words, varieties which have been
selected in Switzerland or have been important for the development
of a region and are conserved in Switzerland. For 126 varieties, the
status still has to be defined and a duplicate check carried out by
cultivating all the varieties of the same species in one trial.
There is still an interest in growing old varieties of vegetables
and grain legumes. Three seed producers are specialized in
191
192
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
commercializing this type of variety. They are producing organic
seeds, mainly for home gardens. One organization, Pro Specie
Rara is stimulating on-farm conservation of all kinds of crops
and especially vegetables and grain legumes. This conservation is
carried out by volunteers, ‘seed savers’, and coordinated by a few
paid professionals.
Some concrete examples of on-farm conservation of varieties,
traditionally cultivated in a specific region of Switzerland, will be
described in this contribution.
20.2 ‘Cardon épineux de Plainpalais’
In order to obtain more detailed information about the on-farm
conservation of cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.), Mr François
Grosjean, farmer and seed producer in Geneva, was interviewed.
He continues multiplying many varieties selected already by his
father, especially cardoon. Only members of the family manage the
3.5 hectare farm.
In the past, he used to produce seeds for seed-sellers in Geneva.
However, this business has been given up, because more and more
markets and gardeners are buying F1 hybrid varieties. F. Grosjean
is still selling seeds in neighbouring France. Since the local market
of fresh vegetables is flourishing, he reconverted to direct-sale,
selling his local varieties.
20.2.1
Origin
Already known by the Romans, cardoon was introduced by the
Huguenot refugees in the Geneva region in the 16th century. It
seems that it was not spread further north. Later, market gardeners
selected the best plants for multiplication. The efforts undertaken
since the end of World War II have allowed the selection of the
variety ‘Cardon épineux de Plainpalais’.
20.2.3
Varieties
About 15 varieties are present in the world, but their uses differ.
In Geneva, the leaf stems are prepared for a typical meal, eaten at
Christmas time. In other countries, cardoon is used in cooking,
rather like a seasonal plant. In Geneva, the most important variety
is the ‘Cardon épineux de Plainpalais’ also known under the name
‘Cardon argenté de Plainpalais’. The leaves are brilliant green
on top and silver matt underneath. F. Grosjean also multiplies a
second landrace, the ‘Cardon non épineux de Genève’, which he
selected. This landrace is a ‘spineless’ cultivar, which is much easier
to handle.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
20.2.4
Culture
The cardoon is sown or planted in May. Each plant requires an area
of 1 m². In October/November the cardoon is blanched to soften
the stems, i.e. it has to be covered with a black plastic bag or to be
placed in a cellar in the dark for two to three weeks.
F. Grosjean explains his method: three weeks before selling,
each plant is dug up and replanted in a special Handmade cardoon
shelter. To hold it in place, each plant is fastened to branches of Salix
viminalis, cultivated at the border of the field. Cultivation of cardoon
requires little specialist cultivation, but a lot of manual work.
20.2.5
Selection
Cardoon is an allogamous biennial plant and can reach 1.5 to 1.8 m
in the second year. To maintain these local varieties, the best plants
are chosen for multiplication and are put aside during winter. In
spring, they are replanted in the field. The flowers with the seeds
are dried and threshed with a traditional machine.
20.2.6
Production today
Cardoon is a typical Genevan vegetable. Since 7 October 2003,
the variety ‘Cardon argenté de Plainpalais’ benefits from the label
‘Protected Designation of Origin (PDO)’. This label guarantees local
production, in a given geographical region and using traditional
methods. Cardoon is sold in different forms: fresh, blanched,
precooked in jars or ready to warm up. In the Geneva region about
7 hectares are cultivated and produce approximately 100 to 130 t per
year. The production is decreasing because the culture requires a lot
of manual work, which cannot be mechanized. Cardoon is actually
cultivated only by farmers who are passionate about the crop.
20.3 ‘Küttiger’ carrot: history
The ‘Küttiger’ is one of the last carrot landraces (Daucus carota L.)
still cultivated on-farm in Switzerland and is locally produced by
farm women in the Region of Aarau, especially in the village of
Küttingen. This local carrot has been passed on from generation to
generation for many decades. Since 1978 the association ‘Küttiger
Landfrauenverein’ maintains this landrace.
20.3.1
Cultivation background on-farm
In the past, carrots have been used as fodder carrots for horses and
sold in Zurich, improving farmers’ incomes. One part was stored
over the winter time and eaten as vegetables. Aged farm women of
the village have managed the production and multiplication. Today,
193
194
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
the ‘Küttiger Landfrauenverein’ produces about 800 to 1200 kg of
carrots annually. The lower quality is still used as fodder and the rest
is sold as a vegetable on the traditional carrot market, on the first
Wednesday in November. The crop survives because of its intensive
aromatic carrot taste, which is highly appreciated in this region.
20.3.2
Landrace description
The ‘Küttiger’ carrot has a white-yellowish conical shape having
well-defined shoulders and tapering to a point at the tip, as is
typical for primitive carrots (Archetype). The average weight of
one carrot is 150-160 g.
20.3.3
Cultivation practice
In former times, ‘Küttiger’ carrots have been sown in February
between rows of barley. When the barley was harvested, the carrot
plants were about 15 cm high. Carrots in earlier times were bigger
because they were mainly used as forage. Today, the carrots are
sown later, in May/June. They are cultivated in heavier and stony
soils, compared with modern varieties, which are sown preferably
in sandy soils.
20.3.4
Selection
When the crop is harvested in autumn the best carrots are kept
separate and stored until spring in an excavated hole in the garden
and protected against mice with walnut leaves. Up to 50 plants are
selected and replanted in April for seed production. Seed plants
are usually grown in a garden to avoid cross-pollination. In July
the ripe seeds are kept in a dry location until complete desiccation,
before being threshed and cleaned.
20.4 Some garden vegetables
The great changes brought to agricultural systems after World War
II acted as a powerful leveller and changed the way to produce and
exchange food, especially vegetables. Mainly biennial allogamous
vegetables used to be multiplied locally by specialized small
companies and distributed by seed peddlers. After 1980, most
of the vegetable seeds were imported and seed multiplication
was abandoned. As a result, local vegetable landraces have
disappeared. But some relicts still can be found in some regions
or on family farms.
In the region of Nyon (Lake of Geneva) a few garden centres
still sell seedlings of the famous lettuce ‘Grasse de Morges’ (Lactuca
sativa L.). The multiplication of this variety is no longer carried out
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
in this region. This local variety survived because people are used
to this vegetable; it is a softer lettuce than normal varieties found
on the market.
In Grindelwald (Canton Bern) an aged woman still conserves
a Swedish turnip (Brassica napus ssp. napobrassica L.), which used
to be cultivated by her grandmother. This is a very special variety,
with a long blue tuber. This is very remarkable because turnip is
an allogamous plant!
At all times private home gardens cultivated beans (Phaseolus
vulgaris L. var. vulgaris) for self-sufficiency. Beans are easy to
grow and provide excellent nutritional value. This is why a large
number of old traditional varieties remain in different regions of
Switzerland. Popular are both uses: dry (pulse) and green bean
(vegetable). In the Berner Oberland region, the variety ‘Brienzer
Chrugler’ is a traditional old pole variety, productive and healthy
with green, lightly mottled pods. In the Rhine Valley, the local bean
‘Schweflerbohne’ was sown between rows of maize and treated as
a half-high pole bean, the plants twining round the maize stems.
The ‘Schweflerbohne’ is a sulphur-coloured bean, which is usually
dried, and seeds used for soup in winter time. The culture of
‘Schweflerbohne’ nearly disappeared because of virus problems.
Today, the virus has been eliminated and healthy seeds have been
given back to the local people.
20.5 Conclusion
Labels such as ‘PDO’, as for the cardoon in Geneva, can help in
saving local vegetable production and local varieties. They also
help consumers to identify crops as cultural or biological heritage
material within a limited geographical area. But achieving and
maintaining these labels require a lot of energy as well as financial
support.
Traditional cultivars are highly esteemed due to their excellent
quality and are not normally known outside their production
area. Generally, small farmers or gardeners grow these varieties
marginally. These growers continue to cultivate these crops mainly
for cultural food traditions (e.g. Cynara cardunculus, Daucus carota
and Phaseolus vulgaris).
Often landraces and local varieties are grown and maintained
by old people. Few young people appreciate their biological and
cultural importance. This makes it difficult to ensure or increase their
cultivation, which would be important to conserve plant genetic
resources. Another limitation to a more intensive use of landraces
is the perception that modern cultivars are better producers. It is
195
196
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
also important to note that not many vegetable and seed producers,
farmers and farmers’ associations, were aware of the importance
of the use of local landraces.
There is no information exchange, no support for multiplication
and no support for promotion. Increasing vegetable producers’
awareness about particular landraces and their importance seems
a priority action to be carried out for on-farm conservation in
Switzerland.
CPC and its members will help them and stimulate the on-farm
conservation of vegetables and legumes with their coordination
work, characterization and evaluation of plant genetic resources.
Acknowledgements
This contribution was made possible by the great willingness
of the following persons: Carrot ‘Küttigen’: Beatrice Wernli,
Landfrauenverein Küttingen; Cardoon: François Grosjean, Geneva;
Henri Gilliand, Agroscope ACW and Robert Zollinger, Biologische
Samen, Les Evouettes.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
21. Thatching with Long-Straw Wheat in Relation
to On-Farm Conservation in England
Mike Ambrose¹ and Stephen Letch²
¹ John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norfolk, NR4 7UH, UK.
E-mail mike.ambrose@bbsrc.ac.uk
² Member of the East Anglian Master Thatchers Association
21.1 Introduction
Even today the popular image of rural England would include country
cottages with thatched roofs. Thatch is again becoming seen by
architects and the construction industry as a contemporary sustainable
roofing material. Farmers represent the start of the supply chain for this
specialist market, but it is important to understand the composition of
this market so that necessary information on associated factors such as
relevant policy frameworks is presented to provide context. This case
study aims to present an overview of this specialist market in terms
of its size, structure and scope before going on to consider the role of
the farmer and the specific crops that are grown. Finally details are
given of on-farm conservation and interactions with the ex situ plant
genetic resources sector that are increasing opportunities in this sector.
21.2 Historical background
The use of plant materials as a roofing material has been traced back
many centuries. A number of plant species have been employed largely
depending on what was readily available in a particular locality.
Cereal straw was used throughout England with heather (Calluna
vulgaris) and sedge (Cladium mariscus) used in upland regions in north
England and water reed (Phragmites communis) in East Anglia and
particularly in Norfolk (English Heritage 2000). The best documentary
and material evidence dates back to the late mediaeval period (Letts
1999) and strongly supports the view that straw from a range of cereals
was used, including wheat, barley, oats and rye. Up until the early
1800s thatch remained the primary roofing material in England but
the advent of improved rail transport systems led to more durable
roofing materials such as clay tiles and slates from Wales becoming
more widely available. The number of thatched properties in 1800 has
been estimated at 957 246. This number is thought to be comprised
of around 60% long-straw thatch, with the other types of thatch, i.e.
combed wheat reed (west country), water reed (accessible wetlands)
and heather thatch (northern counties) making up the rest. By 1862-3
the number had fallen slightly (841 861) but this masks considerable
197
198
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
regional variation with reductions in the order of 63% in the south-west
and south-east and an increase of 42% in East Anglia (English Heritage
2000). The main losses were in heather thatch which was virtually
wiped out. Both water reed and combed wheat reed thatch numbers
are thought to have remained fairly stable, long-straw thatch was the
big winner throughout most of England in the major arable cereal
counties. There has never been a tradition of West country combed
wheat reed in East Anglia, the Midlands or the southern counties so
it is quite possible that 80% of the 841 861 buildings were long-straw
thatched. The numbers went into steep decline at the beginning of the
great agricultural depression (early 1870s), gathering pace through
to World War I. Following World War II there were far fewer people
available to work the land although expectations for self-sufficiency
in food production were high. This coincided with rapid advances in
farm mechanization and with it the expectation of reduced costs. The
size of the farm labourer work force continued to fall rapidly as people
moved to the cities looking for more secure and better paid jobs. These
changes affected thatching in a number of ways. By 1960 the number
of thatched properties had fallen to 34 662 and long-strawed thatch
represents some 10% of this figure (English Heritage 2000).
21.3 Types of wheat used for straw thatch
There are two types of wheat that have been used for thatching and
are still in use today. Firstly, rivet or coned wheat (Triticum turgidum)
and secondly bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). Both types produce
acceptable straw and thatchers and growers each have their own
particular preferences. A comment from one thatcher states that
“The straw from rivet wheats is of superior quality for thatching
and lasts longer” while another said “That might be so but the
rougher nodes make them harder to work with”.
There are two methods used for thatching that differ in both
the preparation of the straw and the method of application. Both
types of wheat are suitable for either method. These methods reflect
different local traditions among thatchers in different parts of the
country that have existed for hundreds of years. Each method
results in strikingly different looking roofs as a result (Table 21.1).
21.4 Current market and regulations
There are estimated to be in the order of 30 000 thatched properties in
England today. These include cottages, barns and other farm buildings,
windmills, watermills, churches, vicarages, shops, inns and garages
as well as many civic buildings including libraries, village halls, bus
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
199
Table 21.1. Wheat thatching methods, their distributions and appearance.
Long-straw
Combed wheat-reed
Method
Bundles of harvested wheat run through
threshing unit which bruises the stems.
Wheat is combed by running the grain bearing part of the
stem through combs to pull off the ears and thus harvest
the grain.
Distribution
Southern England, East Anglia, the Midlands,
Northumberland and the Boarders.
South-west England (Devon, west Dorset, the Blackmore
Vale in Somerset / Dorset and parts of Cornwall).
Resulting
Thatch
Shaggier/ softer texture, Gabled ends and
eves. Often of steeper pitch. Mixture of heads
and butts showing on the surface of thatch.
Dressier/ neater and more rounded. Cut to shape and no
eves or eves. Butt ends of stems on surface of thatch.
shelters, bandstands and even a pedestrian bridge. Because of the
increasing age of many of them, high proportions are now given listed
status, which offers a degree of protection. Any proposed maintenance
is subject to the approval of local authority conservation officers.
Guidelines on thatch and thatching (English Heritage 2000) outline
the expectations and basis on which any renovation, conservation or
remedial work can be carried out. These guidelines are used by the
various local authorities around the UK to help in dealing with cases
in their particular regions where the aim is to preserve the character of
properties in terms of their own integral history and that of the locality
in which they are located. Separate consideration may be required
in the case of conservation areas or national parks, e.g. Broadland in
Norfolk (1993) and the New Forest in Hampshire. The clear message
from all these guidelines is that any change of thatching material or
method of thatching may well require listed building consent that
requires replacing ‘like with like’. Thatching is an expensive option
and local authorities are charged to provide clear documentation as to
their particular planning policies and guidelines and examples from
Devon (2003) and South Cambridgeshire (2007) District Councils are
two such examples.
The difference in materials and methods employed by thatchers
is only one example of the great diversity of this market. It is
estimated that there are still in the region of 800 thatchers in business
in England today, belonging to upwards of ten associations. Even
today thatch is a subject that generates many differing and at
times opposing views as to approaches and policies. An analysis
of this situation is outside the scope of this case study but serves to
underline how deeply emotive thatching is within rural England.
The fire risk of thatch is a significant concern. Even today reports
of thatched buildings catching fire will make the regional news. The
Globe Theatre in London offers an interesting illustration of the
topic. The original theatre built in 1598 was co-owned by William
Shakespeare and was the theatre where many of his plays were first
200
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
performed. It is generally thought to have been thatched in water
reed but archaeological evidence of a sample of thatch found on
a dig at the original site plus descriptions of the thatch before the
fire suggest wheat straw was also used. The original theatre lost
its thatched roof in 1613 following the firing of a canon during
a production of Henry VIII. Following the Great Fire of London
in 1666 in which an estimated 13 000 largely timber-framed and
thatched buildings were lost, thatch roofs were banned in perpetuity
in the city of London. This ban was only lifted in 1994 when plans for
the New Globe Theatre based on the original design were granted.
Better building regulations and the introduction of improved fire
retardants have resulted in more local authorities beginning to
allow thatch to be used on new buildings. The number is modest
but is responsible for a 5% rise in the number of thatched buildings.
21.5 On-farm conservation
In the 1830s Le Couteur described some 150 named wheat landrace
varieties (Le Couteur 1836). In the 1920s and 1934 John Percival
built up a unique collection of some 63 wheats from across the
UK. These were characterized and classified along with notes and
references to many more that were already by that time no longer
available (Percival 1934). These covered a range of different types
from early landraces through selections to the new varieties of the
day that were the result of deliberate crossing of different forms.
Many of the earlier landraces and landrace selections had a local
reference within their names such as villages e.g. Chidham, Browick
or county names such as Devon Red Rough Chaff, Montgomery
Red, and Essex Victory. It is also important to note the number of
wheat varieties that were coming from the near continent. There has
always been an interest in material from other regions and both Le
Couteur and Percival made selections from fields of crops in other
countries. Particularly prevalent are references to France, Belgium,
The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and occasionally Spain. The
interest was mutual and a good number of English wheats were
grown on the near continent (Vilmorin-Andrieux 1880). Le Couteur
and Percival’s collections provide a clear baseline from the recent
past as to the diversity of wheat cultivars during this important
time of transition in the wheat crop in England. The rapid changes
in farming following World War II resulted in the majority of these
older forms being dropped from production and rapidly falling out
of common knowledge. An assessment of landrace wheats extant
in the UK in 2003 recorded just three that were used for thatching
(Table 21.2) (Scholten et al. 2003).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Table 22.2. On-farm conservation of long-strawed landrace wheats grown for
thatching in England.
Scholten et al. 2003
Variety
Number of farmers
Hectares
Location
Squarehead’s Master
7
221
S. England
Rampton Rivet
3
10.2
S. England
Rivet
2
10.2
April Bearded
2
10.1
S. England
New information
Victoria d'Automne
1
East Anglia
While this was not an exhaustive survey it does provide a stark
example of how quickly landrace material falls out of common use.
With such small numbers of farmers maintaining these landraces they
are increasingly vulnerable to seed failure as farmers mostly sow all
their seed and lack the capacity to store seed for more than a few years.
Indeed, in more than one case in the 2003 assessment, the landrace crops
reported had originated from an ex situ collection in the recent past.
To date some 50 examples of English wheats pre-World War II
have been successfully identified through literature searches (Le
Couteur 1836; Vilmorin-Andrieux 1880; Percival 1934; Zeven 1990)
as represented in the BBSRC small grain cereals collection based at
the John Innes Centre. In response to the assessment by Scholten et
al. in 2003, a series of small drilled plots of these wheats were grown
for assessment and growers and thatchers invited to look at the
material and make selections of lines that they might be interested in
evaluating themselves. The husbandry of these plots is similar to how
they would have been managed, i.e. under reduced nitrogen and at
low planting densities. This encourages a more open and airy canopy
as the crop comes into head and keeps the stems thin and stiffer as
a result. The scheme has been running for some three years with a
number of landraces being taken up by farmers for evaluation. Yearon-year assessment for lodging is providing useful data to help in the
selection process. Farmers are also interested in any local connection
associated with the material, which might help in marketing the
produce for thatching or seed. It is too early to tell whether these older
lines display any features that will result in their wide-scale use for
thatching or possibly other purposes but they have a chance. They
are also being assessed for their suitability for trialling under organic
farming regimes. Another approach involves the growing of mixtures
of different cereals (wheat and rye) known traditionally as maslin,
as was practised in mediaeval times (Letts 1999). New maslin mixes
based on different landrace cereals are being investigated with a view
201
202
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
to monitoring variation in harvested straw in different years and the
longevity of the resulting thatch (John Letts, personal communication).
On-farm conservation of long-strawed wheat for thatching is
therefore benefiting from the proactive engagement with the ex situ
genetic resources community, which offers the opportunity to access
a range of older forms that have fallen out of common knowledge
in recent decades. The market for the product remains steady and is
underpinned by strong regulation and farmers’ expertise although
the threat from cheaper imported straw is causing concern in
some quarters. The implementation of the recent seed legislation
concerning conservation varieties is intended to support such niche
markets as old long-straw wheats. The growing move towards more
sustainability within the farming sector includes the increasing
use of locally produced materials, and the savings in associated
transportation costs and lowering of inputs in crop production may
translate into an increase in numbers of farmers becoming involved
in this sector. The crop remains a challenge but to farmers with
long-term expertise in this area this is nothing new.
References
Broadland District Council (1993) www.broadland.gov.uk/14thatching.pdf
(accessed 12 September 2008)
Devon County Council (2003), www.devon.gov.uk/thatching.pdf (accessed 12
September 2008)
English Heritage (2000) Thatch and Thatching a guidance note. English Heritage, UK.
Le Couteur, J. (1836) On the varieties, properties, and classification of wheat. Shearsmith,
London, UK.
Letts, J.B. (1999) Smoke-blackened thatch: a new source of late medieval plant remains from
Southern England. English Heritage and The University of Reading, London, UK.
New Forest District Council, www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/thatch_and_thatching.
pdf. (accessed 12 September 2008)
Percival, J. (1934) Wheat in Great Britain. Duckworth, London, UK.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B. (2003), www.grfa.org.uk/media_files/
publications_plant/pgrfa_full_report.doc (accessed 12 September 2008)
South Cambridgeshire District Council (2007), www.scambs.gov.uk/Environment/
Conservation/thatch.htm (accessed 12 September 2008)
Vilmorin-Andrieux et Cie, (1880) Les meilleurs blés. Description et culture des
principales variétés de froments d’hiver et de printemps. Vilmorin-Andrieux et
Cie, Paris, France.
Zeven, A.C. (1990) Classification of landraces and improved cultivars of rivet wheat
(Triticum turgidum) and bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) from Great Britain and
described in 1934. Euphytica 47, 249-258.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
22. Regional and Crop-Specific Survey: Grapevine
Landraces in Douro and Colares, Portugal
Silvana Cardoso and Nigel Maxted¹
¹ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
E-mail cardoso.silvana@gmail.com
22.1 Introduction
The Mediterranean Region is the grapevine’s primary centre of diversity
(Zeven and de Wet 1982) and Portugal is a high priority for landrace
conservation, probably because it is one of the European countries
where landraces are still grown traditionally (IPGRI 1998). The richness
of Portuguese landraces and the high genetic erosion to which they are
subject are recognized in the national biodiversity strategy and action
plan (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 2001). However,
a comprehensive list of grapevine landraces, their distribution and
characterization does not exist and implementation of measures to
preserve traditional knowledge is considered low priority (ICN 2001).
Grapevine production is of fundamental importance to the
Portuguese economy (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
2005). However, in recent years selection has tended to be focused on
a small number of bred varieties, which has resulted in high levels of
genetic erosion. Currently in Portugal the general list of grapevine
varieties (European Regulation No. 3369/92, 24 November) recognizes
345 named varieties compared with 1482 found by Pinto-de-Menezes
(1889), which suggests a significant loss of genetic diversity. Moreover,
only 45 varieties are routinely involved in selection work meaning that
approximately 300 further varieties are underutilized. Historically each
farmer used to grow a mixture of vine varieties but this is becoming
increasingly rare (Eiras-Dias et al. 1998). The occurrence of fires, a
natural phenomenon in Mediterranean climates, highly exacerbated by
human interference, is another factor threatening grapevine diversity
(Davis et al. 1994). Portuguese V. vinifera L. germplasm is currently
conserved ex situ by four national institutions (IPGRI 2005).
This chapter aims to illustrate the production of a regional and
crop-specific inventory, focusing on grapevine landraces in Portugal
regions of Douro and Colares. Furthermore, the survey aims to
promote on-farm conservation of grapevine and raise the profile
of agro-biodiversity conservation and use within the Portuguese
National Biodiversity Action Plan (ICN 2001), to provide a sound
foundation for future diversity assessment as part of meeting the
CBD 2010 target (CBD 2004) and by illustration to indicate how a
regional and crop-specific inventory can be undertaken.
203
204
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
22.2 Materials and methods
The choice of Douro and Colares regions (see Figure 22.1) was
based on the relatively high number of landraces expected to
be present, based on local specialist’s viticultural knowledge
(J.E. Eiras-Dias, Torres Vedras, 2005, personal communication).
Douro region occupies about 250 000 hectares with variable sized
Figure 22.1. Map of mainland Portugal showing Douro and Colares
regions.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
properties and has a diverse climate and edaphic composition
(Filipe et al. 1998) stretching back to ancient times (Cincinnato da
Costa 1900; Sequeira 1938). Within the region two administrative
regulations, the ‘Casa do Douro viticulture registry’ and the ‘plan
for integrated rural development of Trás-os-Montes’ regulate
wine quantity, safeguard the regional wines’ distinctiveness and
promote modern viticulture, but the latter is limited in application
to five specific varieties, bred by public and private companies
(Filipe et al. 1998). Colares is a much smaller wine-producing
region, typically with small farms of < 1 ha, sandy and clay soils,
and a Mediterranean climate with a strong Atlantic influence
(Filipe et al. 1998). Again historical records indicate ancient and
highly diverse grapevine cultivation (Cruz 1908; Barros 1938;
Cincinnato da Costa 1900; Paulo 1992). However, in recent years
there has been a decline of the favoured sandy soil (Barros 1938;
Filipe et al. 1998).
Within the two target regions farms were selected to ensure
diverse locations in terms of altitude, soil type and climatic
conditions, but actual farms within each distinctive ecogeographic
area were selected randomly. Each farmer was interviewed using
mixed questionnaires of open and closed questions (see Appendix
22.1). Diversity on individual farms within regions and between
regions was measured in terms of richness and evenness of
landraces, using the Shannon Weiner index of diversity (Shannon
1948). Descriptive analysis using SPSS Version 10.0 (SPSS Inc.,
Chicago, Illinois, USA) was undertaken using t-test and a similarity
matrix of farms’ landrace composition was built, calculating simple
matching coefficient based on the presence or absence of each
landrace. Mantel’s test (Mantel 1967) was used to measure the
correlation between these matrices, based on 250 permutations of
the data, using NTSYS (Version 2.0) software.
22.3 Results
A total number of 86 grapevine landraces were found, 71 in Douro
and 20 in Colares (see Appendix 22.2). Table 22.1 shows that
considering both regions 46.51% of landraces were restricted to a
single farm, while four landraces were found to grow on more than
20 farms. This strong hierarchical spatial distribution of landraces
has been found elsewhere in previous studies (Tesfaye and Ludders
2003) with a small number of very common landraces throughout
the regions and a larger number of rarer landraces, revealing
landraces’ relative importance to farmers, which is closely related
to a differential dispersal of landrace material.
205
206
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 22.1. Grapevine landraces distribution.
Douro
Colares
Both Regions
Number of
Landrace Percent
Landrace Percent
Landrace Percent
Landraces Grown number
Landraces number Landraces number Landraces
by Farmer
1
33
46.48
11
55
40
46.51
2 – 10
31
43.66
9
45
39
45.35
11 – 20
3
4.23
0
0
3
3.49
> 20
4
5.63
-
-
4
4.65
Total
71
100
20
100
86
100
In both regions the number of landraces cultivated is higher than
the number of modern cultivars. Colares region has the highest
percentage of modern cultivars (23.08%) while the percentage
area cultivated with landraces (66.96%) and the Shannon Wiener
diversity index (2.37) are higher in Douro (see Table 22.2). At farm
level, Colares region has on average 4.50 cultivated landraces per
farm, significantly lower than the average in Douro which has 9.33
landraces per farm. Significantly higher mean values are obtained
for the average Shannon Wiener diversity indices for Douro (1.80)
(Table 22.2). Although overall Douro region has a larger number of
landraces, the area cultivated is dominated by just four landraces.
Both the Colares and Douro regions retain significant landrace
richness. Although Douro region has higher overall landrace
diversity, previously unrecognized landraces were found in Colares,
indicating high unexplored diversity in this region.
Table 22.2. Grapevine landraces richness and evenness.
Colares
Douro
Both regions
Farm Av. Region
Farm Av. Region
Farm Av. Region
Total number of
surveyed varieties
5.10*
26
10.33*
85
9.12
103
% area cultivated
with landraces (ha)
85.45
32.36
89.63
66.96
88.66
65.96
Richness
4.50*
20
(76.92%)
9.33*
71
(83.53%)
8.21
86
(83.50%)
2.07
1.80*
2.37
1.61
2.44
Shannon Wiener Index 0.99*
Note: *significant difference of means at 5% level with t-test.
The correlation between geographical distance between farms
and landrace compositional similarity calculated using Mantel’s
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
test was significantly negative (r = -0.19276; p = 0.0199). This agrees
with the fact that 67.44% of the farmers admitted to exchanging
grapevine vegetative material, preferably with neighbouring
farmers, as was also found elsewhere by Sperling and Loevinsohn
(1993) (see Figure 22.2).
Factors influencing on-farm landrace diversity
Landrace diversity on-farm was found to be influenced by several
factors, which are often interrelated. In agreement with Gauchan
et al. (2005), selling grapevine products to a cooperative enhances
the likelihood of high on-farm landrace diversity, as farmers have
a market for variety mixtures, which diminishes specialization
pressures. Selling grapevine products to a main commercial market is
highly correlated with larger total cultivated area and high grapevine
income, since farmers not aiming to sell to this market have smaller
cultivated areas and cultivate other crops besides grapevine.
80
Percentage of Farmers
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
No exchange
Neighbour
exchange
Medium distance
(2-10 kms)
Long distance
(>10 kms)
Figure 22.2. Farmer exchange of grapevine.
The farms’ physical heterogeneity was found to be associated
with higher on-farm landrace diversity, as found by Gauchan et
al. (2005). Especially in Douro region, the range of conditions and
abiotic pressures makes landrace diversity an unquestionable
advantage, with each variety being adapted to different agroenvironmental niches. However, in contrast to the study by Negri
(2004) farmers who use herbicides and/or pesticides are more likely
207
208
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
to cultivate a high number of landraces, particularly in Douro.
Gauchan et al. (2005) argued that this may facilitate the cultivation
of diverse varieties with different biotic and abiotic susceptibilities
and requirements. Moreover, increased farmer association with
non-governmental organizations is linked to low on-farm landrace
diversity, and this may be explained by the fact that the majority
of non-governmental organizations in Douro are promoters of
integrated production. Farmers with higher levels of education
were less likely to maintain landraces, particularly in Douro. It
was also noted that farmers interviewed who had higher education
were usually engineers in agricultural sciences who also performed
more effectively at selling their produce in the commercial market.
Inventory of farmers’ motivations for cultivating landraces
In Colares the majority of farmers cultivate grapevines as a leisure
activity, without profit being a critical motivation (see Figure 22.3).
However, in Douro wine quality is the most common motivation for
landrace cultivation (see Figure 22.4). This region has a long history
and tradition of recognized wine quality, and strong administrative
procedures to maintain that quality. However, the three motivation
categories, heirloom value, external reasons and preference to
cultivate landraces without having any specific justification make
up 42.3% of farmers’ reasons for continued landrace cultivation.
Perceived threats and proposals for grapevine diversity maintenance
The major threat to continued landrace diversity is labour scarcity,
labour cost and ageing farming population. In Colares the bulk of
farmers (70%) plan to maintain grapevine landrace production,
however, 80% think that when they retire landrace production will
not continue. The ever-increasing property value due to urbanization
and tourism pressure is a strong disincentive for grapevine
cultivation and the continued cultivation of landraces. However, it
was thought that ‘tourist’ value could be used to maintain grapevine
diversity through links to agro-tourism projects. Maintenance of
landrace cultivation by some farmers is also threatened by the
rise of farm-level costs associated with maintenance of diversity,
cultivating multiple landraces is more time-consuming and involves
attention to laborious local regulations associated with certain
historic landraces’ cultivation. Therefore, it is perhaps pertinent to
question in this case the link between the maintenance of traditional
farming systems and the landrace diversity maintained within
them. It would appear, as was found in Greece by Nikolaou (2003),
that local legislation enacted to secure landrace diversity may be
having the opposite effect.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
209
90
Percentage Justification
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Early maturation
Leisure activity
Short barrel
maturation
Wine quality
Figure 22.3. Farmer’s motivation for growing landraces in Colares.
35
Percentage Justification
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Flavour
Hierloom
value
High
yield
Pest/
disease
resistance
Other
reasons
Wine
quality
Figure 22.4. Farmer’s motivation for growing landraces in Douro.
In Douro the majority of farmers (54.6%) believe grapevine
production will be continued on their property after they retire.
However, the most visible threat to grapevine diversity is increased
farmer specialization on a few landraces that are easily marketable.
The selection of these landraces is associated with regional
administrative procedures, varieties’ availability in nurseries,
outstanding wine quality provided by some varieties and absence
of knowledge of alternative varieties.
210
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Many small-scale farmers often refer to the possibility of quitting
grapevine production or consider growing more modern varieties
to face decreases in grape unit selling price and rises in labour
price. Although economic incentives for traditional agricultural
landscapes exist they do not include grapevine landrace cultivation.
However, although this strategy could work initially, it would not
be sensible to rely entirely on subsidies because of their intrinsic
lack of sustainability, and tourism in the astonishing landscapes
linked to agro-tourism may offer a better model for conservation
of genetic diversity.
Farmers were questioned about in situ and ex situ conservation
of grapevine diversity but demonstrated no knowledge of any
on-going activities locally or nationally. Following a literature
review (ICN 2001, 2005; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Forestry 2001) it was found that ex situ collections of grapevine
germplasm are held by the four Portuguese institutions and 69
of the 86 surveyed landraces are already conserved ex situ but
17 landraces currently remain without any form of conservation.
Although further efforts are needed to confirm the distinct
identity of these landraces, considering the small samples used
in this research due to time constraints, this result indicates that
more conservation efforts are needed to assure the maintenance
of such a diverse heritage.
22.4 Discussion
Landrace diversity was found to be still relatively high in both
surveyed areas, it was distributed according to spatial abundance
hierarchical patterns and there was evidence of short distance
exchange nets. On-farm diversity is positively correlated with
a weak relationship between farmers and markets, farm agroecological heterogeneity and ease of farmer access to farming
materials. The farmers’ motivations for landrace cultivation are
primarily hobby leisure interest and wine quality in Colares and
Douro respectively. The major threats to landrace maintenance,
which are closely related to the identified motivations, are in Colares
the lack of interest of younger generations combined with low
economic rewards, and in Douro specialization in a few successful
marketable varieties. The surveyed landraces were found to be
in both regions ‘under-conserved’ and there is a need for urgent
targeted ex situ and in situ on-farm conservation action. Further
details of the analysis and discussion can be found in Cardoso and
Maxted (2008).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
References
Barros, H. (1938) A Região de Colares. Ministério da Agricultura. Direcção Geral dos
Serviços Agrícolas. Serviço Editorial da Repartição de estudos, Informação e
Propaganda. Portugal.
Cardoso, S. and Maxted, N. (2008) Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) landrace survey in the
Portuguese regions of Douro and Colares. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 154, 30-39.
Cincinnato da Costa, B.C. (1900) O Portugal Vitivinicola. Estudos sobre a Ampelographia
e o Valor Eonológico das Principais Castas de Videira de Portugal. Imprensa Nacional,
Portugal.
CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) (2004) www.biodiv.org (accessed 5
June 2005)
Cruz, C. (1908) A Vinha e o Vinho de Colares. Dissertação Inaugural. Instituto de
Agronomia e Veterinária, Lisbon, Portugal.
Davis, S.D., Heywood, V.H. and Hamilton, A.C. (1994) Centres of plant diversity:
a guide and strategy for their conservation - Vol.1: Europe, Africa, South West Asia
and the Middle East. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and IUCN - World
Conservation Union, UK.
Eiras-Dias, J.E, Martins, A., Carneiro, L.C., Pedroso, V., Cunha, J.P. and Madeira,
D. (1998). The genetic variability of vine varieties: richness at risk. Proceedings
of the XXIII Congrés Mondial de la Vigne et du Vin, Lisbon, Portugal.
Filipe, A., Pereira, G.M., Mota, I.G., Almeida, J.N., Franco, J.M.S., Magalhães, N.
and Magalhães, V. (1998) Enciclopédia dos vinhos de Portugal. IVV, Portugal.
Gauchan, D., Smale, M., Maxted, N. and Cole, M.A., (2005) Managing rice
biodiversity on farms: The choices of farmers and breeders in Nepal. In: Smale
M. and Lipper, L. (eds) Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and
Economic Change. CABI Publication, Wallingford, UK. pp. 162-175.
ICN (Nature Conservation Institute) (2001) Second National Report to the CBD
Secretariat. Portugal.
ICN (Nature Conservation Institute) (2005) www.icn.pt (accessed 09 June 2005).
IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) (1998) Implementation of the
Global Plan of Action in Europe – Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. IPGRI, Rome, Italy.
IPGRI (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute) (2005) Germplasm
Documentation Databases. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/germplasm/dbases.htm
(accessed 14 June 2005)
Mantel, N. (1967) The detection of disease clustering and generalized regression
approach. Cancer Research 27, 209-220.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2001) National Strategy for
Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity. MAFF, Portugal.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2005) www.min_agricultura.pt/
servlet/page?_pageid=165,167&_dad=extcnt&_schema=PORTAL30&804_o_
madrp_42.p_subid=224513&804_o_madrp_42.p_sub_siteid=40 (accessed 14
June 2005).
211
212
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Negri, V. (2004) Agro-biodiversity conservation in Europe: ethical issues. Journal
of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18, 3-25.
Nikolaou, L. (2003) On-farm conservation in Greece: a survey of the community of
Eglouvi. MSc thesis. University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Paulo, J.A. (1992) Estudos científicos de base com vista à elaboração de uma estratégia
de reconversão da região demarcada de Colares. Thesis. Universidade de Évora,
Évora, Portugal.
Pinto-de-Meneses, J.T. (1889). Listas das castas de videiras Portuguezas, Boletim
Dir. Geral de Agricultura 1 (5), 351-399.
Sequeira, T. (1938) O Douro. A região da vinha. Zonas de maior celebridade. V
Congresso Internacional da Vinha e do Vinho. Editorial Império, Portugal.
Shannon, C.E. (1948) A mathematical theory of communication. Bell System Technical
Journal 27, 279-423.
Sperling, L. and Loevinsohn, M. (1993) The dynamics of adoption: distribution
and mortality of bean varieties among small farmers in Rwanda. Agricultural
systems 41, 441-453.
Tesfaye, B. and Ludders, P. (2003) Diversity and distribution patterns of enset
landraces in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution
50, 359-371.
Zeven, A.C. and de Wet, J.M.J. (1982) Dictionary of cultivated plants and their
regions of diversity. Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation,
the Netherlands.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
213
Appendix 22.1. Questionnaire used to collate landrace-associated knowledge from farmers.
1. Interviewer identification and contacts
1.1. Name:
1.2. Address:
1.3. Telephone:
1.4. E-mail address:
Region: __________________________________
Questionnaire number: _____
2. Farmer identification and contacts
2.1. Name: ___________________________________________________________
2.2. Address: _________________________________________________________
2.3. Village: _____________________
2.4. Telephone: ____________________
E-mail address: ____________________________________________________
3. Farmer information
3.1. What is your age range?
3.2. Gender:
20 – 30
F
31 – 45
M
3.3. What is your education level?
Basic level (1st to 9th grade)
High school (10th to 12th grade)
Higher education (University or Technical Institute)
3.4. What are your income-generating activities?
Farming alone
Mainly farming and others additionally
Mainly others and farming additionally
46 – 60
More than 60
214
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
4. Grapevine varieties
4.1. What area is cultivated with grapevine? ______ m²
4.2. Which grapevine varieties do you grow? (see following table)
4.3. What is the area cultivated by each variety? (see following table)
4.4. How did you obtain them? (see following table)
1
Landraces
2
3
4
5
4.5. How do you distinguish this variety?
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________
Vegetative
material
selected
by you
from plants
you grew
previously
Other farmer
Private
company
Cultivated
area (m²)
Modern varieties
Names of cultivated varieties
Government
Source
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
215
5. Details of grapevine landraces cultivation
Varieties
1
5.1. Do you know where this variety is grown in the country?
• Only in this region
• In a couple of regions (number)
Specify: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
• All over the country
5.2. How long has this variety been grown in general?
5.3. How long have you been growing this variety?
5.4. What do you use this variety for?
• Wine production
• Table grapes
• Raisins
• Other (specify)
5.5. Does the cultivation of this variety require any special
procedure in comparison with the modern cultivars? (tick if yes)
5.5.1. If yes, specify.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
5.6. Does the cultivation of this variety require recruitment of extra
personnel in comparison with the modern cultivars? (tick if yes)
2
3
4
5
216
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
5.7. What are your reasons for growing this variety?
• Good market price by unit
• Good yield
• Resistance to abiotic stresses
- Altitude
- Climate
- Soil type
- Water stress
• Resistance to pests and diseases
• Competitive ability
• Good characteristics for wine production
• Others
Specify: ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
6. Farm and farming system details
6.1. What is the total cultivated area (grapevine and all the other crops)? _______ m²
6.2. Is the area where you grow grapevine homogeneous (time and/or space) in terms of:
6.2.1. Climate
Yes
No
6.2.2. Altitude
Yes
No
6.2.3. Soil type
Yes
No
6.2.4. Water availability
Yes
No
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Yes
6.3. Do you apply fertilizers on the area cultivated with grapevine?
On all the cultivated area
On modern varieties area
On landraces area
On some landraces area
On modern varieties area
On landraces area
On some landraces area
On modern varieties area
On landraces area
On some landraces area
6.6. Do you use mechanization on the area cultivated with grapevine?
On all the cultivated area
On modern varieties area
On landraces area
On some landraces area
No
Yes
6.5. Do you use an irrigation system on the area cultivated with grapevine?
On all the cultivated area
No
Yes
6.4. Do you apply herbicides on the area cultivated with grapevine?
On all the cultivated area
217
Yes
No
No
7. Production and market accessibility
7.1. How do you market the products of your farm (see table)?
Self-consumption
Sell on a local market
Sell to a cooperative
Grapevine products
Other products
7.2. What is the importance of grapevine income among all the products on the farm?
Main income
Median income
Low income
Sell on a main market
218
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
7.3. The income generated by grapevine modern varieties is:
Higher than the income generated by grapevine landraces.
Similar to the income generated by grapevine landraces.
Lower than the income generated by grapevine landraces.
7.4. Characterize the accessibility between the farm and the nearest selling place in terms of distance and/or road quality.
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
7.5. Characterize the facility of access to farming materials (pesticides, herbicides, machines, irrigation devices)
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
8. Information and material flow
8.1. Do you take advice from:
Agronomists from governmental institutions
Other farmers
Non-governmental institutions
8.2. Are you part of some kind of farmers' association?
No
Yes, specify:_______________________________________________
8.3. Do you have any external incentives to grow any specific traditional grapevine variety?
Government
NGO
Others, specify:_______________________________________________
8.4. Do you exchange grapevine material with other farmers?
Neighbours
Moderate distance
Long distance
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
9. Time perspective
9.1. What varieties do you know your neighbours grow?
__________________________________________________________________
9.2. Are there any varieties that were grown historically but no longer?
__________________________________________________________________
9.3. When and why did they disappear?
__________________________________________________________________
9.4. If you opted not to grow existing landraces, list which landraces and the reasons.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
9.5. As regards grapevine varieties grown on your farm, what are your plans for the future?
Undecided
Maintain as it is now
Grow more modern varieties
Grow more landraces
9.6. When you stop farming what are the plans for the farm?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
219
220
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Appendix 22.2. Grapevine landraces recorded.
Landrace
Name
Known
Synonyms
Berry
Colour
Number Region
of Farms
Alfrocheiro
Alfrocheiro Preto
Red
1
Colares
Alicante Branco
Uva Rei, Boal de Alicante,
Boal Cachudo (Douro) Branco
Conceição, Pérola
White
1
Douro
Alicante Rosa
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Alvarelhão
Brancelho, Brancelhão, Pirraúvo
Red
2
Douro
Aragonez
Tinta Roriz, Tinta de Santiago
Red
23
Douro
Arinto
Pedernã, Arinto (Bucelas), Pé de
Perdiz Branco , Chapeludo, (tirar),
Azal Espanhol, Azal Galego,
Branco Espanhol, Arinto (Anadia)
White
4
Colares (3)
Douro (1)
Barca
Tinta da Barca
Red
6
Douro
Bastardo
Bastardinho
Red
3
Douro
Bastardo Branco
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Bastardo Roxo
No known synonyms
Rosé
1
Douro
Boal
Not present in the synonyms list
-
1
Colares
Branco Guimarães
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Calmão
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Carrega Tinto
No known synonyms
Red
1
Douro
Castelão
João de Santarém, Periquita,
Castelão Francês
Red
2
Douro
Cerceal Branco
No known synonyms
White
3
Douro
Côdega De Larinho
No known synonyms
White
5
Douro
Cornifesto
Cornifesto Tinto
Red
2
Douro
Cruzinha
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Diagalves
Formosa, Carnal, Dependura,
Formosa Dourada, Fernan Fer,
Murecana, Pendura
White
6
Colares (1)
Dona Branca
No known synonyms
White
4
Douro
Donzelinho
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Donzelinho Branco
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Donzelinho Tinto
No known synonyms
Red
1
Douro
Espadeiro
Espadeiro Tinto, Padeiro,
Cinza, Espadal
Red
1
Douro
Estreito Macio
Estreito ou Rabigato
White
1
Douro
Farrampilho
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Colares
Fernão Pires
Maria Gomes
White
8
Colares (2)
Douro (6)
Ferral
No known synonyms
Red
3
Colares (1)
Douro (2)
Flor Do Douro
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Douro (5)
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
221
Landrace
Name
Known
Synonyms
Berry
Colour
Number Region
of Farms
Folgasão
No known synonyms
Red
2
Douro
Galego
No known synonyms
Red
1
Colares
Galego Dourado
No known synonyms
White
2
Colares
Gorda
Tinta Gorda
Red
1
Douro
Gouveio
Verdelho (Douro)
White
7
Douro
Jampal
No known synonyms
White
3
Colares
João Pais
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Colares
Lourinha
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Malvasia
No known synonyms
White
6
Colares
Malvasia De Lisboa
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Malvasia Fina
Boal (Madeira), Boal Branco
(Algarve), Arinto-do -Dão,
Assario Branco, Arinto Galego,
Boal Cachudo (Ribatejo)
White
25
Douro
Malvasia Preta
Moreto (Dão)
Red
4
Douro
Malvasia Rei
Seminário, Assario (Alentejo),
Listrão, Pérola (Alentejo),
Moscatel Carré, Grés, Olho
de Lebre
White
2
Douro
Molar
No known synonyms
Red
4
Colares
Moreto
No known synonyms
Red
3
Douro
Moscatel
Not present in the synonyms list
_
2
Colares
Moscatel De
Hamburgo
Not present in the synonyms list
_
5
Douro
Moscatel Galego
Not present in the synonyms list
_
6
Douro
Moscatel Galego
Branco
Moscatel (Douro), Moscatel de
Bago Miúdo
White
4
Douro
Moscatel Nunes
Moscatel Branco
White
2
Douro
Moscatel Preto
Not present in the synonyms list
_
2
Douro
Mourisco
No known synonyms
Red
17
Douro
Mourisco De
Semente
No known synonyms
Red
3
Douro
Pinheira Roxa
No known synonyms
Rosé
1
Douro
Preto Martinho
No known synonyms
Red
4
Douro
Rabigato
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Rabigato Franco
Rabigato Francês, Rabigato
Branco
White
1
Douro
Rabilonga
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Colares
Rabo De Ovelha
Medock, Rabigato (Vinho Verde),
Rabo de Gato, Rabisgato, Rabo
de Carneiro
White
1
Colares
Ramisco
No known synonyms
Red
6
Colares
222
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Landrace
Name
Known
Synonyms
Berry
Colour
Number Region
of Farms
Ratinho
Boal Ratinho, Branco sem Nome,
Malvasia de Tomar, Boal Doce
White
1
Douro
Roxo Flor
Roxo de Vila Flor
Rosé
1
Douro
Rufete
Tinta Pinheira, Penamacor
Red
5
Douro
Santareno
Santarém
Red
6
Colares
Sarigo
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Semilão
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Síria
Crato Branco, Alva, Posto
Branco (Douro), Côdega,
Alvadurão do Dão, Roupeiro
_
9
Douro
Sousão
Sousão Forte, Sousão de
Comer, Sousão Vermelho
Red
2
Douro
Sultana
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Tinta Aguiar
No known synonyms
Red
1
Douro
Tinta Barroca
No known synonyms
Red
27
Douro
Tinta Carvalha
No known synonyms
Red
9
Douro
Tinta Corada
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Tinta Francisca
No known synonyms
Red
3
Douro
Tinto Cão
Padeiro (Basto), Tinto Mata
Red
8
Douro
Tintureira
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Colares
Touriga Fêmea
Touriga Brasileira
Red
1
Douro
Touriga Franca
Touriga Francesa
Red
26
Douro
Touriga Nacional
Preto Mortágua, Azal Espanhol
Red
16
Douro
Trincadeira
Tinta Amarela, Trincadeira Preta,
Crato Preto, Folha de Abóbora,
Mortágua, Espadeiro (Setúbal),
Torneiro, Negreda, Castelão
(Cova da Beira)
Red
15
Colares (1)
Douro (14)
Uva Melão
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Uva Tinta
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Uvas Sem Carunha
Not present in the synonyms list
_
1
Douro
Verdial Branco
No known synonyms
White
1
Douro
Viosinho
No known synonyms
White
5
Douro
Vital
Boal Bonifácio, Malvasia Corada
White
3
Douro
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
23. Community-based Landrace Conservation:
Lentils of Eglouvi, Lefkada
Leonidas Nikolaou and Nigel Maxted¹
¹ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
E-mail leonidas_nikolaou@hotmail.com
23.1 Introduction
Eglouvi is one of the highest mountain communities of the island of
Lefkada, Greece, at an altitude of 730 m with a higher cultivated area
at 800-950 m. The climate is wet Mediterranean, having mild winters
with increased rainfall (700-900 mm/year) and very hot summers
with cool breezes. The island and communities’ relative isolation
make it one of the most important areas for on-farm conservation in
the country (FAO 1996) and it is also listed in the areas for Diversity
of Landscapes (Stavropoulos et al. 1992).
Although the community maintains a range of important landraces,
e.g. cabbage, grass pea, grapevine and durum wheat, it is most famous
for the Eglouvi lentil landrace, a mixed population belonging to Lens
culinaris M. subsp. microsperma. The first record of the landrace
appeared in historical data around 1717 (Rontoyiannis 1980) but its
presence in the area is much older. Since 1992 it has been conserved ex
situ at the Institute of Fodder Crops in Larissa and ICARDA facilities
(collection number ILL 293) where it has been used in breeding
programmes. It is included in the official lists of landraces facing
genetic erosion (MINAGRIC 1994 as amended in 2001).
In the summer of 2003 the landrace was surveyed to identify
current cultivation in the community and review on-farm
conservation activities and the socio-economic profile of the
farmers (conservators) using criteria defined by Campagne (1996)
and Abdelhakim (1997) including: description of the farming
practices, seed exchange system, constraints and identification of
on-farm conservation priorities. An Integrated Rural Development
Programme was being implementation on the island (ECOPLAN
2000) that could be used to implement a complementary approach
to on-farm conservation as outlined by Maxted et al. (2002).
23.2 Methodological approach
The method of Almekinders and Louwaars (1999) was adapted and
a joint survey questionnaire for baseline and seed system survey
was used, consisting of both structured and open-ended questions.
The questionnaire included questions on the general structural
223
224
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
characteristics of the farmer household and more specific questions
related to the farming and seed system. Finally, a simple descriptive
statistical analysis was applied. Literature was collected from the local
public and private libraries of the island, and official documents of the
local authorities such as the Directorate of Agricultural Development
of Lefkada Prefecture and the Municipality of Karya.
A preliminary estimation of the possible sample size using
data from the 2001 National Statistical Service and a study from
the University of Thessaly (1997) based on MINAGRIC Farmer
Records proved inaccurate as during site visits a significant number
of producers were not found to be included in the official list.
Almekinders and Louwaars (1999) proposed a selection of every
fourth or fifth house in the village or along the road, and in case
of absences the neighbouring house could be selected. However,
only three farmer interviews could be carried out each day because
farmers were in the fields for much of the day and unavailable
for interview. In addition, there was extensive common-farm
management between families and relatives but here one person
practically managed the common farm units.
As a result, within the community 12 managers were interviewed,
representing 19 official farm holdings. It was essential to establish
trust with the landrace growers as there were conflicts and
competition between farm units within the community, so the choice
of the key-informants was of major importance. It was felt essential
to include a few young farmers from the community to be able to
assess the likely continuity of the on-farm project and younger
farmers were selected because they: (i) had not participated in any
of the community conflicts and were persons of trust, (ii) they were
practical farmers and had available time for on-site visits to fields,
(iii) they were enthusiastic since the survey was an opportunity to
learn more on the issue, (iv) they were employed part-time by the
municipality so could use the equipment and contacts, and (v) they
had received some higher education so were able to understand
the purpose and methodology. Criteria (iii), (iv) and (v) became
necessary following initial failures of farmer interviews.
The survey took place just post-harvest, when the grain was
already stored and it was noted that the grain of fields from different
localities was usually stored separately. Thirty-three landrace sites
were identified altogether and the names of producers recorded.
All sites were visited so as to identify possible pedo-climatic
differences that could lead to different ecotypes and 10 000 - 20 000
seed samples were taken from stored seed from eight diverse sites
and collected for ex situ conservation to ensure maximum genetic
diversity and sent to the Greek Genebank. It was noted that ‘wild
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
lentil’ plants also appeared in mid-March, particularly in stony soil
with Phrygia vegetation.
Indigenous knowledge was primarily obtained through open
discussions with the producers in the evenings in small coffee
shops. Indigenous knowledge from women was acquired through
interviews at the farmers’ homes; often groups of women were
interviewed collectively. Some specific questions on the past uses
of the landraces in the area, the way landraces were cooked and on
popular sayings can be considered part of the indigenous knowledge
collection.
23.3 Results
23.3.1
Diversity maintenance: household description,
cultivation and seed system
The average age of landrace-growing heads of households was 66
years and there was no producer younger than 42. The education
level was low: half of the producers had finished only primary
school and 25% had had just a few primary classes. Nearly 67%
of the households contained no children, with a mean family size
of 2.4 persons, and more than half of the households did not have
any obvious successor to maintain landrace production. Almost
all households had additional sources of off-farm income (64%
from one and 27% from two sources per household); in total 82%
of landrace maintainers earned some off-farm income. Most of the
women’s income was generated from handicraft production. Given
the average age of landrace maintainers, retirement pensions were
an important income in 45% of the households. Finally, 69% of the
households were reliant on both retirement pensions and subsidies
provided by relatives working outside the community.
About 40 years ago a commercial lentil cultivar of unknown
name and origin was introduced into the community and is usually
grown in adjacent fields to the landrace. Based on seed colour, locals
used the distinction ‘white’ or ‘blonde’ for the cultivar and ‘black’
or ‘dark’ for the landrace. All farm holdings and producers were
growing the landrace and about half were also growing the cultivar.
The main reasons for retaining the landrace were the high income
from sales, its good taste and boiling quality and family tradition,
but the cultivar had higher productivity and was preferred by
market clients due to its lighter colour and its colour and shape
homogeneity (see comparison in Table 23.1).
The lentil landrace was cultivated on at least 33 fields of the
plateau, with specific place-names and great soil diversity (in soil
225
226
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
texture, structure, aspect, altitude, humidity, orientation) even over
very small distances (< 50 m). There was significant parcelling of
land per producer (3 – 20 parcels/producer) with most parcels (i.e.
plots) ranging from 0.1 – 0.3 ha. The average number of lentil fields
per producer was 5.25 and the average parcel area was 0.2 ha. The
average distance from household to field was approx. 3.6 km on
a rising road. There was no irrigation or field exchange between
producers. Soil was considered the major factor for a good, tasty
product and thus, fields were classified into two categories according
to the quality of the produced grain: good-quality fields (kalopso =
gives good boiling grain) and bad-quality fields (kakopso = gives
bad boiling grain). Up to 1998 farming was practised using horses
and human labour, without agrochemicals; however as a result of a.
rural exodus, b. advanced age of maintainers and c. higher income
expectation, extensive mechanization has recently been introduced.
Table 23.1. Producer evaluation of the lentil varieties’ characteristics.
Characteristic
Preference for
landrace
Preference for
cultivar
No preference
Drought tolerance
20%
40%
40%
Boiling time
0
0
100%
Tastiness
80%
0
20%
Productivity
0
100%
0
Yield consistency
0
20%
80%
Disease resistance
20%
60%
20%
Earliness in maturity
0
100%
0
Lentil cultivation begins in early August with a deep ploughing
using a tractor, as it is believed that when exposed to the sun, soil
becomes more fertile and less weedy. Seed is sown by hand in late
February to March depending on rainfall. Commonly last year’s
seed is sown but sometimes a mixture of the last three years’ seed.
Pre-sowing herbicides and two to three post-emergence hand
weedings are practised. Grasshoppers have been the main pest and
soil-borne diseases affecting the seedlings were the main diseases.
There was no use of phyto-sanitary products except copper. Usually
a 1:1 lentil / fallow rotation system was followed, but sometimes a
wheat / lentil or oat / lentil rotation was followed.
Harvesting took place in early to mid-June. Harvested plants
were left in the open to dry and fully mature for three to four days,
covered with plastic at night and aerated every day. After cutting,
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
winnowing and sieving, seeds are processed with an insecticide
against weevils and stored in barrels or plastic air-penetrable sacks at
the warehouse or in-house under ambient conditions. One producer
wished to gain organic certification and export to niche markets, and
he kept seed in plastic, air-vacuum bags without insecticide. The
storage period varied from one to three years maximum, depending
on the annual yield, the seed colour deterioration and financial
obligations of the household.
The maintainer’s first priority was to be seed-sufficient for
the following year. Seed from bad-quality fields was usually sold
to other producers at a slightly lower price than the producer
(marketed) price, e.g. in 2003 the local seed price was 4-4.5 €/
kg when the landrace marketed price was 5 €/kg. However, in
recent years only big producers were seed-sufficient while smaller
producers have tended to sell out their entire annual production
due to financial obligations and the high market price.
Maintainers over millennia have improved the landrace by
annual bulk selection of certain seeds primarily selecting on shape
and colour. Selection occurred during sieving for storage and usually
very small (diameter < 5 mm) and/or black seeds were discarded by
hand and sieve. It was believed that black seeds tend to give plants
with more black seeds. A few producers used to select taller plant
types and the best-filled grain plants in the field, but this practice
has recently been abandoned. The seeds of the landrace and cultivar
varieties were harvested separately, threshed, winnowed, cleaned
and stored. The grain from the bad-quality fields was separately
harvested and stored in bulk, usually with grain from other bad
fields, and was used for next year’s seed.
23.3.2
Market system
Lentil marketing for both landrace and cultivar seed was organized
by the producers through an informal network of clients, mainly
people of good financial status from the island or local cities. A
significant amount of the production was given to cover social
obligations e.g. gifts to doctors or bank employees. Maintainers
repeatedly claimed “this lentil opens big doors”. The landrace
11
has high iron content , exceptional taste and great reputation
throughout Greece. In 2003 the landrace market price was 5 €/kg
(with prices of 8.8 €/kg obtained by niche markets in Athens), when
the average commercial variety price in the supermarkets was below
11
The popular saying “Your head is ironed from lentil” relates the landrace’s high
iron content with someone’s stubbornness.
227
228
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
1 €/kg. An effort to enter global organic niche markets in Munich,
New York and London has recently been initiated by younger local
producers. The cultivar has also been commercialized in the same
way and using the same networks, provoking confusion among
clients. Producers were selling the cultivar to visitors on site and to
tourists, but kept the landrace for their standard and better clients.
Historically, the landrace was used for medicinal purposes, lentil
mixed with vinegar was used for sore throat and water from boiled
lentils combined with honey was used to heal deep wounds and
give relief from irritation (Kontomihis 1985).
23.3.3
Traditional customs: the lentil festival of Eglouvi
The major annual event within the community is the lentil festival
held on the celebration day of Saint Donatos (6 August), which
involves folkloric dances, while elder women with traditional
costumes serve the landrace lentils with olives and salted sardines
to visitors. Most locals participate in the preparations and offer a
small part of their grain for the festival. The festival historically
attracted more than 500 visitors to the community annually, but
their numbers are gradually decreasing in recent years.
23.3.4
Conservation issues
The seed flow within the community, the low out-crossing rate
of the plant together with the cultivation of the two varieties in
adjacent fields, can be considered as promoting the evolution of
the landrace (Jarvis et al. 2000). Even the seed selection procedure
and the high degree of mixing of seed from different fields during
harvesting and sowing each year has been considered as assuring
that all fields planted from a single seed source will maintain
their genetic structure (van Rheenen et al. 1993). However, the
discarding of black and very small seeds demonstrates farmer
selection to meet the market demand. The main factors that could
negatively impact on landrace diversity are the poor storage
conditions, rapid climate change in the area, the advanced age
of the producers and the decrease in the number of households.
In addition, a recent and important factor is the expansion
of tourism development from the coastal to the mountainous
communities and thus, the change in land use because of holiday
home and hotel construction on traditional landrace growing
fields. Consequently, it seems the landrace faces extinction rather
than partial genetic erosion.
The goal is to ensure that the maximum possible range of genetic
diversity of the landrace continues to be maintained within the
local farming system (Maxted et al. 1997; Brush 1999; Jarvis et al.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
2000). However, there is a strong desire for development within the
community and it will be difficult to balance on-farm conservation
with this development. In addition, general cultivation practices are
themselves evolving and in marginal communities like Eglouvi the
farming sector is changing rapidly and radically. Traditional farming
is no longer a ‘way of life’. Even the small-scale grain grower in
marginal areas is, according to the scale of the business, becoming
professional and highly focused (Blair 1998). Therefore, it must be
acknowledged that the cultivation of the traditional landrace by
the Eglouvi community will inevitably change with time and it is
good that the diversity is already held ex situ as a safeguard in the
national genebank, but several proposals can be suggested which
could help to ensure the survival of landrace diversity:
• The creation of a simple, low-cost, community seed bank would
buttress the security of the seed source for the local community.
• There is a need to establish baseline information on genetic
diversity against which future genetic erosion of the landrace
might be assessed, the study would also identify the degree of
distinction of the landrace and therefore might help to promote
its further breeding use.
• Associated with the establishment of the genetic diversity
baseline there is a need to use the field inventory data reported
here to monitor the field cultivation of the lentil landrace.
• The factors impacting seed quality and production (e.g. soil
differences, the correlation between field quality and seed
characteristics and quality, storage conditions) should be
investigated to assess the potential for improved income generation
through lentil cultivation and storage condition improvement.
• There are a few agricultural drawbacks with the landrace e.g.
susceptibility to soil-borne diseases and Ascochyta sp. and there
is potential for participatory plant breeding improvement to
overcome these production problems which could significantly
improve farmers’ income and therefore landrace security.
• The landrace should be registered under Commission Directive
2008/62/EG of 20 June 2008 as a ‘conservation variety’ to
help underscore its worth as a national resource and promote
utilization. Associated with this, any local on-farm conservation
plan should help discourage the conversion of traditional lentil
fields to construction development, since each new holiday
home built decreases the land on which the landrace can be
grown.
• The application of Certification as Product of Designated Origin
status would help safeguard the niche market for the landrace
both within Greece and on the global market.
229
230
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
23.4 Discussion
The study found general ‘difficulty’ in obtaining agricultural
data and gaining information on agricultural policy from
all authorities (central, regional and local). Preliminary
identification of the precise number of lentil producers in the
community was impossible due to the inaccuracy of regional
and national data. Also at the beginning of the survey, farmers
tended to be cautious or unwilling to provide information
related to landrace cultivation and their socio-economic
status because they felt any information imparted might be
used against them by the government. Thus the bulk of the
information was obtained in open discussions and then only
after three or four days of familiarization between the farmers
and the researcher. However, group discussion meant that
certain senior figures in the community tended to dominate
the discussion, and therefore once familiarity was established
group discussion was followed by the researcher interviewing
maintainers in their homes. Even in the personal interviews
some landrace maintainers gave false answers on sensitive
issues (e.g. herbicide application, external income), thus the
mix of group and personal interviews with cross-checking of
information was necessary to obtain the truest picture of lentil
on-farm maintenance.
Landrace lentil production by the Eglouvi community on
the island of Lefkada, Greece is a rare and excellent example
of community-based on-farm conservation and maintenance in
Europe that has survived for millennia. However, the evidence
of this survey is that it is a production system in crisis and the
continuation of traditional cultivation is in the balance. It seems
likely that unless actions like those outlined above are taken
urgently then cultivation will cease in the next 10-20 years. The
community-based cultivation of the landrace has been one of
the defining criteria of the community for generations and the
community will be much the poorer for the loss of this linkage
with its cultural history. In terms of plant genetic resources
conservation it remains unclear how unique the Eglouvi
lentil landrace is, but the fact that germplasm is available in
the national genebank means it will not be lost entirely for
future use. However, so many of these intimate community /
traditional commodity ties are currently being almost carelessly
broken, that together they do matter and they are important
if we are to retain our agro-cultural resource and the ‘healthy’
link with our rural past and ancestors – as milk does not just
come from factories so lentils do not just come from supermarkets!
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
References
Abdelhakim, T. (1997) La methode de l’analyse diagnostic. In: Course Notes in
Diagnostic Analysis of Rural Zones. CIHEAM – IAM Montpellier, France.
Almekinders, C. and Louwaars, N. (1999) Farmer’s seed production. New approaches
and practices. Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd, London, UK.
Blair, P. (1998) The niche marketing of Australian TLC lentils: a model for other
pulse crops. Australian New Crops Newsletter 10, 28. www.newcrops.uq.edu.
au/newslett/ncnl1023.htm.
Brush, S.B. (1999) Genes in the Field. On-Farm Conservation of Crop Diversity. Lewis
Publishers, London, UK.
Campagne, P. (1996) La zone rurale comme espace de developpement.
Problematique generale et contenu de l’analyse-diagnostic d’une zone
rurale. In: Course Notes in Introduction in Rural Development Economics.
CIHEAM – IAM Montpellier, France.
ECOPLAN (2000) Study for an Integrated Rural Development Program of the
Mountainous Lefkada. ECOPLAN Ltd, Athens, Greece.
FAO (1996) The State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
FAO, Rome, Italy.
Fiorou, E. (2006) Eglouvi of Lefkada: a community, a story. Athens, Greece.
Jarvis, D.I., Myez, L., Klemick, H., Guarino, L., Smale, M., Brown, A.H.D., Sadiki,
M., Sthapit, B. and Hodgkin, T. (2000) A training guide for in situ conservation
on-farm. Version 1. IPGRI, Rome, Italy.
Kontomihis, P. (1985) The popular medicine in Lefkas. Grigori Publ., Athens, Greece.
Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Hawkes, J.G (1997) Complementary
conservation strategies. In: Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd B.V. and Hawkes. J.G.
(eds) Plant Genetic Conservation. The in situ approach, Chapman & Hall,
London, UK. pp. 16-39.
Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Pooni, H.S. and Kell, S.P. (1998) Ex situ conservation
- Germplasm collecting. Distance Learning Course of Conservation of PGR.
Imperial College at Wye and University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Maxted, N., Guarino, L., Myer, L. and Chiwona, E.A. (2002) Towards a methodology
for on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 49, 31-46.
MINAGRIC Hellenic Ministry of Agriculture - Directorate of Spatial Planning
and Environmental Protection (1994) National Program for the Conservation of
Biodiversity and Genetic Diversity under the Reg.EEC 2078/92. Athens, Greece.
Rontoyiannis, P.G. (1980) History of Lefkas Island. Society of Lefkadian Studies. Vol.
1. Athens, Greece.
Stavropoulos, N. (1996) Greece: Country report on PGRFA. In: The State of the World’s
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. FAO, Rome, Italy.
Stavropoulos, N., Zamanis, A., Samaras, S. and Mattheou, A. (1992) PGR in situ
conservation and protection of traditional agriculture system and landscapes in
Greece. In: Proceedings of the Pan-European Seminar on Rural Landscapes. Council
of Europe, Strasbourg, France.
231
232
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
University of Thessaly, Dept. of Spatial and Regional Development Engineers.
Laboratory of Rural Space (1997) Study of Spatial Analysis of the Greek Rural
Space. University of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece.
van Rheenen, H.A., Bhatti, S. and Rao, K.V.S. (1993) The sustainable preservation
of biodiversity in self-pollinating plant species: sample size and collection
methodology. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 96, 1-4.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
24.
233
Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme
Niall Green¹, George Campbell¹, Rachel Tulloch¹ and Maria Scholten²
¹ SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture), Roddinglaw Road,
Edinburgh, EH12 9FJ, UK. E-mail Niall.Green@sasa.gsi.gov.uk
² SAC (Scottish Agricultural College), West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG, UK
24.1 Introduction
Survey work undertaken for the compilation of the UK National
Inventory of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
(Scholten et al. 2004) commissioned by the Department of Environment
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), identified a small number of landraces
which are still being grown and used in agriculture today, five of
which are currently grown in Scotland.
Bere barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and black or small oat (Avena
strigosa L.) are both grown in the Northern and Western Isles,
Hebridean rye (Secale cereale L.) is grown in the Western Isles, Shetland
cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) is grown in the Shetland
Islands and ‘Scots Timothy’ (Phleum pratense L.) is grown in central
Scotland near Stirling (Figure 24.1).
Figure 24.1. Distribution of extant Scottish landraces.
234
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Whereas many ‘traditional varieties’ are already conserved
and described, there is little up-to-date information on Scottish
landraces. With the exception of ‘Scots Timothy’, seed of which is
certified in Scotland, information about the current distribution
of Scottish landraces, the number of growers, the area of
production or the quantity of seed produced is piecemeal, as
such information is not collected for official statistics. Without
this information it is difficult to know whether the production
and use of landraces are declining and whether their genetic
diversity has been adequately conserved. This lack of information
and knowledge is not only a Scottish but a UK-wide concern,
and is also pertinent to the conservation of traditional varieties
(Maxted 2006). The continued use of landraces is dependent
either on their suitability for local growing environments or on
the demand to supply niche markets.
24.2 Current use of Scottish landraces
Scottish landraces are associated with local tradition and culture
and are grown in the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland; with
the exception of the Western Isles where cultivation is substantial,
the number of growers is small. On parts of the Western Isles,
the production of landraces is integral to the maintenance of the
Machair, a rare coastal habitat with alkaline, manganese-deficient
soils. Here, landraces are often grown in mixtures, usually small
oat, rye and bere barley, to produce forage and grain for winter
feed for cattle; the proportion of the species sown may vary from
year to year and with the different growing areas, resulting in a
very complex, ever-changing population diversity.
Many Scottish landraces are grown for forage production
to feed animals over the winter months. However, bere barley
grain is also grown for the production of whisky and beer
(Martin and Chang 2007), and the flour from the milled grain is
being used for making bannocks, bread and biscuits. Bere flour
contains magnesium, zinc and iodine and significant amounts
of folate, thiamine and pantothenic acid and is thought to
have potential as a functional food (Theobald et al. 2006). On
Orkney and Shetland the straw of A. strigosa, locally known as
black oat, is used for traditional crafts such as making Orkney
chairs and baskets, and for thatch to cover the roofs of heritage
buildings (Scholten et al. 2008). These uses demonstrate that
landraces have potential for developing niche market products
with regional branding, while meeting the requirements for
low-input, sustainable farming.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
24.3 Recent research
Prior to the work on the UK National Inventory, Wright et al. (2002)
considered the diversity and potential of bere barley and other
landraces, and recommended several areas of research for traditional
crops in Scotland. Unfortunately few of these areas of research have
been developed, so little information has been published.
Until recently, relatively few samples of seed had been collected
and stored in ex situ collections, and passport and characterization
information was limited. In 2004, seed samples were collected from
the Scottish Islands to study the genetic analysis of bere barley
populations (Southworth 2007). In 2006, a survey of landraces on
the Shetland Islands was undertaken which identified growers of
bere barley, small oat and Shetland cabbage (Lever 2006); seed of
Shetland cabbage was collected and sent to SASA for ex situ storage.
In the same year, a field survey of A. strigosa was carried out on
the southern islands of the Western Isles to verify its occurrence
and to compare Hebridean and Shetland strains (Scholten et al.
2008). In 2008, seed samples of cereal mixtures were collected in
the Western Isles by Maria Scholten and sent to SASA for storage
in ex situ collections.
Southworth (2007) raised awareness of the considerable diversity
in bere barley populations, both between the different island groups
(Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles) and within each island
group. The extent of this diversity was probably not previously
understood and raises the issue of how we should conserve
such diversity and encourage continued low-input, sustainable
production.
24.4 The Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme: ex situ
conservation
The Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme (SLPS) was set up in
2006 to conserve seed of Scottish landraces in ex situ collections
and to provide growers with a safety deposit system for the seed
they donate. Growers may donate a sample of seed from each
generation over a period of several years. Seed samples received
are cleaned, tested for germination and assessed for seed health
before being dried at 15% RH and 15 °C, and conserved in long
term (-22 °C) storage conditions. The grower receives information
on the quality of each sample of seed submitted and, in the event of
harvest failure, can request the return of some of her/his donated
seed to continue growing the landrace. As seed is only returned
to the original donor, it is locally adapted to the donor’s growing
conditions. Growers are asked if they wish to participate in the
235
236
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
SLPS, and whether they give consent for general distribution of
donated seed to third parties (Table 24.1). In addition to SLPS
participation and consent for general distribution, passport
information about the donor and each seed sample is also collected
(Table 24.2).
Table 24.1. SLPS form for seeking SLPS participation and Consent for General
Distribution.
Collector’s sample number:
PARTICIPATION IN THE SCOTTISH LANDRACE PROTECTION SCHEME
I want seed of the variety/varieties listed below to be
included in the Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme
YES
NO
YES
NO
CONSENT FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
I give my consent for seed of the variety/varieties listed below
to be freely available for distribution to third party users
Varieties to which this agreement applies:
e.g. Shetland cabbage (2006 harvest)
e.g. Bere barley (2007 harvest)
e.g. Landrace mixture (2007 harvest) bere / rye / small oat / other (please indicate)
Signed…………………………………………………... Date…………………………….
PRINT NAME………………………………………………………………………………...
ADDRESS…………………………………………………………………………………....
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
POST CODE………………………………………….
TEL. ……………………………………………….....
E-MAIL………………………………………………...
Donor names and contact details will be treated as confidential information, but will be held on
computer at SASA for management of the SLPS.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Table 24.2. Passport information sought from the collector or donor of seed samples
submitted for participation in the SLPS (EURISCO passport descriptors are indicated
in brackets).
Genus & Species e.g. Brassica oleracea (GENUS; SPECIES)
Species Mixture e.g. Mixture: Hordeum vulgare/Secale cereale/Avena strigosa
(in order of prominence)
Common Name e.g. Shetland Cabbage (CROP NAME)
Common name mixture e.g. Mixture: Bere barley/Hebridean rye/Black oat
(in order of prominence)
Collection date (COLLDATE)
Collector name
Collector sample number (COLLNUMB)
Donor
Donor Address (COLLSITE; LATITUDE; LONGITUDE)
Donor Phone number
Donor E-mail
Donor wants protection in the SLPS?
Donor agrees to sample being made available for General Distribution?
Harvest Year
Area of crop grown
Density of plants grown
Notes
To qualify for participation in the SLPS, each sample should have
sufficient viable seed to enable the future monitoring of germination
and seed quality, for characterization (morphological and molecular)
and evaluation, for re-supplying the donor in the event of crop
failure (the quantity is dependent on size and quality of the original
sample), safety duplication and for possible emergency regeneration
at SASA. The minimum quantity of viable seed required to meet
these tasks is defined for each landrace species and is applied to all
populations submitted for SLPS participation (Table 24.3).
Table 24.3. Shetland cabbage: minimum sample size for participation in the SLPS.
Viable seeds
Requirement
1 000
Sample monitoring: germination and/or seed health tests
1 000
Safety duplicate sample for emergency regeneration at SASA
1 500
Characterization (field and molecular)
1 500
Return to grower in the event of crop failure
5 000
Minimum sample size for participation in the SLPS
237
238
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Once seed is received at SASA, it is registered and additional
passport information is recorded. Once the 1000 seed weight has been
determined, the number of viable seeds is estimated by multiplying
the seed weight of the sample by the percentage germination (Table
24.4). Seed additional to that required for SLPS participation can
be made available on request for bona fide use (breeding, research,
education, etc.), if consent has been given by the donor.
Table 24.4. Passport information recorded on seed samples received at SASA for
participation in the SLPS (EURISCO passport descriptors are indicated in brackets).
Sample receipt date at SASA (ACQDATE)
Sample name (ACCENAME)
Unique SASA identity number (ACCENUMB)
SASA accession number (for multiple samples within one unique identity number)
Official Seed Testing Station Number
Stock (sample quantity recorded as seed weight)
1 000 seed weight
Germination %
Germination test: % dead
Germination test: % abnormal
Germination test date
Assumed Seed Number based on 100 seed weight
Assumed Viable Seed Number
Seed diseases
Pest infestation of sample
Notes
The maximum size of seed samples that can be stored for each
grower/donor is limited by storage space and the size of storage
containers in the seed store. Where seed of landraces is supplied as
a mixture, the components of the mixture are identified and sampled
separately, weighed, tested for germination and examined for seed
health. The relative proportion of each component is also recorded.
Regeneration of seed would normally take place where the seed was
originally produced to ensure unwanted selection pressures do not
change the population, but emergency regeneration can be undertaken
at SASA as a last resort, using part of the submitted sample. Further
information on Scottish landraces and their accessions stored in ex
situ collections at SASA, may be found at www.scottishlandraces.
org.uk along with details of the newly formed Working Group on
Scottish Landraces and Traditional Varieties.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
239
24.5 Shetland cabbage
The first seed samples submitted for participation in the SLPS in
2006 (Table 24.5) were of Shetland cabbage and were collected
from most areas of the Shetland Islands (Figure 24.2). The area of
cultivation and the number of growers are in steep decline and
the use of Shetland cabbage is threatened (Scholten et al. 2008). In
addition, one commercial grower is selling plants to other growers,
which may further reduce the genetic diversity, if the diversity of
the plants sold does not reflect that grown across the islands.
Table 24.5. Shetland cabbage: SLPS participation.
Number of growers
Number of seed samples received
Samples with insufficient viable seed for SLPS participation
Samples qualified for SLPS participation
Samples with consent for general distribution
17
25
6
19
19
Figure 24.2. Distribution of seed samples of Shetland
cabbage collected in the Shetland Islands.
240
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
In 2008, 19 Shetland cabbage accessions were grown and their
morphology was characterized at SASA. Visually the diversity
within populations was considerable compared with modern
cultivars, but it was more difficult to determine the diversity
between populations, though it was clear that some populations
had distinguishing traits. Preliminary analyses of morphological
and molecular characterisation data have been undertaken, but
further work is needed to summarize the results of this research.
Seed quality of the accessions collected/donated was variable and
some accessions did not have sufficient numbers of viable seeds to
qualify for SLPS participation (Table 24.6).
Table 24.6. Shetland cabbage: Seed quality of samples submitted for SLPS participation.
% Germination
No. of samples
Nil
1% – 39%
40% – 59%
60% – 79%
80% – 100%
1
3
6
5
10
Approximate number of viable seeds (calculated)
No. of samples
< 5 000
5 000 – 10 000
10 ,000 – 15 000
20 000 – 30 000
30 000 – 40 000
> 40 000
6
8
3
2
5
1
1 000 seed weight (range)
2.43g to 4.65g
24.6 Cereal landraces
Prior to 2008, the SASA cereal landrace collection contained 43
accessions of bere barley, ten accessions of small oat and two
accessions of Hebridean rye. In 2008, a further six bere barley, 13
small oat and 12 rye accessions were collected by Maria Scholten,
most of which were harvested as mixtures. Fifteen seed samples
of cereal landraces have been submitted for participation in the
SLPS; some of these have been harvested from a single species,
but most have been received as landrace mixtures with varying
proportions of small oat, Hebridean rye and bere barley (Table
24.7). Occasionally common oat (Avena sativa L.) and Triticale may
be a component in these mixtures.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Table 24.7. Cereal landrace samples collected/donated in 2008.
Landrace/mixture
No. samples
SLPS
participation
Consent for general
distribution
Bere barley
Small oat/rye
Small oat/rye/barley
Small oat/rye/Triticale/barley
Common oat/small oat
4
8
3
1
1
4
8
3
1
0
2
8
3
1
0
The components of the seed samples received as mixtures are
identified and a sample of each is tested for germination and, if
necessary, seed health. The sample is stored as a mixture. At the time of
writing, eight of the 13 cereal landrace mixtures collected and submitted
for participation in the SLPS have been tested for germination and the
proportion of each component landrace determined. The predominant
landrace grown in mixtures in the Western Isles is small oat, with
rye and bere barley occurring in smaller percentages. Germination
of individual landraces in the mixtures is variable, but where the
predominant sample is poor, the other landrace components also tend
to be poor.
Little is known of the diversity or origin of the small oat
and Hebridean rye currently grown on the Scottish islands, so
morphological and molecular characterization of the SLPS samples
is planned as part of a current SAC research project on landraces.
24.7 How many seed samples need to be collected to
conserve diversity?
When landraces are grown in different localities, each population
adapts to the local environmental conditions over a period of time.
This adaptation can be very specific; following a harvest failure in the
Western Isles, seed of bere barley was sent from Orkney, but did not
grow well, as the plants were not adapted to the sandy, low-nutrient
soils of South Uist. This was confirmed by research (Southworth 2007)
which concluded that the bere barley samples grown in the Western
Isles were different from those grown in the Northern Isles and that
the diversity within island groups could only be maintained by in
situ conservation at the different sites. This means that if we are to
conserve the genetic variation in ex situ collections, seed needs to
be collected from the sites where different populations are grown.
Samples should also be collected from each site over several years,
to gain an understanding of how the populations change with time.
241
242
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
24.8 Conclusion
Landraces are probably the most threatened component of UK crop
biodiversity at least partially because they are maintained by farmers,
subject to commercial constraints, rather than conservationists. In
addition, many of these farmers are an ageing population. In some
areas the number of growers is declining as upcoming generations
of farmers are working part-time in other jobs or are using modern
cultivars. The survival of landraces is dependent on their continual
regeneration in situ; if seed harvest fails, the landrace can be lost.
If we are to develop a strategy for the conservation and
utilization of the extraordinary diversity within landraces,
we need to understand how quickly landrace populations are
changing over time, how many samples of seed are representative
of all populations grown, the degree to which seed is exchanged
between growers and whether such exchanges threaten or broaden
diversity. Some of these questions will be addressed in a current
SAC research project on Scottish landraces, but to gain a better
understanding, further seed collection is essential for ex situ
conservation and research.
The introduction of the Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme
has addressed the need to conserve landrace diversity by acquiring
representative seed samples for storage in ex situ collections. It
also provides information on local growers and a seed deposit and
withdrawal system, which will guarantee availability of locally
adapted seed for future in situ production. The accessions collected
can now be characterized and evaluated with a view to developing
a long-term strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of
these landraces.
References
Lever, L.A. (2006) A Survey of Landraces on the Shetland Islands. MSc thesis, School
of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Martin, P. and Chang, X. (2007) Bere and beer, growing old cereals on northern
islands. The Brewer & Distiller International 3(6), 29.
Maxted, N. (2006) UK land-races – a hidden resource? Plant Talk 44, 8.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2004) UK National Inventory of
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Unpublished Report, Defra,
London, UK.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and
Shetland oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.), and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L.) landraces: occurrence and conservation issues. BIOVERSITY/FAO Plant
Genetic Resources Newsletter 154, 1-5.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Southworth, C. (2007) The use of microsatellite markers to differentiate UK barley
(Hordeum vulgare) varieties and in the population genetic analysis of bere barley
from the Scottish islands. Ph.D. thesis, Heriot-Watt University and The Scottish
Agricultural Science Agency, Edinburgh, UK.
Theobald, H.E., Wishart, J.E., Martin, P.J., Buttriss, J.L. and French, J.H. (2006)
The nutritional properties of flours derived from Orkney grown bere barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.). Nutrition Foundation Bulletin 31, 8-14.
Wright, I.A., Dalziel, A.J.I. and Ellis, R.P. (2002) The Status of Traditional Scottish
Animal Breeds and Plant Varieties and the Implications for Biodiversity. Part II Crop
Varieties. Scottish Executive Social Research, Edinburgh, UK.
243
244
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
25.
On-Farm Conservation of Crop Landraces in Georgia
Mariam Jorjadze and Taiul Berishvili¹
¹ Association Elkana, 16 Gazapkhuli Street, 0177, Tbilisi, Georgia.
E-mail m_jorjadze@hotmail.com
25.1 Introduction
Georgia is well-known for its diverse environment (a wide range
of climates, soils and altitude zones) and for high variability in
cultivated plants. This region belongs to the Western Asian centre
of origin of cultivated plants. During the long history of Georgian
agriculture, local farmers carefully selected plants and seeds for
planting and developed numerous farmer-selected varieties, which
are well-adapted to local conditions in all the three major groups
of crops (field crops, vegetables and perennials).
The process of agricultural diversity reduction, which was
observed globally in the 20th century, affected Georgian agriculture
severely. Not only has the plant diversity been reduced, but also the
level of utilization of the indigenous crops. Not long ago, among the
widely cultivated crops in Georgia were Italian millet, millet, rye
and endemic wheat varieties, among cereals; chickpea, lentil, beans
and peavine among legumes; and flax, from oil and fibre plants.
At present, these crops are ousted from the local farming systems.
Predominantly cultivated are maize and wheat from the cereals,
and haricot beans from the pulses. Such a low level of diversity
could not but tell on the population’s diet, especially in rural areas.
The UNDP/GEF project on Recovery, Conservation and
Sustainable Use of Georgia’s Agrobiodiversity was launched in 2004.
It was developed to remove some of the important impediments
to sustainable use of agro-biodiversity, which included scarcity of
seed and planting material, unfamiliarity of the farmers with the
importance of agro-biodiversity, low farmer access to markets, poor
information on production technologies for indigenous crops and
absence of links between farmers and researchers. The project has
been implemented by the Biological Farming Association ‘Elkana’
in southern Georgia, in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.
25.2 Agricultural biodiversity significance in Georgia
Georgia lies on the southern boundary of Europe, between the
Greater and Lesser Caucasus and the Black Sea, an area defined by
Conservation International as one of 25 biological 'hotspots' on earth.
Georgia, with 23 soil-climatic zones in only 69 700 km² possesses
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
unique plant diversity and species composition. Georgian agriculture
has a long history and can be traced back to the 5/6th millennium
BC, when Kartvelian (Georgian) tribes began to domesticate basic
crops such as wheat, barley, oat, rye, grain legumes (pea, chickpea,
lentil, faba bean), fruit species (plum, cherry, quince, common
grape) and various other crops. Georgia has a rich flora, in terms
of both wild species (more than 4 200) and crop species (about 100
families and 350 local species of grain crops). There are numerous
endemic cultivated taxa, such as Staphylea colchica, S. pinnata, Triticum
carthlicum, T. karamyschevii, T. macha, T. timopheevii, T. zhukovskyi
and Vitex agnus-castus. The list of valuable crop genetic resources in
Georgia also includes: Secale ketzchovelii, S. moharium and S. segetale.
Georgia presents a rich diversity of fruit trees. This group of plants is
composed of more than 100 species of seed and stone fruit trees, nuts
and wild berries. Among others of particular importance, the group
includes Amygdalus communis, Cerasus mahaleb, Malus pumila, Pyrus
communis, and Cydonia oblonga. With regard to grapes, there are about
500 local varieties recorded, but only 300 still exist in live collections
in scientific research institutes and peasant farms.
25.3 Root causes of agro-biodiversity loss in Georgia
The Georgian agricultural sector was well developed during the
communist period and used to export products to other Soviet
republics and countries of the world. Within the Soviet system of
inter-republic distribution of responsibilities, Georgia was mainly
a producer of high-quality fruits and tea. This specialization had a
negative impact on indigenous crop varieties. In a period of 70 years,
introduced varieties predominated in family plots and collective
farms while endemic, rare and threatened varieties were restricted
mainly to research and agricultural extension centres. Consequently,
information about local varieties became restricted to the technical
staff of research and extension centres and the few families that kept
indigenous crop varieties.
The process of agro-biodiversity loss became more intensive
after the collapse of the former USSR, because the state breeding
stations that had kept indigenous crop varieties for experimentation
and selection were hard hit by the collapse of the Soviet system and
the sudden and major decrease in state funding. Valuable collections
and stocks of endemic varieties began to erode fast. Simultaneously,
farmers found themselves with introduced varieties for which they
were unable to purchase the necessary amounts of agro-chemicals
and to provide with sufficient water. Research and state breeding
stations did not have the capacity to assist farmers in adopting local
245
246
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
varieties for in situ preservation. Even though local varieties would
have performed much better than introduced ones in conditions
of reduced agro-chemicals and water inputs, they were just not
available for planting.
25.4 Local initiative to preserve indigenous crop varieties
The first activities for the preservation of indigenous crop varieties
in Georgia started in 1996. This was a joint effort of scientists
from the Institute of Botany (Department of Cultivated Flora) and
the Biological Farming Association ‘Elkana’ – a Georgian nongovernmental organization (NGO) established in 1994, to maintain
the seed collection of the Institute through reproduction on plots
of the Elkana member farmers. Cooperation among farmers,
scientists and extension workers proved to be successful not only
in maintaining the seed collection but also in interesting the farmers
in the crops of their ancestors. The experiences of the cooperative
effort triggered the development of a farmer-based concept of
indigenous crop variety preservation in Georgia, which was finally
financed by the Global Environmental Facility through the United
Nations Development Programme.
The project – Recovery, Conservation, and Sustainable Use of
Georgia’s Agrobiodiversity – was developed to remove barriers
to the sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity, by means of a
combination of in situ and ex situ measures. It has been implemented
since 2004 with financial support of GEF/UNDP and co-financing
partners from Germany – EED and Misereor; from the Netherlands
– OxfamNovib, Cordaid and Avalon; and from Switzerland – the
Swiss Development Agency for Cooperation and HEKS/EPER.
25.4.1
Methodology
The project did not imply protection of the entire spectrum of
plants important to agriculture that are threatened with extinction.
Rather, the project approach was to develop a replicable model of
agricultural biodiversity protection for a group of the selected local
varieties in one region of Georgia, which could be used as a strategy
in other regions or for other crops and varieties. The project started
with testing different approaches and tools to recover and preserve
selected species in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region.
The project focused its efforts on conservation and sustainable
utilization of threatened crop landraces that showed a potential
market and/or good adaptation to local soil and climatic conditions.
These included local varieties of wheat, flax, lentil, grass pea,
chickpea, cowpea and faba beans. The landraces selected by the
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
project were well adapted to situations of scarcity of agro-chemical
inputs and to the presence of biotic and abiotic stresses (e.g. disease,
extreme temperatures, lack of moisture, etc.) and therefore could
contribute significantly to farmers’ food security. It is worth noting
that prior to the start of the project, Elkana field teams interviewed
local farmers in the targeted region identified the main constraints to
preservation of the local varieties and identified the improvements
needed to enhance their sustainable utilization. They also identified
farmers who were interested in growing the traditional varieties and
would like to cooperate with the project. To address the threats and
root causes of agricultural diversity loss in the Samtskhe-Javakheti
region, Elkana concentrated its technical and financial resources
along four main avenues of action.
Establishment of sources of primary seed and planting material for the
selected landraces
The project has identified seed material stored in the Institute of
Botany and has established a demonstration and seed multiplication
plot in the region. Office and farm infrastructure have been
developed at the site and the necessary machinery and equipment
have been purchased. The seed materials obtained from the
Institute's collection have been multiplied on the plot and distributed
to farmers who were interested in participating in the project. In
addition, seed has been stored in the seed depository at Elkana’s
head office in Tbilisi. At the same time an inventory of landraces
and wild relatives has been carried out.
Strengthening of a local farmers' association as the main vehicle for
production and distribution of seed material and experience sharing
Farmers involved in the project have established a farmers' association
to facilitate seed multiplication and distribution of targeted landraces.
They have agreed to enter into the seed multiplication system by
returning 1.5 times the original amount of seed distributed to them.
One unit of the returned seed material has been used for incorporating
new farmers and/or further multiplication, while the remaining part
has been stocked as a security fund (in case of future poor harvests).
In order ultimately to run the production and distribution of seed
material of selected landraces, the farmers' association members have
been trained by Elkana in seed fund management and record keeping.
Assistance to farmers in accessing markets
The project has carried out a study to define the markets, and five
legume landraces have been proposed for sales. In addition, farmers
and farmer groups interested in commercial production of selected
247
248
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
landraces have been identified and linked with a local distributor
company, which sells these crops to supermarkets. The company
pays to farmers a 10% higher price than the existing market price
for beans; at the same time the company buys products directly
from farmers, skipping the intermediary and maximizing price
returns at the farm level.
Support to cooperation among farmers, scientists, local authorities and
state and private breeding establishments in exchanging best methods
and practices
Elkana has made considerable information available at all levels
and through different media. Advisory handouts for each crop
are prepared and distributed to farmers. Information workshops,
farmers’ days and promotional events are organized regularly. Highquality promotional material, including recipe books, calendars and
publications have been produced and distributed. A database and
web page have been established and are regularly updated.
25.4.2
Project outcomes
The project has achieved some considerable successes. Notably,
important landraces have been identified in cooperation with
researchers, and a seed multiplication and demonstration plot
has been established. The plot is used for research, education and
extension purposes. In addition, seeds maintained in collections are
regularly renewed on the seed multiplication plot. At present up
to 250 accessions are preserved in the Elkana seed depository. Seed
material of 17 cereal and five legume crops have been exchanged
with the National Seed Bank. Through the project’s efforts the
following landraces have been reintroduced into farmers’ fields:
cereals – Triticum carthlicum Nevsky, T. aestivum L. and Hordeum
vulgare var. nudum; legume crops – Cicer arietinum L., Vicia faba
L., Lens culinaris Medic., Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. and Lathyrus
sativus L.; and flax, Linum usitatissimum L.
Prior to the project, seed material of local landraces was
not available to farmers. The project has established a seed
multiplication system to encourage local farmers to join the agrobiodiversity programme. Having started with 12 farmers in 2004,
the project unites 152 families directly involved in the on-farm
conservation programme at present. These farmers are engaged
in a regional farmers’ association ‘Farezi’ established in the frame
of the project.
Establishment of a farmers’ organization has facilitated active
involvement of local farmers in the project implementation.
Furthermore, the farmers’ organization has been found to be an
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
efficient tool for strengthening capacity and skills of local farmers.
Institutional capacity of the farmers’ organization has also been
strengthened through participation in the project.
The use of landraces with their ability to produce good harvests
without the need for expensive chemical inputs, and their tolerance
to drought, local crop pests and diseases is also likely to have
significantly reduced the farmers’ exposure to risk. Investment
is low and the crops are ideally suited to the growing conditions.
Most of the farmers use local crops for their own consumption. The
reintroduction of the landraces has also improved the nutritional
intake of farmers with the addition of a greater range of pulses.
Local farmers appear to prefer the landraces for their subsistence
needs; some farmers even sampled the initial seed material before
deciding to plant. Several groups of farmers have already emerged
that sell their produce on local markets. Although yields are lower
for the landraces, they attract a higher price.
The project collected and documented traditional knowledge
on the uses of indigenous crops. A recipe book was published
and widely distributed to raise consumer awareness. In addition,
dishes prepared from local varieties have been promoted through
food tasting events and media. As a result, demand for indigenous
varieties is growing at the local market.
25.5 Conclusions
As mentioned above, the project did not imply protection of the entire
spectrum of plants important to agriculture that are threatened with
extinction. Rather, the project approach was to develop a replicable
model of agricultural biodiversity protection for a group of the
selected local varieties in one region of Georgia, which could be used
as a strategy in other regions or for other crops and varieties.
Four years of project implementation have shown that the
sustainable use of agro-biodiversity requires community-driven
in situ and on-farm initiatives supported through supplies of seed
and planting materials, knowledge dissemination, marketing
efforts, publicity, and cooperation with research and governmental
structures. The approaches and instruments developed by the project
are at present being tested in two other regions of Georgia.
References
Berishvili, T. (2008) Forgotten Crops. Association Elkana, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Hanelt, P. and Beridze, R. (1991) The Flora of Cultivated Plants of the Georgian
SSR and its Genetic Resources. Flora et Vegetatio Mundi 9, 113–120.
249
250
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Hurst, F. and Tsereteli, M. (2007) Recovery, Conservation, and Sustainable Use of
Georgia’s Agrobiodiversity Project. Project: # 00037324. Unpublished Mid-Term
Evaluation Report, Global Environment Facility, World Bank, Washington,
DC, USA.
Mittermeier, R.A., Myers, N., Robles Gil, P. and Mittermeier, C.G. (1999) Hotspots:
Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Threatened Ecosystems. Cemex, Mexico.
Website
www.elkana.org.ge
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
SECTION 4 – PROMOTING LANDRACE USE
26. New Markets and Supply Chains for Scottish
Bere Barley
Peter Martin, John Wishart, Arthur Cromarty and Xianmin Chang¹
¹ Agronomy Institute, Orkney College UHI Millennium Institute, Kirkwall,
Orkney, KW15 1LX, Scotland, UK. E-mail Peter.Martin@orkney.uhi.ac.uk
26.1 Introduction
The Agronomy Institute (AI) for Northern Temperate Crops is
involved in developing new crops for the Highlands and Islands
of Scotland and identified several possibilities in a market-led
study in 2002. One of these was bere; a barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
landrace which was still being grown in Orkney. Bere was selected
because of its traditional association with the area and its potential
for niche market commercialization. This was considered to be
high because it was already being grown to supply a small market
for meal (flour) and had been used in the past for beer and whisky
production. Continued commercial growing of bere was also very
desirable for cultural reasons and for it to remain a productive
component of the local farming system, providing it with a base
for in situ conservation.
To commercialize bere, several key tasks would need to be
undertaken:
• Documentation of the history and uses of bere to help identify
new markets and provide information for growing the crop and
marketing bere products
• A study of farmer knowledge about the crop to provide initial
guidelines for growing bere and to identify priorities for
agronomy research
• An agronomy research programme to investigate constraints
identified by farmers and support commercial production
• Characterization of the unprocessed and processed grain to help
new product development
• Identification of new bere products with end-users and the
development of supply chains to provide them with bere
• Obtaining funding for the above activities.
The following sections summarize progress made by AI with the
above tasks since 2002.
251
252
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
26.2 A history of bere
Bere is a very old barley landrace and is one of very few which is
still grown in the UK (Scholten et al. 2007). Most modern barley
is grown for malting or animal feed but bere is unique amongst
UK barley in being grown for milling and, in Orkney, bere meal
(flour) is still used in a few bakery products such as bread, biscuits
and bannocks (a type of scone). Although the market for bere is
small, numerous historical references show that it once played an
important role in the economy of the Highlands and Islands.
The origins of bere are obscure and it is not clear when or where
the crop was first grown. Historical accounts refer to bere as “Bygge”
or “Big” which probably originated from “Bygg”, the Old Norse
for barley, suggesting that bere, or an early form of it, may have
been introduced to the UK by the Vikings (Jarman 1996). One of the
earliest written references to bere comes from Fitzherbert’s 1523 Boke
of Husbandry where it is described as having “small cornes and lyttle
flour”. Bere was also referred to as Scots Bere or simply ‘corn’ and
in the 19th century and early part of the 20th century several types
– Common, Black Four-row, Buchan, Victoria and Winter White
Bere – were still available or referred to (Pringle 1874; Wright et al.
2002). How these types are related to today’s bere is not known,
but Buchan Bere was most suited to Orkney (Pringle 1874).
Bere has been intimately associated with Orkney for hundreds,
possibly thousands, of years. It was a versatile crop which provided
meal for baking, malt for brewing and distilling and straw for
animal bedding and thatching (Newman 2006) and was often used
for paying land rents. It was also an important Orkney export
(Thompson 2001). Bere was of considerable economic importance
in Scotland’s Western Isles during the 18th and 19th centuries when
large quantities were supplied to the Campbeltown distilleries (Pacy
1873; Glen 1970; Barbour, 1997). This may have been encouraged
by the lower tax on bere malt than barley malt because of its lower
alcohol yield during distillation. In the 18th century, Scotland’s
celebrated national poet, Robert Burns, mentioned bere (which he
called “bear”) in several poems – his poem ‘Scotch Drink’ refers
to its use in whisky while ‘Bannocks O’ Bear Meal’ refers to the
bannocks which are still made in Orkney from bere.
Bere was also grown more widely in the UK and has been
equated with Haidd Garw or ‘coarse barley’ which was grown on
upland soils in Wales (Hunter 1952). Significant areas were grown
in Ireland in the 1800s (Lewis 1837) and the improved variety,
Victoria Bere, originated from a selection made in Belfast Botanic
Gardens in 1836 (Lawson & Son 1852). Bere was taken to North
America, where European settlers on the east coast found that bere
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
from Scotland grew better than two-rowed varieties (Briggs 1978)
and a question about Bere is included on the 1848 Canadian census
form (AllCensusRecords 2007), and probably reflects transport of
the crop to Canada by Scottish settlers.
There is little information tracing the decline in the cultivation of
bere in the Highlands and Islands. Ellis (2002) suggested this may
have started with the agricultural improvements of the 18th and 19th
centuries which included liming, allowing the use of less acid-tolerant,
but higher-yielding varieties than bere. In Orkney, the decline coincided
with a change in farming as large areas of grass were established for beef
production which expanded around the middle of the 1800s (Thompson
2001). Barley books from Orkney’s Highland Park distillery recorded
the last purchase of bere in 1925. By the end of the 20th century, only
about 5-15 ha of bere were grown in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness
(Jarman 1996), but it is also still grown by crofters on North Uist,
Benbecula, South Uist and Barra in the Western Isles (Scholten et al.
2007). In Orkney, its recent survival in commercial production is largely
because of the outlet for bere meal provided by Barony Mills. Other
recent commercial products made from bere include a single batch of
whisky distilled at Edradour Distillery in 1986 for Michel Couvreur
(Martin and Chang 2008) and a limited-edition beer produced by
Orkney Brewery in 1990. A tradition of using Bere for making ‘home
brew’ (beer) still survives in parts of Orkney.
Although bere is probably the longest cultivated type of barley
grown in the UK, little has been documented about its agronomic
characteristics. It is a six-row barley (Jarman 1996), but it has also
been described as irregularly four-rowed (Percival 1910). It is
susceptible to frost damage and so is planted late in the spring,
after which it makes rapid growth and, although traditionally
one of the last crops sown, it was usually the first to be harvested
(Wright et al. 2002). As a result of its rapid growth (Percival 1910), it
has been described as a 90-day variety (Jarman 1996). It is reputed
to be tolerant to acidic soils (Wright et al. 2002) but also grows on
more alkaline sandy coastal soils (machair) derived from beach
sands (O’Dell 1935; Scholten et al. 2007). Bere is susceptible to both
powdery mildew disease (Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei) (Wright et
al. 2002) and leaf stripe (Pyrenophora graminea) (Cockerel 2002) and
has weak straw (Peachey 1951) making it very susceptible to lodging.
From the above review of the history and uses of bere, the
following have been of particular importance for AI’s market
development work:
• It was very valuable to find a well-documented connection
between bere and the early whisky industry on the west coast
of Scotland (Pacy 1873). The Scottish whisky industry is one of
253
254
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
very high value (exports worth almost £2.5 billion pounds in
2007) and is based on about 125 distilleries ranging considerably
in size. Product differentiation is an important marketing tool
and niche products are frequently made, particularly by smaller
distilleries which can produce low-volume production runs.
The concept of a niche whisky produced from bere, therefore,
seemed very promising.
• References to bere in the poems of Robert Burns are potentially
very valuable for marketing because of the esteem in which he
is held in Scotland and other parts of the world. They also help
to emphasize the importance of bere in Scotland’s day-to-day
life in the past.
• The linking of bere to a possible Viking introduction strengthened
its connection with Orkney and Shetland which were settled by
the Norse at the end of the 8th century and ruled by them until
1468 when Orkney and Shetland became part of Scotland. In the
future, this link could be a valuable marketing tool.
26.3 Farmer knowledge of the crop
To identify recent farming practices with bere and priority research
areas, seven farmers who had grown bere in Orkney since the 1980s
were interviewed in 2003 about the practices they had used and the
main problems encountered with the crop. Although the sample
was small, it included most Orkney farmers who had recently
grown bere.
Most farmers (five) used a seed rate of 157 kg/ha although this
ranged from about 138 to 184 kg/ha. The most recent and reliable
grain yields came from fields grown for Barony Mills. From 1998 to
2003, yields from a 1.6 ha field in Birsay ranged from 2.8 to 3.8 t/ha
at 15% moisture content and averaged 3.1 t/ha. This was achieved
with few inputs – in only one year was herbicide used, no fungicide
was applied and only low levels of fertilizer were used (N, P and
K at 34, 68 and 68 kg/ha, respectively). A second field in the same
area yielded an average of 2.7 t/ha from 1999 to 2001 and a third
field yielded 3.1 t/ha in 2002. None of the other farmers had used
higher levels of fertilizer on bere and some had grown it without
fertilizer or without nitrogen. The only agrochemicals used were
herbicide (one grower) and growth regulator (one grower). When
questioned about pests and diseases, only one grower had noticed
any (powdery mildew) and none thought these a constraint. Most
(four) had followed the traditional practice of planting bere around
the middle of May but one contractor had planted two fields earlier,
in late April and early May.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
The main problems mentioned with bere were crop lodging (four
farmers) and low yields (three). Apart from believing that lodging
contributed to low yields, farmers stressed that it made harvesting
more difficult and time-consuming. They (four) also mentioned the
long, irritating awns which made it unpleasant to work with, but
recognized that the introduction of combines for harvesting had
made this less of a problem.
Increasing yield was identified as the main priority for agronomy
research, since this (2.8-3.8 t/ha) was much lower than that obtained
in Orkney with modern barley (ca. 6.0 t/ha) receiving inputs like
herbicide, fungicide and fertilizer. Farmers would only grow bere
if it gave comparable financial returns to modern barley and yields
indicated this would require a price about twice that of modern barley.
It was considered unlikely that new end-users would pay such a
high premium and therefore increasing bere yield was necessary to
make the crop more attractive to both growers and end-users. It was
also decided to investigate control of lodging as this would facilitate
harvesting. Although not identified by farmers as an issue, planting
date was also included in the research programme because most
farmers plant barley before the end of April, considerably earlier than
the traditional, mid-May date for bere.
26.4 Agronomy research results
The agronomy research programme started in 2002 and is still going
on. It initially focused on the effects of planting date, seed rate and
inputs such as fertilizer and fungicide on yield and the effect of
growth regulator on lodging.
Compared with the traditional mid-May planting date, earlier
planting (before the end of April) resulted in a substantial increase in
yield (ca. 18%) and 1000 grain weight (TGW), and this is now promoted
as an important cultural method for increasing the yield and quality of
bere. Early planting is also encouraged for malting because it results
in lower grain nitrogen and higher TGW (Conry and Dunne 2001), the
former being associated with a higher alcohol yield on fermentation and
the latter with a greater potential malt extract (Cochrane and Duffus
1983). It is uncertain what the benefits of mid-May planting would
have been in the past, but it might be related to bere’s susceptibility
to heavy, late frosts. Previously, these may have been more common,
and the possible loss of an early planted staple crop may have been
an unacceptably high risk for farmers in earlier times. Alternatively,
the ability of bere to produce a crop in a short time when planted late
– Walker (1812) mentions a crop which was ready for reaping after 85
days – may have allowed a better use of labour on other farm activities.
255
256
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Seed rate (between 130 and 190 kg/ha) did not have a significant
effect on yield. It is therefore currently recommended to use a seed
rate of 160 kg/ha for bere, giving a seed population of about 530
seeds/m².
Bere has not shown a large yield response to mineral fertilizer
and no benefit has been seen from applying more than about 50
kg/ha each of N, P and K. In the first year after ley, lower levels
of N are sufficient and care is needed because too much nitrogen
exacerbates lodging.
Fungicide and growth regulator treatments have often, but not
consistently, increased yields, usually in the region of 5-11% when
applied individually. In combination, they may increase yields by
15-22% but their use is not always cost-effective. Although growth
regulator has been shown to reduce bere straw length significantly,
it has not always prevented lodging, particularly when the weather
after ear emergence has been wet.
Economic analysis of a trial in 2005 which included fertilizer,
fungicide, growth regulator and planting date treatments, showed
that the single strategy giving the highest net profit was early
planting.
As a result of the agronomy research programme, recommendations
have been developed for Bere which rely on earlier planting, the use
of modest levels of fertilizer, and herbicide application between
growth stages 1.4 and 3.2. This has resulted in higher and less variable
yields and a higher-quality product. For example, compared with the
average farm yield in the farmer practices survey (3.2 t/ha), almost
20 ha of bere was grown in Orkney in 2007 with an average yield of
3.7 t/ha. The trend for increased prices of oil and farm inputs seen in
2007/8 may help to make low-input crops like bere a more attractive
option for those farmers who are receptive to growing them.
26.5 Characterization of the processed and unprocessed
grain
26.5.1
Analysis of minerals and vitamins in bere flour
Bere grown in Orkney in 2002 was ground into flour by Barony
Mills, a water-powered mill operated by the Birsay Heritage Trust.
The resulting wholemeal flour and white flour, obtained by sieving,
were analysed for vitamins and minerals by UKAS-accredited
laboratories (Theobald et al. 2006).
Calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc were
present in greater concentrations in wholemeal than in white bere
flour (Table 26.1), suggesting that they are located predominantly in
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
257
the outer layers of the grain. In contrast, concentrations of chloride,
copper, manganese, iodine and sulphur were similar in wholemeal
and white flours, suggesting that they are predominantly found in
the endosperm. Selenium and sodium were not detected.
Table 26.1. Mineral and vitamin content of bere wholemeal and white flours.
Minerals
Wholemeal
flour
White
flour
Vitamins
Wholemeal
flour
White
flour
Magnesium
(mg/100g)
110
80
Thiamine
(mg/100g)
0.50
0.52
Phosphorus
(mg/100g)
410
333
Riboflavin
(mg/100g)
0.06
0.05
Potassium
(mg/100g)
410
320
Niacin
(mg/100g)
0.50
0.52
Chloride
(mg/100g)
117
111
Tryptophan/60
(mg/100g)
2.5
2.3
Iron
(mg/100g)
6.1
5.6
Vitamin B6
(mg/100g)
0.22
0.21
Zinc
(mg/100g)
2.4
2.0
Total folates
(µg/100g)
107
105
Calcium
(mg/100g)
40
30
Pantothenic acid
(mg/100g)
1.0
1.0
Copper
(mg/100g)
0.59
0.55
Biotin
(µg/100g)
1.7
1.4
Sulphur
(mg/100g)
120
110
Vitamin E
(mg/100g)
0.51
0.45
Manganese
(mg/100g)
1.3
1.3
Iodine
(µg/100g)
60
60
The thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and tryptophan/60, vitamin B 6,
pantothenic acid and folate contents of wholemeal and white bere
flours were similar (Table 26.1). Concentrations of vitamin E and
biotin were slightly higher in wholemeal flours. As is the case for
other cereal flours, vitamin A (as retinol or β-carotene), vitamin B ,
¹²
vitamin C and vitamin D were not detected.
Knowledge of the nutrient profile of bere flours could be used to
incorporate them into food products aimed at having a beneficial
impact on the diet of specific target groups in the UK. For example,
bere flour has quite high levels of folate and so consumption of
bere products could contribute to the folate supplementation which
258
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
is currently recommended for women during the early stages of
pregnancy (Department of Health 1992). There could also be the
potential for developing functional foods based on bere. Although
bere flours are a source of minerals and vitamins, cooking is likely
to influence their nutrient profile and this would need investigation
before making health claims for bere products.
26.5.2
Baking properties of bere flour
The flours described in the previous section were used for baking
trials in which wholemeal or white bere flours were mixed,
respectively, with wholemeal or white wheat flours at inclusion
levels of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50%, using a standard recipe and
procedure. The final bread products were analysed for loaf height
and volume.
For wholemeal bread, these both decreased with increasing levels
of bere but for white bread this did not occur until 20% inclusion.
With both types of bread, crumb colour became darker as more bere
was added. The trials indicated that a commercially acceptable loaf
could be produced using white flour with up to 20% inclusion of
Bberere flour.
26.5.3
Malting characteristics of bere
Prior to using bere for brewing and distilling, samples were sent
for micro-malting. Two samples were micro-malted by Bairds Malt
in 2004 and showed high total nitrogen (1.90-1.95% dm) and low
predicted spirit yield (351-354 l/t). A third sample micro-malted
by Crisp Malting Group in 2005 also had high total nitrogen (2.18%
dm) and a low dry extract (283-286 l°/kg). Modern malting barley
varieties have low grain nitrogen (< 1.65%) which is associated
with high dry extract (about 310 l°/kg) and high alcohol yield on
distillation (about 410 l/t). Varieties like bere would not normally
be used because they increase the cost of alcohol production.
26.6 Development of bere products and supply chains
26.6.1
Bere beer
For the production of beer, bere malt was produced from Orkney
bere in 2005 and used for product development in 2005/6 by
Valhalla Brewery, Unst, Shetland. The manufactured malt was
considered to have “a unique balance of flavours, characterized
by malty, sour, sweet, astringent and dry notes” (B. Johnson, Crisp
Malting Group, 2007, personal communication). Valhalla Brewery
launched the beer, ‘Island Bere’, in 2006 using a recipe which
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
retained the characteristic bitterness of bere but did not allow this to
dominate the beer. Valhalla Brewery (www.valhallabrewery.co.uk)
markets its products with a strong Viking image and so its use of
bere, which was possibly introduced to the UK by Norse settlers
(Jarman 1996), is very appropriate.
26.6.2
Bere whisky
The Institute has been involved in two projects to develop bere
whisky. The first was with Isle of Arran Distillers in 2004 when 19
t of Orkney bere was malted and then distilled at the Lochranza
distillery on Arran. The new-make spirit was considered very
different on the nose compared with the main stream barley
variety Optic and “was not so sweet orangey / citrus” (G. Mitchell,
Lochranza Distillery, 2004, personal communication). The spirit
was stored in Bourbon casks and by May 2007 had taken on “a nice
fruity aroma, pears, apples and some citrus flavours. It also has a
nice floral appeal along with the vanilla odours from the wood”
(G. Mitchell, Lochranza Distillery, 2007, personal communication).
The second whisky project involved collaboration with
Bruichladdich distillery on Islay and a small number of growers
on Orkney and Islay. Within the project the Institute has organized a
supply chain for bere and in 2007 and 2008 supplied Bruichladdich
with 59 t and 68 t, respectively, of Orkney bere. Dunlossit Estate
on Islay supplied 18 t in 2007. The distillery will use the bere spirit
to develop specialist bere whiskies. The distillery considers the
quality of the spirit extremely good with an excellent texture “like
glycerine”, while on the nose the spirit is “fresh and fruity with
notes of lemsip, wild mint, rhubarb, pear drops and with cereal
notes underpinning the bouquet” (J. McEwan, Bruichladdich
Distillery, 2008, personal communication). Analysis of the financial
beneficiaries of the project indicated that there were many more than
those who grew the bere – in particular:
• Other farmers and contractors who provided services such as
grain drying, seed dressing, sowing, spraying and harvesting
• Suppliers of agricultural inputs
• Hauliers involved in grain and malt transport
• Maltsters and their employees
• Distillery staff.
The value of these extra payments was about 1.6 times that of
the purchase price of the grain, showing that the economic impact
of even relatively small commercialization projects with landraces
can have significant benefits for the wider community. This is
particularly the case with the bere whisky and beer projects which
involve remote island locations with small populations (Unst, Arran
259
260
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
and Islay had populations of 720, 5 058 and 3 457, respectively, in
2001), where there are limited opportunities for generating new
income but where most earnings are spent within the communities.
26.6.3
Development of a bere supply chain
To produce the quantities of grain required by Bruichladdich, AI
had to develop a supply chain for bere. The main components in
this are: i) the production of bere seed, ii) the commercial growing
of bere, and iii) the processing of grain after harvest.
Bere seed is produced by AI on fields where no other types of
barley have recently been grown. After harvest, it is dried to 14%
moisture content and stored in a dry, vermin-proof barn. It is then
cleaned to remove light grains and dressed with Raxil S (20 g/l
tebuconazole and 20 g/l triazoxide) to protect against seed-borne
diseases, particularly loose smut (Ustilago nuda) and barley leaf
stripe (Pyrenophora graminea). Samples of each year’s seed are sent
to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) where they
are tested for germination percentage and health and stored in
the germplasm collection under the Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme.
Apart from AI, a small number of Orkney farmers (three or
four per year) and Dunlossit Estate on Islay grow bere for the
Bruichladdich supply chain and these are provided with seed and
recommendations for growing the crop. At harvest, Orkney farmers
deliver their bere to the Institute which then dries and stores it
until it is sent for malting. This is necessary because few farmers
in Orkney have grain drying and storage facilities.
26.6.4
Discussion
The cost of producing alcohol from bere is approximately twice
that of using a modern malting variety because of the higher price
of bere grain and its lower spirit yield. Malting costs may also be
higher if the quantity of grain is less than the batch size of malting
bins. In remote areas like Orkney and Shetland, the transportation
costs of both grain and malt can be very high, particularly for the
small quantities used in new product development. As a result,
alcohol products from bere need to retail at higher prices than
those produced from modern varieties. For consumers to pay these
prices, marketing based on heritage may help, but most importantly,
the taste of these new products must be attractive and distinctive.
Although the initial indications are very promising, it will only be
after about eight to ten years from distillation that the quality of
the Bere whisky will be known because this is the typical minimum
maturation period for a malt whisky.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
It has not been a problem in Orkney to find a small number of
growers prepared to plant 1-3 ha each of bere per year because a
realistic price has been offered for the grain – approximately one
and a half times that of local feed barley. In addition, farmers have
the benefit of the straw for which there is a ready local market. With
straw yields of about 5 t/ha (fresh weight) this can add an additional
£85-200/ha to the crop’s value, depending on local availability. Most
farmers, however, are not interested in growing bere because it is
still considered a difficult crop to grow and farmers would only be
persuaded by a significantly higher price.
26.7 Research funding
Although AI has funded significant parts of this research itself,
there has been support for commercialization projects from the
regional development agencies and programmes mentioned in
the Acknowledgements section, indicating recognition of the
commercial potential of bere.
26.8 Conclusions
The conviction underpinning AI’s research and development work
with bere is that the long tradition of using bere for flour and malt
production indicates that these products have quality attributes
which should make them attractive for niche markets. AI is therefore
working to develop these markets so that bere can be grown
commercially on farms in Orkney and continue to make a useful
contribution to the farming system. This diversifies farm income and
also that of end-users like bakeries, breweries and distilleries and
creates employment across these sectors. Consumers also benefit
by having access to new or traditional products. It is likely that
the most effective way of retaining bere within the Orkney farming
system is to develop markets which offer a premium for it.
Through commercializing bere and marketing food and drink
products based upon it, opportunities have been created to raise
awareness (Martin and Chang 2007, 2008) about this landrace
amongst diverse groups – growers, end-users and consumers. For
many, this has been their first introduction to the term ‘landrace’
and so the commercialization process has provided a valuable public
relations opportunity to demonstrate the practical value of landraces
and the importance of conserving them.
As a result of the Institute’s work on developing beer, whisky and
grain markets for bere, the area dedicated to this crop increased from
5 ha in 2000 to about 30 ha in 2008. However, most of this area is
261
262
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
being grown for whisky and if this outlet ceased, there would again
be only about 5-10 ha of bere grown on Orkney. AI is, therefore,
still trying to expand the market for bere meal.
By providing farmers with markets for bere, the crop is also
being given an opportunity to continue to develop as a landrace
under the selection pressures of both today’s changing climate and
modern agricultural practices (e.g. mechanization and the use of
a low level of inputs). As such, the Institute’s work is probably
better described as focusing on ‘continued cultivation’ than ‘in situ
conservation’ and it must be expected that, over several years, this
is likely to result in the Institute’s bere diverging from the material
which was originally obtained in 2002. Since samples from each
year’s seed are stored with SASA, there will be an opportunity in
the future to investigate this.
Compared with growing modern barley varieties, there are
environmental benefits from growing bere because it is grown with
fewer inputs. In Orkney, agriculture is dominated by grassland
for livestock, and arable areas provide an important habitat for a
number of plant and animal species – fields of bere, therefore, add
visual diversity to the landscape and also help to increase on-farm
biodiversity.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Highlands and Islands Enterprise
(Research Challenge Fund) and the Leader + and HI Links
programmes for funding aspects of the work described in this
paper. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of the
British Nutrition Foundation, ADAS and RHM Technology to the
results presented and would particularly like to thank Barony
Mills, Valhalla Brewery, Isle of Arran Distillers, Bairds Malt, Crisp
Malting Group, Dunlossit Estate, Bruichladdich Distillery and JF
Groundwater Baker and Grocer for their collaboration in these
projects.
References
AllCensusRecords (2007) Questions asked in the 1848 census http://allcensusrecords.
com/canada/1848questions.shtml (accessed 27 July 2007)
Barbour, J. (1997) Crops grown in Kintyre around 1800 www.kintyremag.
co.uk/1997/11/11page3.html (accessed 7 May 2007)
Briggs, D.E. (1978) Barley. Chapman & Hall, London, UK.
Cochrane, M.P. and Duffus, C.M., (1983) Endosperm cell number in cultivars of
barley differing in grain weight. Annals of Applied Biology 102, 177-181.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Cockerel, V. (2002) Seed treatment according to need in Scotland: Barley Net
Blotch. Proceedings Crop Protection in Northern Britain 2002. SCRI, Dundee, UK.
pp. 121-126.
Conry, M.J. and Dunne, B. (2001) Influence of number and timing of fungicide
applications on the yield and quality of early and later-sown spring malting barley
grown in the south-east of Ireland. Journal of Agricultural Science 136, 159-167.
Department of Health (1992) Folic acid and the prevention of neural tube defects.
HMSO, London, UK.
Ellis, R.P. (2002) Barley crop development. SCRI Annual Report 2002/3, pp. 76-82.
Glen, I. (1970) A maker of illicit stills, www.celticmalts.com/journal.
asp?cat=66&hierarchy=0%7C4%7C9 (accessed 14 August 2008)
Hunter, H. (1952) The Barley Crop. Crosby Lockwood and Sons Ltd, London, UK.
Jarman, R.J. (1996) Bere barley – a living link with the 8th Century? Plant Variety
and Seeds 9, 191-197.
Lawson, P. & Son (1852) Synopsis of the vegetable products of Scotland in the Museum of the
Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew. Private Press of P. Lawson and Son, Edinburgh, UK.
Lewis, S. (1837) Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. S. Lewis & Co., London, UK.
Martin, P.J. and Chang, X. (2007) Bere and Beer. The Brewer & Distiller International 3(6), 29.
Martin, P.J. and Chang, X. (2008) Bere whisky – rediscovering the spirit of an old
barley. The Brewer & Distiller International 4(6), 41-43.
Newman, P. (2006) Thatch traditions in Orkney farm buildings www.orkney.gov.uk/
nqcontent.cfm?a_id=1355 (accessed 8 May 2007)
O’Dell, A.C. (1935) Geographical controls of agriculture in Orkney and Shetland.
Economic Geography 11, 1-19.
Pacy, J. (1873) Reminiscences of a Gauger. Tomlinsons and Whiles, Newark, UK.
Peachey, R.A. (1951) Cereal Varieties in Great Britain. Crosby Lockwood & Son Ltd,
London, UK.
Percival, J. (1910) Agricultural Botany – Theoretical & Practical, 4th edn. Duckworth
& Co., London, UK.
Pringle, R.O. (1874) On the Agriculture of the Islands of Orkney. Transactions of the
Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Neill & Company, Edinburgh, UK.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B. (2007) UK National Inventory of Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, www.grfa.org.uk/media_files/
publications_plant/pgrfa_full_report.doc (accessed 22 March 2007).
Theobald, H.E., Wishart, J.E., Martin, P.J., Buttriss, J.L. and French, J.H. (2006)
The nutritional properties of flours derived from Orkney grown bere barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.). Nutrition Bulletin 31, 8-14.
Thompson, W.P.L. (2001) The New History of Orkney, 2nd edn. Mercat Press,
Edinburgh, UK.
Walker, J. (1812) Early sowing. In: An Economical History of the Hebrides and Highlands
of Scotland, Vol I. Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, London, UK. pp. 199-202.
Wright, I.A., Dalziel, A.J.I., Ellis, R.P. and Hall, S.J.G. (2002) The Status of Traditional
Scottish Animal Breeds and Plant Varieties and the Implications for Biodiversity.
SEERAD, Edinburgh, UK.
263
264
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
27. The Origin and Special Cultivation Features
of the Northern Local Potato Strain ‘Puikula’
Antti Hannukkala¹
¹ MTT Plant Production Rovaniemi, Eteläranta 55, FIN-96300 Rovaniemi,
Finland. E-mail antti.hannukkala@mtt.fi
27.1 Characteristics of Puikula
‘Puikula‘ is an old local potato strain from the northern part of the
Nordic countries. It is late-maturing, and has long and strong stems
and small leaflets. The stems and white flowers contain anthocyanin
colour. The long, almost banana-shaped, tubers are white-skinned.
The flesh colour is bright yellow and the dry matter and starch
contents are high.
27.2 Origin
The first evidence of potato growing in Finland is from 1727 (Varis
2001). There are very few pieces of written information on ‘varieties’
used from that time. However, it is known that during the 1770s
in Sweden a variety which closely resembled the modern form
of ‘Puikula‘ was cultivated. According to the descriptions of that
time the strain had many names, one of them was ‘French‘. So it is
believed that the Puikula was brought to Sweden from France and
from Sweden further to Finland.
The potato blight, the disease that Puikula is very sensitive to,
came to Europe in 1840s. As a consequence, Puikula vanished from
cultivation in southern Sweden due to high infection pressure of
potato blight. However, the cultivation of this potato strain had
already spread towards the north. In the 1850s it was already
cultivated in the provinces of Västerbotten and Norrbotten and
from there it spread slowly to Finnish Lapland and across the Gulf
of Bothnia to the province of Central Ostrobothnia in Finland. In
the early decades of this century it was the oldest and the most
important variety in Lapland. In 2006 the cultivation of Puikula
covered about half of the commercial potato growing area in
Lapland.
27.3 The special features of cultivation in the north
The variety ‘Puikula‘ is a very late cultivar. Its dormancy mechanism
is so strong that it is almost impossible to sprout it during the
storage period in winter. This means that it has very good storing
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
properties, but requires a very long sprouting time in the spring
before planting. The proper time is 60 to 90 days compared with
other varieties, which need two to four weeks sprouting time in
the spring.
The early development of the plants in the summer is slow.
The stems and leaves must be almost fully developed before the
initiation of tubers can occur. Thus Puikula behaves as a typical
short-day variety in the long-day environment. On the other hand
it can utilize quite well the best growing period at the beginning of
August. Puikula‘s yield potential is high, but the growing season
in the north is always too short and therefore the tubers are always
harvested immature. Although the yield is low the immature
harvesting date gives the tubers their special taste, which is lost if
the tubers are fully mature.
The variety needs careful cultivation techniques, because it is
very sensitive to stress factors. A visible stress indicator at harvest
is the anthocyanin colouring of the tuber flesh. This can be caused
by such factors as poor weather during the growing season, too
short sprouting time in the spring or too heavy nitrogen fertilization.
27.4 The present status
In 1997 the ‘Puikula‘ grown in Lapland was registered as Lappland’s
Puikula in the European Union under the terms of Protected
Designation of Origin. This designation (PDO) can be assigned to
a product which has a fixed association with a geographical region,
and whose quality or characteristics are essentially or exclusively
sourced from a specific geographical area. The production of the
product must also take place in the region to which its name refers.
The PDO designation has drawn a lot of attention to this local potato
strain from the north and allowed it to become a popular landrace
product in both Finnish homes and professional kitchens.
References
Varis, E. (2001) The potato in Finland from past to the present. In: Veteläinen, M.
and Bennvid, I-B. (eds) Potatis i Norden. En beskriving av gamla potatissorter
bevarade hos Nordiska genbanken. Skrifter Nordiska Genbanken 39. CAL-förlaget
AB, Varberg, Sweden. 231 pp.
265
266
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
28. Farm Seed Opportunities: a Project to
Promote Landrace Use and Renew Biodiversity
1
2
2
3
Veronique Chable , Isabelle Goldringer , Julie Dawson , Riccardo Bocci ,
4
1
6
Edith Lammerts van Bueren , Estelle Serpolay , Juan Manuel González ,
6
5
7
8
Thais Valero , Thomas Levillain , Joost W. Van der Burg , Michel Pimbert ,
9
10
Silvio Pino and Chris Kik
¹ INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique), SAD Paysage, 65 rue
de Saint Brieuc, 35000 Rennes, France. E-mail Chable@rennes.inra.fr
² INRA UMR8120, 91190 Gif sur Yvette, France
³ AIAB (Associazione Italiana per l’Agricoltura Biologica) via di Casignano 25,
Scandicci, Florence, Italy
4
LBI (Louis Bolk Instituut), Hoofdstraat 24, NL-3972 LA Driebergen, The Netherlands
5
RSP (Réseau Semences Paysannes), Cazalens, 81600 Brens, France
6
RAS (Red Andaluza de Semillas ‘Cultivando Biodiversidad’) Japón, 8. 41020
Sevilla, Spain
7
PRI (Plant Research International), Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen,
The Netherlands
8
IEED (International Institute for Environment and Development), United Kingdom
9
IGSA (Istituto di genetica e sperimentazione agraria Nazareno Strampelli), via
Marconi, 1, 36045 Lonigo, Italy
10
CGN (Centre for Genetic Resources), PO Box 16, 6780 AA Wageningen, The
Netherlands
28.1 Introduction
Farm Seed Opportunities (FSO), a specific targeted research project in
the FP6 European programme (2007-2009), was conceived to support
the implementation of seed regulations on conservation varieties
(directive 98/95/EC and new directive 2008/62/EC for agricultural
species). For this purpose, FSO has been developing coherent definitions
of the different kinds of varieties cultivated in farm fields following a
survey and evaluation of practices at the national level. Even though
the project aims mainly at responding to the needs of European policy
makers, it will also significantly contribute to the recognition of the
role of farmers in conserving diversity through the use of landraces
and the breeding of new varieties. FSO took into account participatory
plant breeding (PPB) experiences for organic or low-input agriculture,
with the goal of proposing regulation scenarios that recognize and
encourage on-farm varietal innovation and selection.
Partners in the project included diverse stakeholders concerned
with the conservation and use of varieties that do not fit the DUS
(Distinction, Uniformity, and Stability) criteria of the current seed
regulations. Participants were researchers involved in organic
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
agriculture (FiBL and LBI), genetic resources (CGN, IGSA and INRA),
seed quality (PRI) and participatory plant breeding organizations
(IIED and WUR), organic farmers' organizations (AIAB) and seed
networks (RAS and RSP). The partners from IIED and WUR (WU,
PRI and CGN) have extensive experience, including policy research,
in developing countries.
28.2 Varieties, farmers and agriculture in Europe
28.2.1
Background
According to the dictionary, the word ‘variety’ means at the same
time ‘diversity’ and a part of this diversity. Both meanings can
be encountered within the field of agronomy and plant breeding.
Before modern plant breeding was established, landraces were
developed by farmers, with specific characteristics that made
them distinguishable from each other. Diverse local growing
environments, agronomic conditions and cultures made this
variation in landraces possible. Since 1900, as modern plant breeding
practices were increasingly adopted, these variable landraces were
gradually replaced by more uniform cultivars that often had higher
yields. The industrialization of agriculture has changed our vision
of fields and plants, for both scientists and farmers. Even if the F1
hybrids of maize did not produce substantial increases in yield
during the first three decades of the 20th century, the phenotypic
uniformity of the cultivars developed was recognized as progress
(Duvick 2001; Bonneuil 2007). The farmers living in the Corn Belt
of the USA appreciated uniformity for machine harvesting but
“furthermore, a field of corn in which all the plants are alike, each
with a single ear at the same height, is aesthetically pleasing, and this
appealed to many corn growers” (Crow 1998). The standardization
and homogenization of agricultural production, the increasing use
of chemical inputs and water, and the standardization of the market
are the main pillars of what we define as agricultural modernization.
Alongside these dominant conventional agricultural practices,
a different agriculture strongly connected to ‘terroir’ (a French
word that refers simultaneously to the soil, climate and cultural
values of an area) has been preserved and is now re-emerging in
Europe. This alternative agriculture is based on different varieties
from those of conventional agriculture, ones with strong local
adaptation. In effect, locally adapted varieties, old landraces and
mixed populations play a more important role in organic than
in conventional agriculture (Almekinders and Jongerden 2002).
In addition, quality aspects linked to specific regional or artisan
267
268
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
products are generally important in alternative agricultural systems,
and are often responsible for the preservation of local varieties.
The development of low-input or non-conventional agricultural
practices is also related to the diversification of public demands,
in particular for organic farming and local products. These
agricultural systems are based on varieties covering a wide range
of genetic states and categories, for which the criteria of stability
and homogeneity are not intrinsic qualities and are not necessarily
required. Landraces and local varieties are often involved in this
form of agriculture. Moreover, the shortcomings or unsuitability of
conventional varieties with respect to the needs of organic farming
has stimulated several PPB initiatives for organic farming, e.g. in
France and the Netherlands (Chable 2005; Lammerts van Bueren
et al. 2005; Desclaux 2005). PPB varieties can be bred from diverse
genetic resources using breeding methods that are in compliance
with the IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements) draft standards for organic plant breeding (IFOAM
2005). Their main characteristics are the ability to adapt and coevolve within the environment and with farmers’ practices and
needs. They are not necessarily bound to a geographical area and
the role of seed exchange in traditional agricultural practices has
been widely acknowledged (e.g. Almekinders et al. 2000; Berthaud
et al. 2001; Elias et al. 2001; Alvarez et al. 2005).
28.2.2
Case studies in Europe
FSO performed a survey of European initiatives that resulted in a
list of 68 initiatives in 17 European countries. Several other farmerdriven initiatives were unfortunately not included in our inventory,
as the information concerning these initiatives usually remained
local and in the national language, which often resulted in difficulties
in identifying these initiatives. Relatively few Eastern European
countries were identified, and while this may be partly due to the
reasons mentioned above, our discussions with key stakeholders
from four Eastern European countries made clear that there are
relatively few seed initiatives in this region (Osman and Chable 2009).
This may be due to the past system of collective agriculture during the
communist era and the transition to private ownership afterwards.
A primary objective of FSO is to get an overview of the diversity
of organizations and individuals involved in seed multiplication
and breeding of landraces in Europe. Our description was based
on their main seed activities. Thus, we distinguished the following
groups:
• ‘Seed Savers’, private initiatives with the aim of collecting and
conserving old local varieties in situ and promoting their use
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• ‘Seed producers’, generally small-scale seed companies, often
specialized in organic seed multiplication and conservation of
traditional varieties
• ‘Farmer breeders’, farmers who breed their own varieties, often
in collaboration with researchers in the framework of a PPB
programme (Lammerts van Bueren et al. 2005; Vaz Patto et al.
2007; Chable et al. 2008)
• ‘Biodynamic breeders’, private (often non-profit) initiatives run
by persons, mostly with an academic background (degree in plant
breeding) who aim at improving landraces and old varieties.
It is important to note that there are no strict boundaries among
these groups. Many initiatives belong to more than one group.
For example farmer breeders are sometimes also seed savers or
commercial producers of local varieties.
28.3 Evolution of the varieties on-farm
One important aim of FSO is to describe the varieties bred on-farm
and to analyse the mechanisms (farmers’ practices, natural selection)
that drive the evolution and adaptation of these varieties. FSO will
adapt or develop the appropriate criteria to describe these varieties in
the framework of the current regulations, but will also elaborate the
concepts of ‘peasant/farmers’ variety’ and ‘on-farm breeding’ which
are not yet taken into account in seed laws. The experimental data
produced by the FSO project will be used as a reference to recommend
modification of the current regulations and/or to suggest a new place
for these types of varieties alongside the current regulations.
The field trials of the FSO project are being conducted over three
years (2007 to 2009) by growing successive generations of various
varieties of wheat, maize, spinach and beans in a European network
(Italy, France, the Netherlands) on farms. Knowing that heterogeneity
within a variety is largely dependent on the mating system, we have
chosen allogamous and autogamous species to evaluate several ways
of managing the variability within varieties. Thirty farmers from
the three countries are involved in the experiment. Most of them
apply organic or biodynamic agricultural practices. The others are
engaged in low-input agriculture. Landraces, conservation varieties
or farmers’ varieties have been chosen depending on the species.
The experiment follows the breeding and seed production practices
of the farmers, according to their own objectives and within the
normal operation of their farms.
In the third year (2009), samples of the varieties grown in the
network will be phenotypically evaluated both on-farm and in a
common experiment. The evaluation data and the history of these
269
270
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
varieties will be analysed in relation to the associated farmers’
practices in order to understand their temporal evolution and
spatial differentiation. This will allow us to identify key factors
for the maintenance of genetic diversity and the development of
local adaptation (e.g. seed exchanges, environmental changes,
plot sizes, number of varieties per farm...). The link between the
level of heterogeneity of these landrace/conservation/farmers’
varieties and their potential for adaptation will be explored. Because
landraces have always been exchanged in the past and have an
intrinsic heterogeneity, they are expected to show more adaptive
flexibility when moved from their location of origin to a new
environment. In fact, very few cultivated species have remained
in their original area in our agricultural history.
Quality aspects of on-farm seed production are also considered.
Requirements for the respective seed categories have to be evaluated
with a view to maintaining the sustainability of this seed production
activity in terms of qualitative and sanitary standards. However,
there is insufficient factual knowledge available about on-farm seed
production. During the three years of on-farm experiments, specific
attention will be paid to different aspects of seed quality. Moreover,
surveys and evaluation of seed quality will be extended to other
PPB or farm seed production initiatives in the countries of the FSO
consortium. The conditions will be studied at various locations, and
recommendations will be developed for improving the situation and/
or proceeding under such conditions. These recommendations will
most likely include solutions currently known to organic farming
practitioners but as yet unrecognized in conventional seed production.
28.4 Identification of regulation needs
During the last century, plant breeding activities in public research
centres and private firms have led to the development of varieties
answering to the needs of agricultural modernization. Seed laws
established in this cultural framework aimed at increasing the use
of modern varieties and at the same time protecting farmers as
seed consumers. Today, current seed regulations conform to the
dominant concept of cultivated varieties and include the criteria of
Distinction, Uniformity, Stability (DUS) and Value for Cultivation
and Use (VCU) for arable crops.
The first legal mention of cultivated varieties in France is dated 1
August 1905, and was made by the ‘Répression des Fraudes’. In 1942,
the Permanent Technical Committee on Seeds (Comité Technique
Permanent des Semences), made up of seed industry representatives
and government scientists, determined the DUS criteria for defining
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
varieties listed in the official French seed catalogue. In 1966, the
European Community created the Common Catalogue. Any
commercialization, whether for sale or free distribution, is illegal for
varieties not listed in the national or European catalogues. Moreover,
only certified seed producers are allowed to sell seeds.
In 1998, for the first time, the European Directive 98/95/CE
mentions the essential need for ensuring the conservation of genetic
resources and the necessity of introducing a new catalogue with
different rules which would include varieties called ‘conservation
varieties’ which are threatened with genetic erosion. After ten years
of discussions, in 2008 the Commission released the first directive
specifically on conservation varieties (in June 2008 with the Directive
2008/62/CE), but only for certain agricultural species. Vegetables
and seed mixtures will be considered in two new separate directives
still in discussion in the Permanent Seed Committee.
Even if EU Member States recognize the limitations of the exclusive
use of DUS criteria, new regulations proposed for conservation
varieties restrict allowable varieties to those that fit the DUS criteria as
much as possible, and restrict their cultivation to a limited ‘region of
origin’. Landraces or any kind of local varieties become ‘conservation
varieties’. The term ‘conservation’ does not allow for the evolving
character of these varieties in the field. Since the beginning of the
negotiations, no one has considered that innovative varieties could
emerge from outside conventional seed systems.
The FSO project has identified several types of varieties, which
may need different rules for certification and protection. These
categories are defined in relation to their ability to meet DUS criteria,
the actors responsible for varietal development, the potential region
of diffusion for varieties, and the targeted agricultural systems. It
is possible to produce the following preliminary list:
• Modern varieties (DUS varieties), registered in the official
catalogue, which are mainly the product of formal breeding
programmes following the concept of wide adaptation
• Local or old varieties that could fit the recent European definition
of ‘conservation varieties’ and that could be registered in the new
catalogue specifically for these varieties. They will be maintained
by small-scale seed companies or breeders or farmers and will
have a local or regional diffusion
• Population varieties, heterogeneous PPB varieties, and local and
old varieties that could be distinct, but for which the criteria of
uniformity and stability can be verified for only a few characters
and which do not fit within the concept of ‘conservation varieties’
due to their wide diffusion. They will be particularly useful for
organic and low-input agriculture
271
272
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
• Other varieties from farmer, professional and amateur breeding
activities that will be continuously evolving with a variable
level of homogeneity; these will be exchanged according to the
willingness of the communities involved (farmers’ organizations,
associations), the definition of Farmers’ Rights (Art. 9 of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture) and collective use rights in Europe.
28.5 Conclusion
Besides providing scientific support to policy makers, the FSO project
is contributing to the recognition that plant breeding and the renewal
of crop biodiversity or plant genetic resources can again be connected
to farm production activities at a local level. Part of our inherited
cultivated diversity has been rediscovered through PPB experiences
on organic agriculture in Europe. This inheritance, which in recent
years has been mostly maintained in genetic resource banks, must
also be allowed to evolve on-farm (or in gardens) in order to keep
its relevance in the context of rapid climate change. In this context,
the efficiency of dynamic management for the maintenance of
genetic diversity and the development of local adaptation were also
demonstrated under experimental conditions (Goldringer et al. 2006).
An important part of the project is devoted to the integration
of scientific and traditional knowledge to develop on-farm
breeding methodologies, thus providing a basis for enhancing
communication among stakeholder groups as well as between these
groups and society at large. An important part of our activities is
to share experiences and strategies among scientists and farmers
from developed and developing countries. Since seed legislation
poses a challenge to farmers in developing countries where onfarm breeding is still a daily practice (Louwaars 2007), breeding
strategies will be compared in order to broaden seed laws at
the international level. Collaboration with non-governmental
organizations, collective seed organizations and farmers‘ rights
movements in Europe and developing countries will result in
recommendations for regulations that better meet the needs of
farmers throughout the world and improve food sovereignty.
Acknowledgements
This publication was financially supported by the European
Commission through the STREP project ‘Farm Seed Opportunities’,
contract no. 044345, under the 6th Framework Programme, priority
8.1, ‘Specific Support to Policies.’
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
References
Almekinders, C. J. M., de Boef W., and Engels J. (2000) Synthesis between crop
conservation and development. In: Almekinders, C. and de Boef, W. (eds)
Encouraging Diversity. The Conservation and Development of Plant Genetic Resources.
Intermediate Technology Publications, London, UK. pp. 330-338.
Almekinders, C. and Jongerden, J. (2002). On visions and new approaches. Case studies
of organisational forms in organic plant breeding and seed production. Working Paper
Technology and Agrarian Development, Wageningen University, Netherlands. pp.
30. www.sls.wau.nl/tad/research/projects/organicseeds/AlmJong.pdf.
Alvarez, N., Garine, E., Khasa, C., Dounias, E., Hoassaert-McKey, M. and McKey,
D. (2005) Farmer’s practices, metapopulation dynamics, and conservation of
agricultural biodiversity on-farm: a case study of sorghum among the Duupa
in Sub-Sahlian Cameroon. Biological Conservation 121, 533-543.
Berthaud, J., Clément, J.C., Emperaire L., Louette D., Pinton F., Sanou J. and Second,
G. (2001). The role of local level gene flow in enhancing and maintaining genetic
diversity. In: Cooper, H.D., Spillane, C. and Hodgkin, T. (eds) Broadening the
genetic diversity of crop production. CABI Publishing in association with FAO and
IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp. 81-103.
Bonneuil, C. (2007) Producing identity, industrializing purity. Elements for a cultural
history of genetics. In: Müller-Wille, S. and Rheinberger, H.-J. (eds) Cultural
History of Heredity, vol 4. MPIWG Preprint, Berlin, Germany.
Chable, V. (2005) Conserving and developing crop biodiversity. In: Bérard, L.,
Cegarra, M., Djama, M., Louafi, S., Marchenay, P., Roussel, B. and Verdeaux, F.
(eds) Biodiversity and Local Ecological Knowledge in France. Publisher Cemagref,
Cirad, Ifremer, Inr; Iddri, IFB, France. pp. 46-49.
Chable, V., Conseil, M., Serpolay, E. and Le Lagadec, F. (2008) Organic varieties for
cauliflowers and cabbages in Brittany: from genetic resources to participatory
plant breeding. Euphytica 164, 521-529. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10681008-9749-7
Crow, J.F. (1998) 90 years ago: the beginnings of hybrid maize. Genetics 148, 923-928.
Desclaux, D. (2005) Participatory plant breeding methods for organic cereals. In:
Lammerts van Bueren, E.T., Goldringer, I. and Østergård, H. (eds) Proceedings
of the COST SUSVAR/ECO-PB Work shop on Organic Plant Breeding Strategies and
the Use of Molecular Markers, Driebergen, The Netherlands. Louis Bolk Institute,
Driebergen, The Netherlands. 103 pp.
Duvick, D.N. (2001) Biotechnology in the 1930s: the development of hybrid maize.
Nature Reviews (2), 69,74.
Elias, M., McKey, D., Panaud, O. and Mc Anstett, R.T. (2001) Traditional management
of cassava morphological and genetic diversity by the Makushi Amerindians
(Guyana, South America): perspectives for on-farm conservation of crop genetic
resources. Euphytica, 120, 143-157.
Goldringer, I., Prouin, C., Rousset, M., Galic, N. and Bonnin, I. (2006) Rapid
differentiation of experimental populations of wheat for heading-time in
response to local climatic conditions. Annals of Botany 98, 805-817.
273
274
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
IFOAM (2005) D1 Plant Breeding Draft Standards www.ifoam.org/about_ifoam/
standards/norms/draft_standards/DraftPlantBreedingStandardsD1050729.pdf
Lammerts van Bueren, E.T., Struik, P.C. and Jacobsen, E. (2002) Ecological aspects in
organic farming and its consequences for an organic crop ideotype. Netherlands
Journal of Agricultural Science 50, 1-26.
Lammerts van Bueren, E.T., van Soest, L.J.M., de Groot, E.C., Boukema, I.W.
and Osman, A.M. (2005) Broadening the genetic base of onion to develop
better-adapted varieties for organic farming systems. Euphytica 146 (1-2),
125-132.
Louwaars, N. (2007) Seeds of confusion – The impact of policies in seed systems. PhD
Thesis University of Wageningen, The Netherlands
Osman, A. and Chable, V. (2009). Inventory of initiatives on seeds of landraces
in Europe. Journal of Agriculture and Environment for International Development
(Formerly Rivista di Agricoltura Subtropicale e Tropicale), 103, 1/2, January-June
2009, 95-130.
Vaz Patto, M.C., Moreira, P.M., Almeida, N., Satovic, Z. and Pego, S. (2007) Genetic
diversity evolution through participatory maize breeding in Portugal. Euphytica
161, 283-291.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
29. On-farm Conservation Portugal – Vaso Project –
a Long-term Conservation Programme
Pedro M.R. Mendes Moreira¹, Silas E. Pêgo² and Maria Carlota Vaz Patto³
¹ Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Sector de
Protecção Vegetal. E-mail pmoreira@esac.pt
² Instituto Nacional de Recursos Biológicos
³ Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
29.1 Introduction
The VASO (Sousa Valley) project began in 1984 with Dr Silas
Pêgo (Pêgo and Antunes 1997; Pêgo 2007) as a pilot project where
an ‘Integrated Philosophy’ approach was implemented on a
mountainous polycrop system in northwest Portugal. In contrast to
a ‘Productivist Philosophy’, the ‘Integrated Philosophy’ approach
considers agriculture as an holistic system where the rural farmer
(producer of high-quality products, genetic resources curator,
environmental agent for soil and water management, forest firefighter and cultural traditions keeper), local landraces (where coevolution with pests and diseases and also climatic changes is
expressed by strong GxE interaction) and breeding (maintaining the
quality while improving the quantity, so that local genetic resources
can be competitive and maintained at farmer level) should all be
considered and related. Here the farmer is considered as the most
important genetic resource to conserve and also to be where the
power for decision resides (Pêgo and Antunes 1997; Moreira 2006).
The VASO project implementation, methodologies and lessons learnt
for future insights are presented in this paper.
29.2 Implementation
An understanding of the importance of on-farm landrace
conservation led Silas Pêgo, in 1984, to a detailed survey of
farmers’ maize fields in one of the most fertile areas of the
northwest region of Portugal, the ‘Vale do Sousa’ region, as a
starting step for the VASO project (Pêgo and Antunes 1997).
Pêgo encountered a region characterized by small farms, with
scarce land availability due to a high demographic density, where
maize still played an important role. Maize hybrids were already
covering a considerable area, in comparison with other areas of
the country (in 1985, 25% versus 15% respectively), but he still
found an extensive number of traditional maize landraces being
cultivated in polycropping systems. To provide an incentive for
275
276
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
in situ conservation of these traditional maize landraces, Silas
Pêgo engaged the local farmers and their seeds in a participatory
maize breeding programme. By doing this, his goals were not
only to conserve but also to improve the social well-being of this
rural community by increasing farmers’ income through rising
yields from some of their own seeds. To start this programme,
three main choices had to be made: 1) the location that best
represented the region; 2) the farmers to work with; and 3) the
germplasm source to start from (Pêgo and Antunes 1997).
29.3 Location
The chosen area, in spite of being largely used for high-quality
food under a multi-crop system, was also the location of the
national maize production champion (18 t/ha, with a single cross
hybrid for feed, under mono-cropping). Both circumstances,
together with the availability of a basic amount of agro/
sociological/economics data previously collected by some
members of the original multidisciplinary team, assured the
breeder of a good crop adaptation and a thorough knowledge of
the region. Finally, but of extreme importance for the long-term
viability of this programme, a local elite farmers’ association
(CGAVS) agreed to be part of the project, by providing logistic
support to it.
29.4 The farmers
Choosing the right people to work with is also a major decision in an
on-farm project, since the system is supposed to be implemented along
with the farmer who will have the power of decision. The farmers
were selected based on their initial acceptance and enthusiasm
to join the project, thus assuring a good chance for success. With
careful respect for the local traditional agriculture, a tacit agreement
was made between the breeder and the farmers involved. While
the breeder would apply his breeding methodologies, the farmers
would continue a parallel programme with their own mass selection
criteria. With this agreement the breeder had to accept low-input
and intercropping characteristics, as well as to accept and respect
the local farmer as the decision maker. On the other hand, the farmer
was able to compare the effectiveness of the two breeding systems
(phenotypic recurrent and S2 lines recurrent selection). This allowed
the farmer to base his/her decisions on solid grounds. Finally, due
to the choice of locally adapted germplasm, diversity and quality
were considered as the priority traits.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
29.5 Germplasm
One of the first aims of the VASO project was the selection of a
regional open-pollinated variety (OPV), a pre-requisite of the
integrated philosophy option. This selection was done taking
into account the second class soils and stress conditions (e.g. high
aluminium content), medium nitrogen inputs, water availability,
flint type, bread making characteristics most preferred by the
farmers, and fitness to the traditional polycropping system (maize/
beans/forage). Two OPVs were selected as the starting populations:
• ‘Pigarro’ was an FAO 300 maturity landrace with white, flint
kernels and with high levels of root and stalk lodging. It was
characterized by having 18 to 28 average kernel row numbers, i.e.
strong fasciation expression, and its white colour was preferred
for the traditional bread (broa).
• ‘Amíudo’ was a yellow flint maize landrace, FAO 200, adapted
to stress conditions such as aluminium toxicity and water stress.
The VASO project was also the arena for on-farm conservation of
additional germplasm landraces such as: ‘Basto’, ‘Aljezur’, ‘Aljezudo’,
‘Castro Verde’, ‘Verdial de Aperrela’ and ‘Verdial de Cete’. In parallel
with the landraces approach, a synthetic population ‘Fandango’ (open
pollinated variety) was also included, which has been selected under
mass selection since 1985 (Moreira 2006; Moreira et al. 2006).
29.6 Methodology
The VASO project is a long-term case study of on-farm maize
landraces conservation by participatory breeding. In this project,
local maize landraces with quality for bread production –
‘Pigarro’ and ‘Amiúdo’ – were submitted to a participatory
population improvement programme that included yield, lodging
performance, pest and disease tolerance, and indirectly, adaptation
to climatic changes. The breeding approach was conducted based
on the concepts of quantitative genetics and three simultaneous
methodologies were applied in the farmers’ fields: phenotypic
recurrent selection (MS) and S2 lines recurrent (S2RS) selection
for ‘Pigarro’ and S1 lines recurrent selection (S1RS) for ‘Amiúdo’
(Pêgo and Antunes 1997). The procedure of passing through several
cycles of selection involved keeping samples of MS and S2RS or
S1RS lines in cold storage described below. The evaluation trials
of each method per se and their comparison during 20 years of
selection are described in Moreira et al. (2008) and Vaz Patto et
al. (2008) for ‘Pigarro’. In the case of ‘Amiúdo’, evaluation will be
done in the future. During the VASO project, some pre-breeding
methodologies were also developed (e.g., HUNTERS, Overlapping
277
278
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Index) (Moreira and Pêgo 2003; Moreira et al. 2006). These
methodologies are very useful for maize landraces’ selection for
on-farm conservation programmes.
29.7 Phenotypic recurrent selection (mass selection)
The phenotypic recurrent selection or mass selection (MS) (from
1984 until the present), included two-parent control (stratified
mass selection with parental control c = 1.0). This is an improved
extension of the mass selection procedure commonly used by
farmers (for one-parent control c = 0.5). In this case the farmer
was advised to conduct selection under a three-step sequence (A –
B – C). The first two steps (A and B) take place in the field and the
third one (C) at the storage facilities:
A. Immediately before pollen shedding, selection is performed for
the male parent by detasselling all the undesirable plants (weak
or pest and disease-susceptible, and plants that do not fit the
desirable ideotype)
B. Before harvest, besides selecting for the best ear size, the
plants are foot-kicked at their base (first visible internodes) to
evaluate their root and stalk quality. With this procedure, as an
indirect measurement, the pest and disease tolerance can be also
evaluated. In practical terms, if the plant breaks or lodges at an
angle of over 45º, it is eliminated. Prolific plants are preferably
selected
C. At the storage facilities, after harvest, selection is performed
separately for both normal and prolific ears and always includes
ear length, kernel row number, prolificacy, and the elimination
of damaged/diseased ears. The selected ears are finally shelled
and mixed together to form the next generation of seed. The
farmer selection pressure ranged from 1 to 5%.
29.8 Recurrent selection by S2 lines
S2 recurrent selection was applied to the chosen landraces
(‘Pigarro’ and ‘Amiúdo’) since it takes into consideration the
additive component of the genetic variance (3/2) (Hallauer 1992).
Nevertheless, while ‘Pigarro’ could be handled easily up to the
S2 stage, ‘Amiúdo’ exhibited very strong inbreeding depression,
making the yield tests on S2 lines impossible to assess. This
circumstance forced the breeder to substitute S2 lines with S1 lines
for the recurrent selection. Selection was performed by the breeder
and was organized in a three (‘Amiúdo’) or four (‘Pigarro’) season
scheme with three completed cycles:
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Season 1 - 1000 S0 plants were selected and selfed, from which
500 to 600 S1s were selected at harvest
Season 2 - 500 to 600 S1s were planted and selfed to obtain the S2
seed and at harvest the best 200 ears were selected
Season 3 - the selected S2s were submitted to a yield trial in
a randomized complete block design and tested for yield
performance, pest and disease tolerance, and stalk quality
Season 4 - using remnant S2 seed, the best 30 to 35 S2 lines (15
to 20% selection pressure) were planted and recombined
through controlled pollination to form the first cycle C1(S2)
seed. The same sequence was conducted until the third cycle
C3(S2) was completed.
29.9 Results and lessons learnt
From more than 20 years of these on-farm conservation/improvement
approaches some conclusions can be noted.
From both selection methods used on ‘Pigarro’, the VASO project
results suggest that mass selection is better than S2 Recurrent
Selection due to the following reasons: (a) mass selection is a
cheaper methodology, technically more accessible to farmers, which
is a great advantage in the establishment of on-farm conservation
programmes; (b) one cycle of selection can be completed each
summer, and in situ/on-farm conservation of the genetic diversity
is effective (Vaz Patto et al. 2008). This suggests its role as a back-up
system (complementary with ex situ) and a monitoring process for
effective on-farm conservation of diversity; (c) the lack of significant
yield increase is a disadvantage.
S2 recurrent selection, when applied to ‘Pigarro’, seems to be
more adapted for an on-station breeding programme where a
massive selfing effort is needed. Unexpectedly, this germplasm
showed very low inbreeding depression when going from S0 to
S2 lines. A reduction in fasciation expression was also noticed, i.e.
less variation in ear diameter and kernel row number and a greater
reduction in root and stalk lodging were observed. Besides being
a more complex and time-consuming approach (four seasons per
cycle of selection) when compared with MS, Moreira et al. (2008)
concluded that the S2RS yield decrease could be due to a decline in
fasciation expression or even to the selection procedures for stalk
and root lodging improvement. In order to clarify this situation,
more cycles of recurrent selection would be needed.
Molecular data from Vaz Patto et al. (2008) using 16 SSR on
three selection cycles (C0-84, C9-93, C20-04) of ‘Pigarro’ revealed
that no effective loss of genetic diversity had occurred during the
279
280
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
selective adaptation to the farmer’s needs and the regional growing
conditions. Variation among selection cycles represented only 7% of
the total molecular variation, indicating that a great proportion of
the genetic diversity is maintained in each selection cycle. Genetic
diversity has not been reduced from the ‘Pigarro’ bred before 1984
to those examples improved after 2004, but the genetic diversity
maintained is not exactly the same. Mass selection seems to be an
effective way to conserve diversity on farm.
The anthropological and sociological objective of participatory
breeding suggests that more attention should be given to: (a)
learning more about how plant breeding itself has been influencing
farm changes and agricultural systems; for example, is on-farm
plant breeding simply conventional plant breeding on farms, or is
it a whole different kind of plant breeding approach for the future?
(Powell 2000); (b) how on-farm conservation is managed to ensure
genetic diversity and breeding success; (c) the definition of ‘yield’
needs to be reconsidered and broadened to include the total yield of
the polycropping system and not just the yield of a single crop per
se (Pêgo and Antunes 1997; Powell 2000); and (d) it is important for
breeders to work with other people involved in the food production
‘chain’ such as traditional grain millers and bakers (Powell 2002).
The VASO project allowed the farmer and the breeder to
compare breeding methodologies in loco, i.e. decisions were based
on knowledge (Pêgo and Antunes 1997). The improvements
achieved on ear size (selection for big ears) led to the winning of
several trophies by the farmer at the ‘Sousa Valley Best Ear Annual
Contest’. This kind of initiative, supervised by the local Farmers’
Cooperative Association (Cooperativa Agrícola de Paredes) has not
only contributed to the recognition of the farmer by the community,
but has also attracted new farmers and new germplasm to this
programme, which could be identified and preserved on-farm
by the same approach (Moreira et al. 2008). An important aspect
which should not to be forgotten, on conserving diversity through
landrace production and generation of farmers’ varieties, is legal
protection. Current intellectual property rights do not protect
farmers developing their own varieties.
When compared with the literature on collaborative plant
breeding, the VASO project can be considered an outstanding
example as far as its duration is concerned (a continuous project
since 1984). Nevertheless, due to the successive agricultural policies
pursued by the European Community, this conservation project is
in danger because of the disappearing of smallholder farming as a
viable way of life in Portugal and the socio-economic ‘pull’ factors
that remove younger generations from the farm (Powell 2000; Vaz
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Patto et al. 2007). Stakeholders outside agriculture, e.g. the tourism
industry, could also be involved in rewarding farmers for their
conservation measures that offset the loss of biodiversity in the
agricultural landscape, securing tourism income especially in rural
tourism areas (e.g. through the quality of the gastronomic offerings).
Hybrid populations’ development could also contribute to yield
progress and to avoiding the collapse of some interesting germplasm.
This approach can be applicable in a rural development strategy if
farmers’ associations for specialties (e.g. maize bread) are willing to
pay the farmers an extra price due to the on-farm conservation and
improvement of these populations or even for these populations’
hybrids. This means that the apparently contradictory integrated
and producer philosophies have their specific niches of application
and some ‘hybrid’ philosophical adaptations will be preferred in
certain situations. This scenario is supported by enthusiastic results
from hybrid populations (Silas Pêgo, personal communication) that
could be of great importance to define heterotic groups that could
enhance the breeding efforts (Tracy and Chandler 2006).
The participatory plant breeding approach (PPB) can be
associated with in situ conservation of landraces, contributing to
their economically sustained presence in the farmers’ fields. It can
also contribute to define in situ/on-farm strategies that could help to
design better synthetic hybrid populations for a new generation of
low-input and organic farming adapted to environmental changes.
Our experience with the utilization of local landraces with
special quality traits suggests that there is a potential for economic
exploration under a rural development programme, where
specialties and traditional foods are the major output and where
the hybrid seed industry can also search for germplasm (according
to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture) being maintained in a co-evolutionary process of lowinput or sustainable organic farming.
Finally, lessons from the VASO project could help us to design
new on-farm conservation projects not only for the Portuguese
reality, but also for developing countries where adaptation to small
farmers’ needs (e.g. maize quality for food, traditions) are outside
the scope of multinational seed companies.
References
Hallauer, A.R. (1992) Recurrent selection in Maize. In: Janick J. (ed.) Plant breeding
reviews, vol 9. John Wiley & Sons, Inc, USA and Canada. pp. 115–177.
Moreira, P.M. (2006) Participatory maize breeding in Portugal. A Case Study. Acta
Agronomica Hungarica 54, 431-439.
281
282
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Moreira, P.M. and Pêgo, S. (2003) Pre-breeding evaluation of maize germplasm. The
case of a Portuguese open-pollinated variety. Abstracts of the Arnel R. Hallauer
International Symposium on Plant Breeding. Mexico City, Mexico, pp. 133-134.
Moreira, P.M., Pêgo, S., Vaz Patto, C. and Hallauer, A.R. (2006) Twenty years of
mass selection within the some degree fasciated Portuguese synthetic maize
variety ‘Fandango’. In: International Plant Breeding Symposium, Mexico City,
Mexico 20-25 Aug., 2006. 133pp.
Moreira, P.M., Vaz Patto, M.C., Pêgo, S.E. and Hallauer, A.R. (2008) Comparison of
selection methods on ‘Pigarro’, a Portuguese improved maize population with
fasciation expression. Euphytica 163:481–499 DOI 10.1007/s10681-008-9683-8.
Pêgo, S. (2007) Conservação dos Recursos Genéticos no Campo do Agricultor.
Workshop Biodiversidade em Sistemas Agrícolas e Florestais. 25-26 Oct., Oeiras,
Portugal.
Pêgo, S.E. and Antunes, M.P. (1997) Resistance or tolerance? Philosophy, may be
the answer. Proceedings of the XIX – Conference of the International Working Group
on Ostrinia. Guimarães, Portugal. pp. 303-341.
Powell, J. (2000) The Relationship Between Ideotypes, Knowledges and Practices in Plant
Breeding Among Farmers and Scientists. Society for Social Studies of Science (4S)
and European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST),
Vienna, Austria.
Powell, D. (2002) The Milling Landscape of Northwest Portugal, Master’s Thesis,
California State University Northridge, USA.
Tracy, W.F. and Chandler, M.A. (2006) The Historical and Biological Basis of the
Concept of Heterotic Patterns in Corn Belt Dent Maize. In: Lamkey, K.R. and
Lee, M. (eds) Plant Breeding: The Arnel R. Hallauer International Symposium.
Blackwell Publishing.
Vaz Patto, M.C., Moreira, P.M., Almeida, N., Satovic, Z. and Pêgo, S. (2008) Genetic
diversity evolution through participatory maize breeding in Portugal. Euphytica
161, 283-291.
Vaz Patto, M.C., Moreira, P.M., Carvalho, V. and Pêgo, S.E. (2007) Collecting maize
(Zea mays L. convar. mays) with potential technological ability for bread making
in Portugal. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54, 1555-1563.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
30. The Crab Apple Malus sylvestris – Basis for a
Delicious Fruit Tea
Monika Höfer
Julius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute
for Breeding Research on Horticultural and Fruit Crops, D-01326 Dresden,
Germany, Pillnitzer Platz 3a. E-mail: monika.hoefer@jki.bund.de
The wild apple species Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. belongs to the
Rosaceae family. It is insect-pollinated and quite a rare species. Wild
apple trees have expanded crowns and often look like bushes. They
can grow up to 10 m tall with trunk diameters of 24 - 45 cm and can
live 80 -100 years but sometimes even much longer. Owing to their
weak competitive ability, the wild apple exists mostly at the edge of
the forests, in farmland hedges or on very extreme, marginal sites.
Malus sylvestris is indifferent to soil type; wet edges of the forest are
preferred. The species has extremely high light requirements and
does not tolerate competitive pressure well, especially from beech
(Stephan et al. 2003).
Malus sylvestris is native in most European countries, spread over
Western and Central Europe and occurs in a scattered distribution
pattern as single individuals or in small groups. It is generally
a rare species in mixed hardwood forests. Hybridization with
cultivars grown for fruit production is supposed to be common,
making it very difficult to identify pure wild fruit trees. Individuals
with intermediate phenotypes are known to occur throughout the
European landscape.
Morphological characters are initially used for identification
purposes. The five main traits to characterize M. sylvestris are the
lack of hairiness of the undersides of leaves and all parts of the
flowers, the maximal fruit diameter of about 30 mm and the lack of
red skin colour of the fruits as well as the astringent taste. Genetic
analyses indicate that introgression of M. sylvestris into the M. x
domestica genepool has rarely or never occurred in the past (Coart
et al. 2003). The domesticated apple Malus x domestica is a hybrid
complex with the main progenitor M. sieversii native to Central Asia.
Any possible influence of M. sylvestris is thought to have been only
on cider apples.
Genetic resources of the wild apple are seriously endangered in
many countries: rare occurrence and a narrow genetic base cause
genetic drift due to the small numbers of mother trees and long
distances between adult trees (Wagner 1999). Natural regeneration
is not guaranteed and if it occurs it is endangered by grazing, and
hybridization with cultivated forms of apple is considered to be a
major obstacle. On the other side the living area is being decreased
283
284
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
by the intensification of agriculture and by the increase of forest
production, reducing hedges and limiting secondary trees. The
importance of this rare tree is not often appreciated.
The natural situation of this rare fruit tree species and its
occurrence as single individuals or in small groups restricts the
possibilities for implementing in situ conservation strategies. The
establishment of ex situ conservation seed orchards is the most
suitable and efficient conservation measure to undertake. Natural
regeneration should be supplemented by repatriation of seedlings
originating from seed orchards or controlled crossings. This method
extends the genetic base of regeneration, which is important for
future adaptability (Stephan et al. 2003). The importance of in situ
conservation measures is clearly indicated at a pan-European scale
(EUFORGEN 2005).
In the framework of model and demonstration actions on
genetic resources in Germany, supported by the Federal Agency
for Agriculture and Food, the project In situ Conservation of Malus
sylvestris in the East Ore Mountains was awarded. The aims are
(1) the preservation and sustainable use of the crab apple (Malus
sylvestris) in the East Ore Mountains and (2) the development of
a management plan using the East Ore Mountains as a model
to preserve the crab apple as a genetic resource in other areas of
Germany. The main project leader is the registered association
‘Grüne Liga Osterzgebirge’ supported by scientific consultation
with the Julius Kühn-Institute in Dresden-Pillnitz and the Saxon
state-owned enterprise ‘Sachsenforst’.
Why was the region of the East Ore Mountains located in the
south-east of Germany close to the German/ Czech border chosen
as a model? The domesticated apple was hardly ever cultivated in
the East Ore Mountains (Saxony) until the 20th century. Because of
the harsh climate at altitudes from 300 to 800 m, only well-adapted
cultivars could be planted. In old literature the ‘Borsdorfer’ apple
was mentioned. The ecology of this area is characterized by forest.
Typical for this region are the so-called ‘Steinrücken’, stone cairns
originating from the gleaning of rough stones to prepare agricultural
fields. These conditions have resulted in occurrences of wild apple
Malus sylvestris populations, and a low rate of hybridization is
assumed between M. sylvestris and M. x domestica. In the Saxon
dialect these mountains are called ‘Holzäppelgebirge’ (‘Crab Apple
Mountains’).
The project mentioned above is subdivided into four parts: (1)
field mapping with morphological and genetic evaluation, (2) the
elaboration of a management plan for conservation, (3) the testing
of possibilities for sustainable utilization and (4) public relations.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
For conservation purposes, it is of the greatest importance to
distinguish the true type of wild apple trees from cultivated and/
or hybrid forms. The importance of the hybridization process was
often underestimated by conservation biologists until recently. The
evaluation of the genetic structure of the population constitutes a
key element for the definition of a strategy for genetic conservation
of a given species.
Wild apple timber is of low economic value, it is less compact
and stable than comparable species (Wagner 1999). On a limited
scale the timber was and could be used for turnery and carving to
produce jewellery or accessories.
In prehistoric times the wild apples were used as dried fruits
for the winter time (Schweingruber 1989). Dried fruits were found
in the lake dwellings around Lake Constance. It is known from
the literature that the fruit skin was used for the preparation of
a fruit tea with antipyretic action (i.e. prevents or reduces high
temperatures) (Lohmann 1997). Publishing the crab apple project
in different newspapers of the East Ore Mountains and asking for
knowledge and stories about the crab apple resulted in a range of
information obtained, especially from older people. They knew from
their childhood that fruits of the crab apple were collected and dried
in the kitchen stove to prepare fruit tea to decrease fevers. The aim
of the project is to develop an efficient method of tea production to
establish a way of sustainable long-term utilization after the project
is finished, and to refresh and reactivate knowledge about the crab
apple and its uses.
In the beginning of the project many steps were carried out with
the help of volunteers. From the project database the positions of
the trees were located and described using GPS. The fruits were
collected paying attention especially to the right ripening time; the
seeds have to be brown. The date of harvesting fruits at the right
ripening time varied, depending on the altitude of the tree position.
Harvest is extended over the whole month of September. Most
farmlands and forests are in private ownership and it was necessary
to get the owners’ permission in advance for collecting fruits. After
harvest the fruits were sorted and only apples of the proper quality
were used. To have a sufficient amount of apples available, they were
stored for a short time in the refrigerator. After washing, the apples
were cut into slices of 2-3 mm by machine or by hand in cases when
private users would like to try this procedure.
The desiccation took place in a specialized company’s facilities
to ensure hygiene standards. After a pre-desiccation period at 65 °C
for two hours using infrared light the apples were finally desiccated
for a further four hours at 65 °C. During the desiccation process the
285
286
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
apple slices are placed on wire trays to guarantee air circulation. For
private use the desiccation could be done in the kitchen stove. Within
the project phase the tea is being offered in regional pharmacies or
restaurants to test public acceptance. For this reason the tea is packed
in 100 g bags and labelled with a project-designed logo.
Two recipes are recommended for making tea. For the fast
method use 20 g tea, put the tea in a tea pot, add 1 litre of boiling
water and steep for ten minutes. Remove the apple pieces from
the pot (if you have a strainer or infuser) or pour the liquid into
another vessel (a cup or a pot, with a strainer to catch any apple
pieces). The second method can be used especially in cases when
the user has a cold: let 15 g dried tea swell in 1 litre cold water over
night. Use the brew the next day, boil it for a moment and steep for
ten minutes. It smells heavenly during the brewing process. Again
remove the apple pieces from the pot or pour the liquid into another
vessel. A second infusion is possible for both procedures. Enjoy the
delicious crab apple tea!
Fruits of Malus sylvestris are characterized by respectable
amounts of vitamin C. A first investigation of different accessions
showed twice as much vitamin C on average in comparison with
the domesticated apple. Recently, detailed analyses were planned
to discover the vitamin C content found in tea of wild crab apples.
Further possibilities for the sustainable uses of Malus sylvestris
will be tested in the frame of the project, i.e. making a distillate,
producing ice cream or cider vinegar.
References
Coart, E., Vekemans, X., Smulders, M.J.M., Wagner, I., van Huylenbroeck, J., van
Bockstaele E. and Roldan-Ruiz, I. (2003) Genetic variation in the endangered
wild apple (Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill.) in Belgium as revealed by amplified
fragment length polymorphism and microsatellite markers. Molecular Ecology
12, 845-857.
EUFORGEN (2005) European Forest Genetic Resources Programme, www.ipgri.cgiar.
org/networks/euforgen.
Lohmann, M. (1997) Bäume und Sträucher. BLV, Munich, Germany.
Schweingruber, F.H. (1989) Wildäpfel und prähistorische Äpfel. Archaeo-Physika
8, 283-294.
Stephan, B.R., Wagner, I. and Kleinschmit, J. (2003) EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines
for genetic conservation and use Wild apple and pear (Malus sylvestris/ Pyrus
pyraster) International Plant Genetic Resourses Institute, Rome, Italy.
Wagner, I. (1999) Schutz und Nutzen von Wildobst – Probleme bei der direkten
Nutzung von Wildobstrelikten. Forstarchiv 70, 23-27.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Section 5 - National Policies
31. The European Seed Legislation on Conservation
Varieties
Franco Lorenzetti and Valeria Negri¹
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo
XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail slorenz@unipg.it
31.1 Establishing the context
The recent legislative developments at European level (i.e.
Commission Directive 2008/62/EC 20 June 2008) on seed production
and marketing have opened a new way to safeguard biodiversity of
interest for agriculture. The Directive considers several crops with
the exclusion of vegetables.
Although generally aimed “to ensure in situ conservation and the
sustainable use of plant genetic resources”, the Directive focuses on seed
production and marketing instead of biodiversity conservation per
se, as is evident from its title:
“providing for certain derogations for acceptance of agricultural
landraces and varieties which are naturally adapted to the local
and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion and for
marketing of seed and seed potatoes”.
Previous European seed regulation made it impossible to
commercialize landrace seed because of the requirements for
distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) needed to register
material to be commercialized and of the registration costs. The
national implementation of Directive 2008/62/EC is currently
a matter of active discussion across Europe. This paper aims at
contributing to this discussion.
The following concepts are considered to be fundamental by us as
well as by other authors (see Frese et al., Chapter 7 this volume) to
define decision criteria required to implement the Directive within
the Member States:
1. Agricultural landraces and varieties
2. Region of origin
3. Genetic erosion risk.
287
288
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
It should first be noted that:
• some definitions of the above-mentioned items are given
in the Directive text while others are not
• definitions given are not unanimously accepted across
PGR stakeholders (see Negri et al., Chapter 1 this volume)
• different terms are used in different national language
translations of 2008/62/EC (the English, French and
Italian versions were mainly considered here)
• in the English text different meaning is given to some
terms than is usually accepted in scientific literature.
What is described above is likely to generate a considerable amount
of different interpretations and consequently implementation
actions and resource assignments across Europe. With the hope of, at
least partially, overcoming these constraints a review of the abovementioned concepts was carried out on the base of bibliographic
records, documents produced in meetings and national regulations
(when known).
31.2 Agricultural landraces and varieties
The Directive 2008/62/EC (Art.2), in its English version, defines
the ‘landrace’ as “a set of populations or clones of a plant species which
are naturally adapted to the environmental conditions of their region.”
This definition corresponds to the definition of ‘ecotype’ as coded
by Turesson (1922) and usually accepted in scientific literature (cf.
Rieger et al. 1976) and not to the definition of landrace as recently
reviewed by different authors. However, it must be noted that
the Directive title clearly addresses ‘agricultural landraces’, so it
seems obvious that the above-mentioned definition considers only
cultivated populations. As a consequence, whether the national
translation of the title is ‘ecotype’ (as in the Italian translation) the
term should be understood as ‘agro-ecotype’.
In any case it must be stated that in recent publications the term
‘landrace’ is used in the above restricted sense (i.e. agro-ecotype),
in fact it has been defined as
“a dynamic population of a cultivated plant that has historical
origin, distinct identity and lacks formal crop improvement, as well
as often being genetically diverse, locally adapted and associated
with traditional farming systems” by Camacho Villa et al. (2006),
“a genetic variable population that has not been object of formal
crop improvement, is present in the specific area where it originated
through continued cultivation and is recognized by local farmers
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
as belonging to their own” for the Working Group of the Italian
Interregional Seed Project (PRIS2 2005-08) (Lorenzetti 2007), and
“(of a seed-propagated crop) a variable population, which is
identifiable and usually has a local name. It lacks ‘formal’ crop
improvement, is characterized by a specific adaptation to the
environmental conditions of the area of cultivation (tolerant to the
biotic and abiotic stresses of that area) and is associated with the
traditional uses, knowledge, habits, dialects, and celebrations of the
people who developed and continue to grow it”.
This definition which combines other definitions (Brush 1992;
Papa 1996; Asfaw 2000; Louette 2000; Negri 2005; Camacho Villa et
al. 2006), was proposed and accepted at the Second Meeting of the
On-farm Conservation and Management Task Force of ECPGR (19-20
June 2006, Stegelitz, Germany) (Del Greco et al. 2007; see also www.
ecpgr.cgiar.org/Networks/Insitu_onfarm/OnfarmTF_intro.htm)
The two latter definitions emphasize the aspects of a longstanding, unbroken and active management of landraces in a specific
human context (Frese et al., Chapter 7 this volume). In order to
develop sound national implementation of the above-mentioned
EC Directive, we would recommend using the two latter definitions
because they offer a certain number of advantages from biological,
cultural and practical points of view:
i) From a biological point of view, landraces, defined as above, are
understood as populations that are adapted to the local environment.
Continued use and maintenance over time would not have occurred
if a landrace did not show adaptive traits. In other words adaptation
to the specific local environment is proven by evidence.
ii) The two definitions give high consideration to cultural heritage,
fulfilling the requests of many recent papers and international
documents. Linking both biology and cultural diversity they also
acknowledge that both are continuously evolving. Just as genetic
diversity evolves in response to environmental pressures, human
culture (new techniques, new uses and new products, as well as
new traditions, habits or ways of speaking) also evolves based
on the experience and knowledge of a certain landrace crop that
farmers gained over centuries of cultivation (see for example
Torricelli et al., Chapter 18 this volume).
iii) Lastly, from a practical point of view, the two latter definitions also:
• open the way for a recognition of farmers' rights and favour
their protection
• support the development of local economies based on landraces
favouring their conservation and commercialization
289
290
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
• being more restrictive, limit the number of landraces to be
registered (which in turn facilitates the practical operability
of the Directive provisions ) and
• better satisfy the CD 2008/62/EC Art. 8 dictates, which
require the indication of the region in which the variety has
historically been grown and to which it is naturally adapted.
The problem of how to define the term ‘landrace’ for vegetatively
propagated crops has also been addressed. They are often understood
as genetically homogeneous populations (i.e. composed by the same
genotype). However, clonal selection in crops such as Vitis vinifera and
Olea europaea extensively carried out from the last century up until
now, shows that they are not really genetically homogeneous (i.e. a
single clone). For example in the ‘Sagrantino di Montefalco’ landrace,
one of the five vine landraces of Umbria, morphological diversity
exists so that four clones are registered. At the molecular level, Fornek
et al. (2003) assessed genetic variation within V. vinifera cv. Pinot noir.
They could then be considered as landraces as defined above.
About the term ‘variety’, it must be taken into account that the
European legislation already defined it in Regulation 2100/94
(Art. 5 part II) on Community plant variety rights (27 July 1994)
and in the same way the term is understood by the plant breeding
and seed multiplication community, i.e. as a “plant grouping within
a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which grouping,…,
can be i) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from
a given genotype or combination of genotypes, ii) distinguished from
any other plant grouping by the expression of at least one of the said
characteristics and iii) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability
for being propagated unchanged” [cf. also Glossary of Crops Science
Terms (1992) and UPOV Convention (Art. 1 vi)].
If previous legislation has to be considered as binding, in
implementing the Directive 2008/62/EC at national level, we
should refer to this concept and consider only the obsolete varieties
which are not listed in the common catalogue and/or are not
protected by the Community plant variety rights (2008/62/EC Art.
6) any more. The same conclusion was reached by the Farm Seed
Opportunity project funded by PF6 (V. Chable, pers. comm.) which
also has among its tasks to provide practical recommendations for
the decision-making processes relating to the market release of seeds
of landraces, conservation varieties and special ‘amateur’ varieties.
However, it is important that the Directive includes varieties
among the materials that can be commercialized under a derogation
regime because quite a number of them are likely to disappear from
local markets in a few years due to the seed market competition,
as the Italian experience shows (Bravi et al. 2002).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
31.3 Region of origin
Regarding the definition of ‘region of origin’ the CD 2008/62/EC Art.
8 says that: “When a Member State accepts a conservation variety, it shall
identify the region or regions in which the variety has historically been
grown and to which it is naturally adapted hereinafter ‘region of origin’”
It should be noted first that the pivotal verbs in this sentence are
in the present tense or appear to give a sense of continuity from
the past to the present. The same is true for the French, German,
Spanish and Italian versions of the Directive. The Directive seems
then to refer only to populations currently being cultivated.
Strictly interpreting it, registration and commercialization of
accessions stored in genebanks is not foreseen. The request of
many stakeholders to register and commercialize accessions stored
in genebanks (the great part of the diversity still present in many
countries) remains unanswered, although at least some wellknown landraces or obsolete varieties that are well documented
for their past biological and/or economic value would be worth
taking out from storage.
Second, the ‘region of origin’ appears to be understood as the
region where a conservation variety was developed and/or grown
over a sufficient period of time to leave a trace in documents or to
be borne in the minds of people.
Contrary to extant landraces for which adaptation to the specific
local environment is proven by their present cultivation, Member
States may face problems in registering landraces and varieties
maintained in genebanks because of i) the need to ascertain their
adaptation to the environment, and ii) the need to ascertain their
existence by historical records:
i) The adaptation of a discontinued conservation variety to a
particular region (presumably its region of origin) has to be
proved in orthogonal multi-location field trials (whereby one
of the locations has to be situated within the probable region of
origin), each including comparisons with different varieties.
ii) The link between a certain conservation variety and the history
of the territory should be ascertained by documents present in
archives, farm registers, grey literature (e.g. theses, local reports,
and local technical bulletins), seed catalogues, etc. However, in
some cases, the memory of old people of the community can be
sufficient (especially when in their words a sense of property is
evident).
The identification of the region of origin should be a task of the
Local Authorities (see also the Italian case in Lorenzetti et al., Chapter
18 this volume). This could be carried out by a bio-geographical
recognition, as is already done for Protected Geographical Indication
291
292
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
(PGI) or Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products. For large
areas the proposals could be made by single states or by more states
in association when the region of origin is located in more than one
Member State.
31.4 Genetic erosion risk
To be ‘under threat of genetic erosion’, defined by the CD 2008/62/
EC as “Loss of genetic diversity between and within populations or
varieties of the same species over time, or reduction of the genetic basis
of a species due to human intervention or environmental change”, is the
condition for a conservation variety to be included in the national
catalogues of conservation varieties.
The concept of genetic erosion can be seen from different
standpoints, however it is generally understood in the sense of the
Directive as “diversity loss on the level of varieties or species” (Hammer
2004; Gepts 2006) or as “the loss of genetic diversity, including the loss
of individual genes, and the loss of particular combinations of genes (or
gene complexes) such as those manifested in locally adapted landraces
of domesticated animals or plants adapted to the natural environment
in which they originated. The term genetic erosion is sometimes used in
a narrow sense, such as for the loss of alleles or genes, as well as more
broadly, referring to the loss of varieties or even species”(Wikipedia).
To implement national law, regulations and administrative
provisions to comply with the CD 2008/62/EC, it is necessary to
assess and attentively evaluate the threat of genetic erosion.
The level of threat should be quantified for each candidate
conservation variety. Not many studies are available concerning
the quantification of the level of threat (see Negri et al., Chapter
1 this volume), in addition, the estimate of diversity loss may
require different criteria in relation to the species/population, the
environment and the interaction between the species/population
and the environment (where environment is to be intended sensu
latu, including the ‘human environment’ because it is humans who
decide whether to maintain a landrace or not).
We are limiting our discussion to landraces which are still
cultivated, although accessions stored in genebanks (whether
they should be considered in the implementation of the Directive)
may also be subject to genetic erosion (especially during the
multiplication/regeneration procedures).
For the landraces maintained on-farm the risk of loss of genetic
variation should be evaluated both i) among and ii) within landrace
levels (i.e. the risk of losing a landrace and the risk of losing
variation within it, respectively):
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• Among landrace estimate of erosion risk (risk of losing a landrace).
The first logical step appears to be to compile national inventories
of landraces as a baseline to be used in assessment of the level
of threat. We know that landraces still exist in Europe and that
most of them probably are under threat, but their total number
per crop is generally unknown in each country. In absence
of such inventories it is impossible to estimate the risk of
genetic erosion over time. When on-farm landrace inventories
are compiled, an example concerning how to evaluate the
risk of a landrace loss could be the one proposed by Agenzia
Regionale per lo Sviluppo e l’Innovazione dell’Agricoltura del
Lazio (ARSIAL) Technical Committee for the Implementation
of the Lazio (Italy) Regional Law for the Safeguard of Agrobiodiversity (1 March 2000, n. 15). This is going to serve as a
prioritization tool to fund on-farm conservation of existing
landraces under the scheme set out by the above-mentioned
Regional law. Details concerning this model can be found in
Porfiri et al. (Chapter 10 this volume).
• Within landrace estimate of erosion risk. Recent studies have
shown that landraces are structured populations where farmers
maintain different sub-populations more or less connected by
gene flow, and where events of sub-population extinction and
recolonization are present (Louette 2000; Gautier et al. 2002;
Negri and Tosti, 2002; Lanteri et al. 2004; Tiranti and Negri 2007;
Negri et al. in press). Therefore the evaluation of the risk of losing
diversity within a landrace would require an initial assessment of
genetic diversity and population structure and of socio-economic
aspects that induce farmers to continue (or not) cultivation (i.e.
farmers’ age, motivations, income, etc.). In addition a periodical
monitoring of the above-mentioned traits appears to be required.
31.5 Conclusions
All of what is described above should only be valued within the
context of seed commercialization which the CD 2008/62/EC is
concerned with. It is unlikely that all plant genetic resources still
present in Europe can be preserved by the simple implementation
of the Directive. As a consequence the need actively to promote and
implement conservation activities remains a priority.
The CD 2008/62/EC does not specify the subject/s that can
promote the inclusion of a conservation variety in the national
register. In addition, its implementation at the national level appears
to be difficult today due to the general lack of data on points discussed
above.
293
294
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
In our opinion, a sort of bottom-up process should be activated,
whereby regional authorities and agencies will play a pivotal role.
In the first instance, they should make ready data on number of
conservation varieties, their region of origin and level of threat.
Second they should listen to the requests of people interested in their
commercialization. Third they should prepare a list of conservation
varieties that Member States will be called upon to register.
Acknowledgements
The discussion presented here was carried out in partial fulfilment
of our tasks within the AEGRO project (AGRI GEN RES 057
870/2004). Thanks are due to Dr L. Frese for useful discussions on
the matters considered in this article.
References
Asfaw, Z. (2000) The barleys of Ethiopia. In: Brush, S.B. (ed.) Genes in the field. Onfarm conservation of crop diversity, IPGRI, Rome, Italy/IDRC, Ottawa, Canada/
Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, USA. pp. 77-107.
Bravi, R., Negri, V., Porfiri, O. (2002) La salvaguardia della biodiversità e la
produzione delle sementi di specie ortive. Sementi Elette 4, 25-29.
Brush, S.B. (1992) Ethnoecology, biodiversity and modernization in Andean potato
agriculture. Journal of Ethnobiology 12, 161-185.
Camacho Villa, T.C., Maxted, N., Scholten, M. and Ford-Lloyd, B. (2006) Defining
and identifying crop landraces. Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and
Utilization 3, 373-384.
Commission Directive 2008/62/EC (20 June 2008) Official Journal of the European
Union L 162/13 (21.6.2008).
Crop Science Society of America (1992) Glossary of Crop Science terms. Madison,
WI, USA. 88pp.
Del Greco, A., Negri, V. and Maxted, N. (compilers) (2007) Report of a Task Force
on On-farm Conservation and Management. Second Meeting, 19-20 June 2006,
Stegelitz, Germany. Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.
Fornek, A., Konradi, J. and Blaich, R. (2003) A Genetic Variation Analysis of Vitis
vinifera cv. Pinot noir. In: Hajdu, E. and Borbás, É. (eds) Proc. VIIIth IC on Grape,
Acta Horticulture 603, 167-170.
Gautier, P., Gouesnard, B., Dallard, J., Redaelli, R., Rebourg, C., Charcosset, A.
and Boyat, A. (2002) RFLP diversity and relationship among traditional maize
populations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 105, 91-99.
Gepts, P. (2006) Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilization: The
Accomplishments and Future of a Societal Insurance Policy. Crop Science 46,
2278-2292.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Hammer, K. (2004) Resolving the challenge posed by agrobiodiversity and plant genetic
resources - an attempt. Kassel University Press, Kassel, Germany. 184pp.
Harlan, J.R. (1975) Our vanishing genetic resources. Science 188, 618-621.
Lanteri, S., Saba, E., Cadinu, M., Mallica, G.M., Baghino, L. and Portis, E. (2004)
Amplified fragment length polymorphism for genetic diversity assessment in
globe artichoke. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 108, 1534-1544.
Lorenzetti, S. (2007) Valorizzazione di risorse genetiche autoctone di interesse
agrario di specie erbacee. Dal Seme, Ente Nazionale Sementi Elette 2, 38-42.
Louette, D. (2000) Traditional management of seed and genetic diversity: what is a
landrace? In Brush, S.B. (ed.). Genes in the field. On-farm conservation of crop diversity
IPGRI, Rome, Italy/IDRC, Ottawa, Canada/Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL,
USA. pp. 109-142.
Negri, V. (2005) Agro-Biodiversity Conservation In Europe: Ethical Issues. J. of
Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18 (1), 3-25.
Negri, V. (2007) Towards a more comprehensive definition of “landrace” than
currently published, Discussion. In: Del Greco, A., Negri, V. and Maxted, N.
(compilers) Report of a Task Force on On-farm Conservation and Management.
Second Meeting, 19-20 June 2006, Stegelitz, Germany. Bioversity International,
Rome, Italy. p. 20.
Negri, V. and Tosti, N. (2002) Phaseolus genetic diversity maintained on farm in
Central Italy. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 49, 511-520.
Negri, V., Castellini, G., Tiranti, B., Torricelli, R., Tosti, N. and Falcinelli, M. (in
press) Landraces are structured populations and should be maintained on
farm. Proc. of the 18th Eucarpia Genetic Resources Section Meeting, 23-26 May
2007, Piestany, Slovakia.
Papa, C. (1996). The ‘farre de Montelione’: landrace and representation. In: Padulosi,
S., Hammer, K. and Heller, J. (eds) Hulled Wheats. Promoting the Conservation and
Use of Underutilised and Neglected Crops. Proceedings of the First International
Workshop on Hulled Wheats, 21-22 July 1995, Castelvecchio Pascoli, Italy.
IPGRI. Rome. pp. 154-171.
Rieger, R., Michaellis, A. and Green, M.M. (1976) Glossary of Genetics and Cytogenetics.
Springer –Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, Germany and New York, USA. 647 pp.
Tiranti, B. and Negri, V. (2007) Selective micro-environmental effects play a role
in shaping genetic diversity and structure in a Phaseolus vulgaris L. landrace:
implications for on-farm conservation. Molecular Ecology 16, 4942-4955.
Turesson, G. (1922) The genotypical response of the plant species to the habitat.
Hereditas 3, 211.
295
296
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
32. National Policies and Support Systems for
Landrace Cultivation in Finland
Kaarina Paavilainen¹
¹ Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, Seed Certification, P.O.Box 111, FI – 32201
Loimaa, Finland. E-mail kaarina.paavilainen@evira.fi
32.1 Legal basis
According to the directives of the European Community, seed can
be allowed to be marketed only if it has been inspected, analysed
and officially certified. A variety can only be certified if it has been
taken from a list of the varieties officially accepted for certification,
commonly known as the National List of Varieties. A variety can be
accepted if it is distinct, stable and sufficiently uniform (DUS). The
variety must also be of satisfactory value for cultivation and use. The
value of a variety for cultivation or use shall be regarded as satisfactory
if, compared with other varieties accepted in the list, its qualities, taken
as a whole, offer a clear improvement for either cultivation or use.
Since at least some landraces do not meet the standards for
uniformity and in most cases they cannot be considered as an
improvement compared with the varieties already accepted in the
list, it has been difficult to include landraces in normal certification
schemes. However, in 1998 a new Council Directive (98/95/EC)
opened the possibility of establishing specific “conditions under
which seed may be marketed in relation to the conservation in situ and the
sustainable use of plant genetic resources”. The Parliament of Finland
included the idea in the Seed Trade Act of 2000 (728/2000) by
allowing the seed of landraces to be marketed uncertified in order
to conserve genetic diversity.
The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry issued two
statutes in 2000 and 2001 on the basis of the aforementioned act:
the Statute on Registration of Conservation Varieties (437/2001)
and the Statute on Seed Trade of Landraces of Cereal and Fodder
Plants (117/00). Registration of conservation varieties is a task of the
Finnish Food Safety Authority ‘Evira’, which decides on applications
and keeps the register of approved conservation varieties. Evira is
also the Designated Authority for seed certification in Finland and
it approves the seed lots of landraces for marketing.
32.2 Requirements for registration of a variety
A variety is considered eligible for registration as a conservation
variety if it is a landrace, an old commercial variety or an old
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
modified commercial variety. An old modified commercial variety
is a commercial variety which has changed so much due to crosspollination and/or environmental selection that it is distinct from
the original variety. The variety must have been grown on the
applicant’s premises for a considerable time (at least several decades)
or the applicant must have the consent of the original owner in
order to get the variety registered. The transfer of ownership from
old farmers to younger ones is encouraged, but the variety must
not be taken too far from the original area where it was developed.
A variety must also have a competent maintainer, which in most
cases is the holder of registration but could also be somebody else.
The Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira makes a modified
DUS-test (distinctness, uniformity and stability) for a conservation
variety for which an application has been made. The test is done
using the same methods as for the DUS-test required for national
listing and/or plant variety protection, but the testing period is only
one growing cycle. The requirements for distinctness, uniformity
and stability are not as strict as for modern varieties, but the variety
must be identifiable.
In order to be registered, a variety must not be on any National
List of Varieties or EU Common Catalogue of Varieties. It must
also not be protected with plant variety rights (PVR). If the listing
or PVR are no longer in force, the variety can be registered as a
conservation variety.
When a conservation variety is registered, it gets a name, which
must be acceptable using the same principles used for modern
varieties in the process of national listing and/or granting PVR.
This name is the unique identifier of the conservation variety and
it must be used whenever the variety is marketed for seed.
32.3 Requirements for marketing of seed
Of all the conservation varieties only landraces can be marketed as
seed: old commercial varieties and old modified commercial varieties
cannot. Seed production is also limited to species most commonly
and/or traditionally grown in Finland: oats (Avena sativa L.), barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.
emend. Fiori et Paol.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), white clover (T.
repens L.), alsike clover (T. hybridum L.), timothy (Phleum pratense L.),
meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.), smooth-stalked meadowgrass (Poa pratensis L.), cock’s foot (Dactylis glomerata L.), red fescue
(Festuca rubra L.), turnip for slash-and-burn cultivation (Brassica rapa
L. subsp. rapa), swede (B. napus L. var. napobrassica (L.) Rchb.), broad
bean (Vicia faba L.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.).
297
298
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
The process of seed testing is the same as for normal seed lots
which are certified. A field inspection is made on the farm by an
inspector, who has been authorized by Evira. After harvesting, an
authorized sampler takes a sample of the seed lot for laboratory
analyses. Analyses are made by Evira Seed Laboratory, which is the
only accredited seed laboratory in Finland. If the seed lot meets the
standards set for landrace seed, it can be approved for marketing
and Evira prints labels for the seed bags. The colour of the labels
is brown.
There are only two differences between quality standards set
for landrace seed lots and those for normal seed lots. First, the
minimum germination required for landraces is for most species
lower than for modern varieties. Second, some endangered or rare
weed species are not considered as impurities if they are present
in the seed lot. Otherwise a landrace seed lot has to meet all the
standards of certified seed. Also the prices of inspections and
analyses are the same as for normal seed lots.
Landrace seed lots can only be marketed in Finland, in contrast
to normal seed lots which can be marketed in the area of the whole
European Community without restrictions.
32.4 The state of affairs in 2008
By September 2008, 12 varieties had been registered as conservation
varieties in Finland. One variety is considered an old modified
commercial variety and the rest of the 11 varieties are landraces.
The most popular species are winter rye and red clover, both with
five registered landraces or varieties. In addition to these there
is also one barley landrace and one turnip landrace adapted for
slash-and-burn cultivation. Pending applications have been made
for another five landraces. One red clover landrace has been taken
on to the National List of Varieties, so it has been withdrawn from
the register of conservation varieties.
Six landraces of rye, red clover, barley and turnip have been
marketed for seed. Landrace seed is not of big importance in
the scale of the whole country, but locally it can be considered
meaningful, especially rye and red clover landraces which tend to
be more winter-hardy than modern varieties.
32.5 Subsidies for conservation varieties
Since year 2000 it has been possible to apply for subsidies for the
maintenance of a conservation variety. This subsidy is one type
of the environmental subsidies paid by the Finnish Ministry of
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Agriculture and Forestry. In order to get subsidies the maintainer
must grow a registered conservation variety on an area of at least
1 ha each year and make sure that there is always enough seed
in store for sowing an area of 2 ha. Farming methods used by the
maintainer must ensure that the variety is not mixed with modern
varieties and there will not be any undesirable cross-pollination.
The maintainer must also keep a record book on cultivation and
storing of the conservation variety. Maintenance is controlled by
Evira by field inspection and post-control testing, which are both
made once in five years.
In the autumn 2008 the yearly subsidy for the maintenance of a
conservation variety is 450 €. The subsidiary is paid for only 1 ha
per variety.
32.6 Future
In the spring of 2008 the European Commission issued a new directive
2008/62/EC providing for certain derogations for the acceptance of
agricultural landraces and varieties which are naturally adapted to
the local and regional conditions and threatened by genetic erosion
and for marketing of seed and seed potatoes of those landraces and
varieties. This directive shall be implemented in Member States by
June 2009. The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will
start preparing a new statute during autumn 2008.
299
300
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
33. The Italian Laws on Conservation Varieties
and the National Implementation of Commission
Directive 2008/62 EC
Franco Lorenzetti, Silvia Lorenzetti and Valeria Negri¹
¹ Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo
XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. E-mail slorenz@unipg.it
33.1 Introduction
The reference framework to discuss the Italian situation in the
field of conservation of local agricultural landraces and varieties
involves memoranda, international treaties, EU Directives, national
and regional laws.
The first main step towards actions on biodiversity was taken at
Rio de Janeiro in 1992 with the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)
whose principles have been developed in the FAO International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2001),
ratified in Italy by the Law 104/2004.
In Europe, Directive 98/95 EC has given the possibility “to establish
specific conditions to take into account new developments to commercialize
seeds for in situ conservation and sustainable utilization of phytogenetical
resources”. This possibility has stimulated a lively and long discussion
to define application rules that, after ten years and 12 drafts led to
the promulgation of the Commission Directive 2008/62 EC of June
2008 providing “derogations for acceptance of agricultural landraces and
varieties which are naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions
and threatened by genetic erosion and for marketing of seed and seed potatoes
of those landraces and varieties”. Member States shall bring into force,
by 30 June 2009 at the latest, laws, regulations and administrative
provisions necessary to comply with the Commission Directive.
Meanwhile Italy passed the Law 46/2007 giving application to articles
5 (conservation, research, characterization and documentation of phytogenetic
resources for food and agriculture), 6 (sustainable use of phytogenetic resources)
and 9 (farmers’ rights) of the FAO Treaty. An application Decree of 18
April 2008 (O.J.122 of 26 May 2008) followed the law.
In Italy, Regional Governments have also been very active in
safeguarding phytogenetic resources and promulgating laws, most of
them prior to Law 46/2007. This corpus iurium respects the CBD and
FAO treaty principles but it urgently needs to be reconsidered and
harmonized so as to follow the hierarchical level of the Institutions.
First the Italian Law 46/2007 must be harmonized with the
Commission Directive 2008/62 EC, which covers the same matter (i.e.
‘conservation varieties’) and great attention will be required in bringing
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
301
into force the Commission Directive itself. Later it will be necessary
to reconsider the regional laws so as to have a clear operating scheme.
33.2 The Italian Law 46/2007 vs. Commission Directive
2008/62 EC
The National Law and the Commission Directive follow very
different principles. A comparison between the major points of
Italian Law 46/2007 and Commission Directive 2008/62 EC is
proposed in Table 33.1.
Table 33.1. Conservation varieties: main points of the Italian Law 46/2007 versus Commission Directive 2008/62 EC.
Subject/matter
Italian Law 46/2007
Commission Directive 2008/62/EC
Aim/species
In situ conservation and sustainable use
of PGR of all species
Marketing of seeds of conservation varieties in the context
of the conservation of PGR (no vegetables)
Conservation
varieties
Varieties, populations, ecotypes, clones, Landraces and varieties threatened by genetic erosion
cultivars: 1) grown for at least 50 years in
a local agrosystem and never included in
a register of varieties 2) deleted from
Register of varieties 3) not present in
cultivation anymore but still present in
botanical gardens, genebanks, research
institutes for which there is an interest in
reintroducing them into cultivation
Region of
origin
Area of traditional cultivation of the
Region or regions in which the conservation variety has
conservation variety. If it is not specified it historically been grown and to which it is naturally adapted
is intended to be the Province of reference
Catalogues
A section will be reserved for conservation Accepted landraces and varieties shall be referred to in
varieties in the official catalogue
the common catalogue of agricultural plant species as
conservation varieties
Promoters of
the inscription
Regions
Not specified
Registration fees No
Not considered
Requirements
for acceptance
Official tests not required. Distinctiveness
must be assured along with historical and
cultural indications demonstrating the link
between conservation varieties and local
people
Official tests not required. Conservation varieties
shall present an interest for the conservation of plant
genetic resources. Member States may adopt their
own provisions for DUS, which shall include at least the
characters included in the Directive 2003/90 EC
Region of seed
production
Area of origin
Region of origin. The Member State may approve
additional regions, however seed may be used exclusively
in the region of origin
Certification
Not considered
Member State may provide that seed of a conservation
variety may be placed on the market if it descends from
seed produced according to well-defined practices for
maintenance of variety. Control of minimum varietal purity
is not required, official examination or examination under
official supervision is not required.
302
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Table 33.1. Conservation varieties: main points of the Italian Law 46/2007 versus Commission Directive 2008/62 EC.
Subject/matter
Italian Law 46/2007
Commission Directive 2008/62/EC
Marketing area
Area of origin of the variety as indicated
in the documents presented to obtain
the inscription in the catalogue; otherwise
the Province in which it is present
Region of origin. Member States may approve marketing in
other regions provided that these regions are comparable
to the region of origin as regards the natural and seminatural habitat of the considered conservation variety
Marketing
restrictions
Yes. In the area of origin of conservation
varieties farmers can sell directly small
quantities of seed of registered varieties
to sow not more than 1000 square
metres for vegetables and potatoes and
not more than 10 000 square metres for
other crops
Yes. The seed quantity of a certain conservation variety
to be marketed cannot exceed 0.5% of each variety
of the seed seasonally employed for each species in a
Member State or the quantity required to sow 100 ha. The
total marketed seed of conservation varieties of a certain
species must not exceed 10% of the seed of species
concerned used in the Member State, but in any case can
reach the quantity necessary to sow 100 ha
Farmer rights
Considered, on the basis of art. 9 of the
International Treaty on Phytogenetic
Resources for Agriculture and Food
Not considered
Network of
‘keeper farmers’
Considered
Not considered
The main aim of the National Law is to safeguard the local plant
genetic resources (PGR) through the production and exchange of
a very limited quantity of seed only in their area of origin. Local
farmers can sell small quantities of seed of conservation varieties
to the farmers of the area.
‘Small quantity’ means that the seed sold by a single farmer must
not exceed that necessary to sow 1000 square metres for vegetables
and 10 000 square metres for field species. ‘Keeper farmers’ should
be in charge of the conservation of local types.
The Commission Directive 2008/62 EC is mainly concerned
with seed trading aspects of conservation varieties. It is clearly
the fruit of a compromise between those who consider them ‘very
specially improved varieties’ useful to open the way for a ‘renewed’
agriculture and those who consider them a relic of the past used to
break up the seed market as it has evolved in the past decades. It is
not by chance that the Commission Directive 2008/62 EC required
ten years of discussions and 12 drafts to be born.
33.3 Regional laws
In Italy six Regions’ governments have already passed laws in the
field of local PGR conservation (Table 33.2). Almost all of them are
dated before both the National Law 46/2007 and the Commission
Directive 2008/62 EC.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
303
Table 33.2. Regional laws concerning agricultural genetic resources conservation in Italy.
Region
Number of law
Reference:
Official Journal
of the Region
Public body responsible
for law application
Status
TUSCANY
Law n. 50, July 16, 1997
Law n. 64, November 16, 2004
n. 30, 26/7/1997
n. 46, 24/11/2004
ARSIA (Regional Agricultural
Extension Service)
Operative
LAZIO
Law n. 15, March 1, 2000
n. 9, 30/3/2000
ARSIAL (Regional Agricultural Operative
Extension Service)
UMBRIA
Law n. 25, September 2, 2001
n. 45, 14/9/2001
Not yet designed
Not yet operative
FRIULI VENEZIA
GIULIA
Law n. 11, April 22, 2002
n. 7, 26/4/2002
ERSA (Regional Agricultural
Extension Service)
Partially operative
MARCHE
Law n. 12, June 3, 2003
n. 51, 12/6/2003
ASSAM (Regional Agricultural Operative
Extension Service)
n. 14, 29/01/2008
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
EMILIA ROMAGNA Law n. 1, January 29, 2008
Operative
CAMPANIA
Law draft, 2004
Draft still under
political discussion
ABRUZZO
Law draft, 2006
Draft still under
political discussion
SICILY
Issue under political
discussion, law draft
not proposed yet
SARDINIA
Issue under political
discussion, law draft
not proposed yet
They clearly show the great local interest in the matter and give
indications for the implementation of the Commission Directive.
They deserve serious consideration because it seems that the
initiative to recognize conservation varieties and promote their
inclusion in the catalogues should start at the local level.
Regional laws have most elements in common and their
application can be the first step to organizing registration and trade
of valuable material chosen with the help of farmers’ communities.
They are aimed at:
1. making inventories of genetic resources of the region through the
institution of regional registers or repertoires (i.e. inventories);
2. identifying, for each species, farmers who possess and have
particular interest in conservation varieties; they will be asked to
give rise to a network of ‘keeper farmers’;
3. making a no-profit diffusion of a restricted quantity of seeds of
conservation varieties possible;
4. promoting an equitable sharing of benefits from local genetic
resources as stated in art. 8 of CBD (Rio, 1992) and art. 9 of FAO
International Treaty (Rome, 2001);
5. promoting knowledge about traditional techniques and uses by
local communities.
304
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Today this work is supported by the National Law 46/2007 which
stimulates the Regions to create continuously updated catalogues of
conservation varieties that are of interest from a cultural point of view,
for utilization, direct trade and/or future breeding work. Valuable
landraces should be pinpointed, along with farmers who grow them,
and to facilitate their diffusion the Italian law does not foresee any
registration fee to be paid. Some of these farmers could be in charge
of the maintenance of the conservation varieties and give rise to a
network of ‘agricoltori custodi’ (keeper or maintainer farmers).
33.4 Conclusions
All the juridical instruments operative today in Italy in the field of
PGR conservation focus on local agricultural landraces.
Regional laws promote the recognition of valuable materials and
their inscription in registers along with a network of ‘agricoltori
custodi’ of the conservation varieties. All the activities carried out
by the Regions fulfil the requirements of the National Law 46/2007
which is only aimed at safeguarding PGR on-farm.
Restrictions for the quantity of seed to be produced and for
the area of multiplication and use of conservation varieties are so
stringent that the system does not interfere with large-scale seed
trade. Regional registers consider all the plant species and all together
could give rise to the National Register of Landraces of Italy.
However, only some of the conservation varieties included in
the regional registers, those that are considered worthy of being
traded, should be included as conservation varieties in the National
and the Common Catalogues following the Commission Directive
2008/62 EC. In this case Regions and/or farmers’ communities
could ask for the recognition of farmers’ rights that should be
administered by Regions in favour of the communities involved.
This proposal will allow us to avoid the risk of overloading the
official catalogues of plant varieties, by including only materials
that are of real commercial interest.
The Commission Directive has been prepared to regulate the
commercialization of conservation varieties, but it is too simple to
think that its implementation can solve all the problems related to
the safeguard of local PGR. To safeguard Italian PGR under law
46/2007, a scheme based on a bottom-up criterion that coordinates
all the initiatives starting at the regional level can be suggested.
However, the commercialization of landraces and varieties under
Commission Directive 2008/62 EC can help their conservation and
also make it possible to put on the market typical products based
on landraces which characterize many Italian Regions.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Section 6 – General Discussion
34
A European Strategic Approach to Conserving
Crop Landraces
Merja Veteläinen¹, Valeria Negri² and Nigel Maxted³
¹ MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Biotechnology and Food Research, Genetic
diversity, H-house FIN-31600, Jokioinen, Finland, E-mail merja.vetelainen@mtt.fi
² Dip. Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121
Perugia, Italy
³ School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15
2TT, UK
34.1 Introduction
The aim of this text is to promote in situ on-farm conservation of
landraces and their safe ex situ back-up, while promoting their
sustainable exploitation both by European plant breeders but also by
a growing range of additional users. As argued in earlier Chapters
an inventory of existing diversity is a first step to conservation, and
the national landrace inventories presented provide a foundation for
the improvement of both landrace conservation and use. However,
we should acknowledge that none of the existing inventories
presented in earlier Chapters are fully comprehensive, both in terms
of regional coverage within countries or in addressing the diversity
within a specific crop group. The individual case studies presented,
both on landrace conservation activities and on promotion of their
use, underline the need for a systematic approach to on-farm
conservation. While it is true that European landraces have survived
till now in the face of extensive threats without a more systematic
approach being applied, surely our goal should be more than
survival if we wish to benefit from their diversity: also, anecdotally
there is support for the view that their long-term survival remains
uncertain. Landrace management within farmers’ fields requires
not only access to and conservation of the genetic material, but also
appropriate farming systems that can maintain the inherent diversity
and that are integrated into an effective user chain, as highlighted
by Moreira et al. (Chapter 29 this volume).
There is no detailed review of information on on-farm conservation
activities in Europe and this text intends, at least in part, to fill this
existing information gap. Our aim in this final chapter as editors is to
make explicit the recurrent messages from earlier chapters concerning
305
306
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
why landrace conservation remains critical, what is the conservation
status of landraces, what threats they face and what opportunities
there are for further exploitation in an attempt to ensure that lessons
can be learnt, and then finally to make suggestions for a more strategic
approach to European landrace conservation and use.
34.2 Why we still need landraces
The significance of landraces to plant breeding and food security
was recognized as early as the Agricultural and Forestry Congress in
Vienna (1890). Modern cultivars are deliberately bred for phenotypic
and genotypic uniformity to maximize income generation, but
landraces have tended to retain their inherent variability, which is
perhaps ironically one of the reasons they have often been replaced
by modern cultivars. The variability or genetic diversity inherent in
landraces ensures that they have significant potential for future use
in breeding programmes. As such, on-farm conservation of landrace
diversity should be valued because it has direct and indirect utilization
value to humankind (Negri 2005). Among direct utilities it is worth
noting that not only are landraces the most important source of
variability for plant breeders, but that, in some cases, they are also the
basis of profitable markets for local people. They also have potential
future use in breeding and in developing new farming systems and
economies (as in some of the case studies reported in this text). To
negate for future generations the opportunity to use this biological
and cultural heritage would mean to deprive them of an important
public good. While acknowledging our responsibility towards future
generations which is a core ethical issue, it is our natural duty towards
our children to help sustain their lives (Jonas 1993).
In spite of the fact that in many cases modern cultivars outproduce landraces, there is ample evidence in the preceding
Chapters that landrace cultivation persists, even thrives, throughout
Europe. Farmers continue to make a deliberate choice to grow
landraces because for them they have value over and above the
benefits associated with modern cultivars. In this respect the ‘human
factor’ is crucial and understanding the farmer’s motivation, as
well as socio-economic constraints and opportunities, are key
components of conservation and exploitation planning. The obvious
question is what value do European landrace maintainers see that
encourages them to continue cultivation of landraces? The reasons
for Europe are likely to be similar to those found in other parts of
the world (Brush 1995), i.e. higher quality and/or resistance to
biotic and abiotic stress, sticking to family traditions, high market
value, existence of niche markets and religious use, in addition the
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
prospect of obtaining high-quality and highly prized products also
plays an important role (Negri 2003; Negri et al. 2007; Sanchez et al.
2008; Mazzucato et al. 2008; Torricelli et al., Chapter 18 this volume;
Negri, Chapter 17 this volume).
34.3 Conservation status of European landraces
Gap analysis is a well-established conservation evaluation technique
that assists the prioritization of biodiversity elements for conservation
action by comparing selected elements of biodiversity with that
proportion of diversity being conserved. The differences between
the pattern of natural (or in the case of landraces, the range of farmer
maintained) intrinsic diversity and the elements of that diversity already
effectively represented by existing in situ and ex situ conservation
actions become the conservation priorities for future action (Maxted
et al. 2008). If this methodology is applied to European landraces it is
necessary to start with an inventory of European landraces cultivated
by farmers, and to understand the diversity of European landraces
that is conserved in situ on-farm or ex situ primarily in genebanks.
Each of these necessary pieces of information are in fact currently
only partially known, therefore it is not possible to assess accurately
whether European landraces are adequately conserved.
We can however review the information that is available to
help formulate initial conservation priorities. We do know from
the reviews of landrace inventories in Chapters 4 – 15 that several
countries have initiated inventory activities, but it is fair to conclude
that the breadth and depth of these inventories is variable and as
yet no European country has a comprehensive inventory of its
landrace diversity. Similarly the approach to in situ on-farm landrace
conservation has largely been associated in Europe with the efforts
of particular researchers or individual projects rather than providing
systematic on-farm conservation of landrace diversity. Notable
previous examples of on-farm landrace conservation in Europe
include for example: Zeven (1996), Laliberté et al. (2000), Negri et al.
(2000), Negri (2003, 2005) and Scholten et al. (2008). Clearly however
a more systematic approach to on-farm conservation is desirable
and required if we are to maintain farmer-based in situ diversity.
However, since the establishment of the EURISCO Internet search
catalogue of European ex situ seed holdings (http://eurisco.ecpgr.
12
org/ ) we can estimate at least the number of landrace accessions
held in genebanks – there are 234 447 (36% of the total 653 449)
12
Search undertaken on 09.03.09.
307
308
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
accessions representing 5 515 crop taxa. If the biological status of
all holdings included in EURISCO is queried, landraces are the
most common inclusion, which bearing in mind that there are 2 204
crop species cultivated in Europe and the Mediterranean (Kell et al.
2008), tentatively indicates that the coverage of conserved landrace
per crop is reasonably systematic. The word tentative is important
here as to confirm the systematic conservation of landrace per crop
would require a direct comparison of landrace numbers conserved
with each crop. However, even assuming that this were the case
and there were on average 42.5 landraces conserved per crop taxon,
we still do not know if this figure adequately reflects the farmerbased in situ landrace diversity found in that crop. To answer this
question accurately would require genetic analysis of all landraces
for a crop and then to compare this with the diversity in the ex situ
conserved landraces, or, where this were not possible, to assume
genetic diversity is correlated with ecogeographic diversity and
to establish if landraces have been conserved from throughout the
crop’s range. Even the latter would be a significant question to
address, but these are important questions to answer if we are to
assess the conservation status of landrace diversity.
Knowledge of the levels of landrace diversity, which is so
important for landrace use in breeding, is also fundamental for
planning on-farm conservation activities and for defining technical
actions to manage and monitor populations on-farm. If genetically
similar landraces exist in a certain area, a single farm could carry
out the conservation activity; however, if the landraces are different,
several farms would need to be involved in their preservation. The
level of variation within a population is also important because it
affects the persistence of the population over time (Nunney and
Campbell 1993; Soulé 1987). The existence of a population structure,
as assessed in landraces of both autogamous and allogamous
species (Tosti and Negri 2005; Tiranti and Negri 2007; Negri et al.
2007), increases their effective size and consequently their chances
of survival. Local extinction of a single subpopulation would reduce
the overall amount of variation and should therefore be prevented.
Consequently, the best strategy for preserving the diversity of a
certain landrace would be to maintain the entire population onfarm. This means that every farmer should receive appropriate
advice and support to maintain his/her own population.
34.4 Threats to on-farm management of landraces
At present it seems likely that Italy is the European country
where the maintenance of landrace diversity on-farm is most
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
comprehensive; there are hundreds of landraces still routinely
cultivated on-farm throughout the country. However, even here most
of these landraces are under a severe risk of extinction due to socioeconomic motivations, loss of off-farm income generation or simple
lack of forethought in regional, national or European agricultural,
conservation and development policy planning, but also particularly
by the increasing average age of farmers and the reduced number of
people having agriculture as their principal occupation. Too often the
simple need to maximize short-term income generation is adopted
rather than a more holistic longer-term approach that places higher
value on landrace diversity itself. Although the available information
for other parts of Europe is scarce and fragmented, it seems from
information gathered within the European Cooperative Programme
for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) that a similar picture is found
wherever landrace cultivation survives.
Contributing authors have identified several factors that threaten
European landraces and their continued management on farm
(notably Hammer and Diederichsen, Chapter 2 this volume).
These can roughly be classified as factors threatening the genetic
material, the farmer/grower, the production environment and the
uses of the crops. In the following sections the threats along with
the opportunities identified by the authors of this publication are
recapitulated in order to establish the European strategic approach
to conserving crop landraces on farm.
The genetic material, landrace diversity, has been threatened and
the genetic base eroded for a century by widespread replacement by
modern cultivars and hybrid varieties due to changing agricultural
production systems that demand uniform performance of the crops.
However, the remaining extant landraces grown in farmers’ fields
and their inherent genetic diversity is further being narrowed by
wider socio-economic factors. For example, fewer farmers are
cultivating landraces, which lessens seed availability and seed
security at the local level (Nikolaou and Maxted, Chapter 23 this
volume). Consequently, risks with seed availability can lead to
dramatic changes in local diversity of a landrace, a genetic bottleneck
or even extinction. An example of a legal factor narrowing the
genetic variability of landraces is pointed out by Marum and
Daugstad (Chapter 19 this volume): DUS requirements for approval
of a variety for acceptance into official variety lists require the
stable behaviour of a variety over time. This is against the nature
of landraces which are supposed to evolve in dynamic interaction
with the environment.
Since the farmer is the key person maintaining the landrace, it
is important to understand his/her socio-economic situation that
309
310
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
affects the possibilities and willingness to continue the maintenance
of landraces. In Italy statistics show that open field crops (forage,
cereal and lentil landraces) are generally grown under modern
agricultural techniques by farmers of an average age of 56 years,
mostly inland, in mountainous areas and on farms of comparatively
large scale for Italy. Garden crops in Italy are prevalently found at
lower altitudes. They are mostly grown by elderly farmers with an
average age of over 60 years running small farms or home gardens
and under traditional farming systems, which nonetheless include
the use of mechanical tools for soil preparation and, occasionally,
the use of chemical fertilizers (Negri 2003). In Finland (Heinonen,
unpublished data) and Shetland, Scotland (Lever 2006) the relative
farmer age is also increasing for landrace-cultivating farmers.
Furthermore in Scotland, where the average age is 38, the average
age of farmers cultivating Shetland kale was 65 years and no
maintainers were under 40 years old (Lever 2006). Not only ageing
of farmers, but also their reduced overall numbers and the reduction
in those having agriculture as their principal occupation threaten the
on-farm management of landraces. In Eastern Europe Strajeru et al.
(Chapter 12 this volume) report that the migration of poor farmers
to urban areas and abroad is an important factor diminishing the
number of landrace growers. On the other hand the farmer may
not always be aware of the genetic uniqueness and value of his/her
landrace or its potential value to the farm as an enterprise income
(Negri, Chapter 17 this volume).
Consequently, there is a critical requirement to increase awareness
about the importance of on-farm conservation for the wealth of
future generations at every level: farmers, farmer communities,
researchers and research communities, policy makers, common
people and local, national and international authorities. Only
when this goal is achieved and there is broad awareness will it be
possible to preserve landraces effectively. In turn, awareness must
be substantiated by engendering the sustainable and ‘local’ values
associated with on-farm conservation. In a related context, Groom et
al. (2006) discuss the rehabilitation of the Guanacaste National Park
in Costa Rica and refer to the project being based on a philosophical
approach called ‘biocultural restoration’, which incorporates
local people in all aspects of the reserve’s development and
protection. The Guanacaste National Park project not only resulted
in the restoration of degraded habitats and in situ conservation of
biodiversity, but has also restored to local people a biological and
intellectual understanding of the environment in which they live.
Hawkes et al. (2000) discussed and provided examples of how
this concept might be extended to landrace conservation, where
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
the improved farmer awareness of the value of landrace diversity
not only helped maintain or restore landrace diversity but also
restored to the local people a biological and intellectual pride in
their environment. Reinforcement of local cultural identity through
‘agro-biocultural restoration’ is certainly an equally important
outcome to the actual conservation of the biological diversity itself,
particularly since with landraces it is the farmer who actually does
the conservation.
The changes in the production environment affect the extent
and prospects for landrace cultivation. For example in Hungary,
over 3 million hectares that are valuable for on-farm conservation
areas have been identified as ecologically sensitive. However, it is
anticipated that the continued spread of high-input and intensive
agricultural practices may lead to the degradation of such areas
(Holly et al., Chapter 9 this volume). Another example of land use
change that squeezes the area for landrace cultivation is the fact
that traditional farms are increasingly being converted into holiday
homes, as reported by Nikolaou and Maxted (Chapter 23 this
volume). In many areas of Europe this gentrification of traditional
farms is likely to expand because the next rural generation is unable
to continue farming, due to: a) traditional farms generating relatively
low income, b) traditional farm work being physically demanding,
involving long hours and being relatively insecure (i.e. subject to
threats beyond the farmers’ control, e.g. animal disease outbreaks,
agro-economic down-turns, fickle consumer demands), c) the output
of traditional farms being marginalized by the supermarket culture
of high-throughput, uniformity and semi-perfect quality, d) the
farmland itself is of substantially more economic value than the
income that can be generated annually from farming the land (in
some cases simply investing the income will provide a substantially
more secure economic return), and e) traditional farms are relatively
small scale and are often located in areas of outstanding natural
beauty that are relatively easy to sell to middle-income, professional
families looking to escape urban life for a rural idyll; but importantly,
after the sale the farm is seen as a hobby not a means of income
generation. Also the low availability of labour and rising labour costs
in the rural areas is reported to diminish the extent of cultivation of
landraces (Cardoso and Maxted, Chapter 22 this volume).
Cultivation of landraces on-farm aims for their use in the
household, in the local community or for selling in order to generate
income for the grower. In other words, the motivation for continuing
to grow the crop is essential. Marketing opportunities for local
actors versus main commercial markets that require uniformity
and large production amounts have an effect on the motivation to
311
312
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
cultivate per se and to cultivate diverse landraces as described by
Cardoso and Maxted (Chapter 22 this volume). Set-up of product
development schemes to create an added value for a landrace can be
a demanding task even for research institutes (Martin et al., Chapter
26 this volume) not to mention for elderly farmers or small local
cooperatives. While traditional uses of landraces are disappearing,
the motivation to grow them by the younger generation will be
lacking if new markets that generate additional income are not
developed (Heinonen and Veteläinen, Chapter 6 this volume).
A more uncontrollable and as yet unquantified threat to
landrace diversity is ongoing climate warming, which perhaps
most obviously is causing fires and droughts which in turn
threaten global on-farm-managed landraces and their cultivation,
but particularly in southern Europe. Despite being in a period of
known ecosystem instability resulting from climate change (IPCC
2007), when there is likely to be an increasing need for the genetic
diversity contained within landraces to maintain crop production,
there has – perhaps surprisingly – been no systematic attempt to
assess the impact of climate change on landrace diversity or on
how we will need to use landrace diversity to ensure continued
food security. It seems likely that in many instances the locations
where farmers have traditionally lived and cultivated their food
will no longer be suitable for either purpose, therefore resulting in
a completely novel level of threat to European landrace diversity.
Obviously some landraces may be able to adapt in the changing
environmental conditions, possibly even assisted by participatory
breeding activities, but others will be lost.
Climate change is predicted to increase average temperatures by
2–4 °C over the next 50 years and will cause considerable changes
in regional and seasonal patterns of precipitation (IPCC 2007).
Furthermore, IPCC asserts that roughly 20 to 30%, varying from 1 to
80% among regional biotas, of species assessed so far are likely to be
at increasingly high risk of extinction as global mean temperatures
exceed by 2 to 3 °C pre-industrial levels. They continue that the loss
of biodiversity will affect food and agriculture, and may well lead
to significant losses of genetic diversity within the species most
important for food and agriculture.
As stated above, there has been no systematic attempt to assess
the impact of climate change on landrace diversity, but possibly
we can gain some insight into the degree of potential threat
by noting the impact on wild plant species growing in similar
habitats. Thuiller et al. (2005) predicted a drastic reduction (2742%) in wild plant species by 2080 as a result of climate change,
but further they concluded that the greatest impact is expected
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
in the transition between the Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian
floristic regions, a region of Europe also known to be of significant
agronomic importance and rich in landrace diversity. Climate
change will undoubtedly alter the environmental conditions under
which our crops grow, dramatically impacting agriculture and
horticulture and leading to a critical demand for adaptive genes to
counter novel abiotic stresses. It is likely that many current crop
varieties will need replacement to enable them better to suit the
new and changing environments under which they will be forced
to grow, but what response is required to secure and enhance our
landrace diversity?
Although this is recognized as an important question there
appears to be relatively little concerted effort to provide an answer!
FAO (2008) recognizes the possible devastating impact on agrobiodiversity and the importance of the genetic diversity within agrobiodiversity to sustain production systems. It cites as a particular
problem the mismatch in response times to climate change between
interacting species, i.e. crops, pests and diseases, and the fact that
some genotypes are likely to be favoured over others. FAO (2008)
recommends as a response to climate change resulting in new abiotic
stresses, the adaptation of crop varieties, that will allow new timing
of sowing or harvesting, the breeding of crops to increase water
use efficiency, heat tolerance and use of nutrients, the favoured
use of underutilized varieties from harsh environments and the
community-based management of a wide portfolio of genetic
diversity to facilitate adaptive capacity, and for dealing with new
biotic stresses – the use of disease-resistant cultivars or multilines
to strengthen crop resilience and employing use diversification
strategies to increase species and genetic diversity farmed. They
also recommend a) developing the knowledge basis to monitor
biodiversity trends and associated risks, b) mainstreaming of intersectoral cooperation and integrated planning, c) building adaptive
capacity through biodiversity management in farming systems,
and d) developing climate change-informed plans and policies for
genetic resources for food and agriculture. All of which are positive
actions to help adaptation and mitigation and to promote resilience
to climate change, but we are still left with the question of what
response is required to secure and enhance our landrace diversity?
Clearly this is a critical issue and requires urgent action, perhaps
a way forward would be in the first instance to establish an e-mail
discussion group to debate the possible impact and scale of the
coming changes and to develop a specific strategy to mitigate the
impact of climate change on European landrace diversity, as well
as promoting research of the critical issues.
313
314
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
34.5 Opportunities for future landrace cultivation
Despite the wide range of factors threatening the on-farm
management of landraces in Europe, the authors of this publication
suggest that there are also many new opportunities for landrace
cultivation and use in Europe. There have been initiatives that have
improved the status of single landraces and awareness of special
values of our plant heritage. Also the increasingly commonly
stated desire to diversify agricultural and horticultural production,
the development of local niche products and ethical production
methods can open new opportunities for European landraces
and the products derived from them. In addition, realizing the
usefulness of local landraces in agro-tourism development is a
further opportunity that should not be neglected.
Landraces even today still provide food security at the family
level in many parts of Europe due to their adaptation to local
agro-climatic conditions (e.g. Krasteva et al., Chapter 4 this
volume, Scholten et al., Chapter 15 this volume). Many authors
also report the excellent taste qualities of landraces as a reason
for their maintenance, as well as providing a justification for a
higher price compared with standard commercial cultivars in local
markets. Alternatively, selling the crop directly to supermarkets
can maximize price returns at the farm level. Even in those
part of Europe where the use of landraces for food is rare, their
reintroduction to cultivation and consumption can be successful;
recently in Finland the project ‘Tastes that do not exist’ involving
the country’s top chefs showed that demand for landraces can be
created when introduced as a ‘rare product’ (see www.kiehuu.fi).
Such initiatives as the establishment of quality labels and
establishing European regional uniqueness have proven to be useful
since they give added value to the product (e.g. Negri, Chapter 17 this
volume; Torricelli et al., Chapter 18 this volume). In fact it could be
argued that the European wine industry is predicated on quality and
establishing European regional uniqueness for its products (Fischer
Boel 2008). The EU has established three schemes to encourage diverse
agricultural production, to protect product names from misuse
and imitation and to help consumers by giving them information
concerning the specific character of the products. The schemes are:
• PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) – covers agricultural
products and foodstuffs that are produced, processed and prepared
in a given geographical area using recognized know-how.
• PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) – covers agricultural
products and foodstuffs closely linked to the geographical
area. At least one of the stages of production, processing or
preparation takes place in the area.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) – highlights the traditional
character, either in the composition or means of production.
Each can act as a marketing tool and helps to underpin a niche
market, enhancing income generation, and so can encourage
production in a rural development context and consequently favour
on-farm conservation of the landrace from which production comes.
From the consumer point of view PDO / PGI / TSG help to identify
crop varieties as being associated with cultural or biological heritage
within a limited geographical area.
Landrace cultivation can also have environmental benefits, as
shown with bere barley (Martin et al., Chapter 26 this volume). They
can be grown with fewer inputs, and consequently nutrient load to
the natural environment can be diminished, which is in line with
European environmental policy. Moreira et al. (Chapter 29 this volume)
also suggest that through participatory plant breeding, landraces
can be used to develop varieties suitable for organic agriculture. In
addition, participatory plant breeding can be a means to maintain
dynamic on-farm breeding populations, i.e. landraces, and to increase
on-farm diversity of the target crop along with the breeding process.
Finally, access to the germplasm by the grower can be sustained at the
local level, as evidenced by the introduction of the Scottish Landrace
Protection Scheme; see Green et al. (Chapter 24 this volume).
34.6 From threats and opportunities to a strategic
conservation approach
A strategic approach for conserving and using crop landraces to meet
the changing needs of future generations demands an integrated
multi-level approach due to the complexity of the issue involved.
The strategy should not only focus on conservation per se, but also
political, economic and sociological (perhaps even anthropological)
factors that enable maintainers to sustain landraces and allow them
to continue to evolve as a critical genetic resource. It is these factors
that underpin the public good of landrace maintenance, ensuring
the continued evolution of our European biological heritage while
ensuring that the diversity can continue to be used by breeders
and other stakeholders. In the formulation of a European on-farm
conservation and management strategy the following issues should
be considered.
Conservation issues
Based on the fact that the genetic diversity within landraces
is threatened by extinction and erosion, the following priority
measures should be taken:
315
316
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
• Inventory methodology development → how to use the wide
range of data collected, including historical cultivation and use
practices and other relevant data which can be collated to help
identify conservation priorities.
• Complete inventory → landraces should be systematically
inventoried by crop groups and regions.
• Extinction and genetic erosion assessment → as landrace diversity
has not been inventoried or systematically conserved in the
past, there is limited understanding of the magnitude of risks
to landraces themselves and genetic diversity loss or erosion;
therefore, it would be beneficial to undertake a detailed loss and
genetic erosion assessment for the major crop gene pools using
genetic time-series assessment techniques. This would involve
the assessment of genetic variation within and between landrace
populations that have been sampled and stored in ex situ collections
and a comparison with fresh samples taken from the same localities
to learn how patterns of genetic diversity have changed over time.
• Threat assessment techniques → there is a need to develop
a standardized, objective means of assessing relative threat
in cultivated landraces to help identify future conservation
priorities.
• Gap analysis → this is now a well established evidence-based
means of systematically assessing conservation requirements
and targeting conservation activities, both in situ and ex situ, to
ensure that limited resources are used efficiently and effectively
(Maxted et al. 2008).
• In situ on-farm conservation of landrace diversity → it is
unlikely that it will ever be possible systematically to conserve
all landrace diversity in situ on-farm due to the sheer numbers of
landraces that still exist and the limited conservation resources
available, but a means of prioritizing crop groups and regions
should be established systematically to conserve the highestpriority landrace diversity in active, on-farm systems that will
form a coherent Global Network of On-farm Conservation. For
lower-priority landraces education and public awareness should
be used to underpin the value of current maintainers’ activities.
• Collection and ex situ conservation of landrace diversity → Using
the inventory as basis for prioritizing landraces, launch rescue
efforts when they are in danger of extinction. Given, as argued
in the previous point, that the in situ on-farm conservation of all
landrace diversity is unlikely, systematic national and regional
ex situ back-up duplication is critical. It should also be noted
that landraces conserved in genebanks will often provide easier
access to those wishing to exploit their potential.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• Establishment of local seed depositories/community seed banks
→ systems like the Scottish Landrace Protection Scheme (see Green
et al., Chapter 24 this volume) should be established to ensure onfarm seed security and to underpin landrace dynamic studies.
• Farmer/grower studies on their prerequisites for continued
management of landraces on-farm → there is a significant
literature on maintainer motivation and the dynamic nature of
on-farm conservation, but as this literature is almost entirely
focused on on-farm conservation in developing countries and
subsistence agriculture, it seems unlikely that this literature
can be directly mapped on to the situation in Europe, so what
motivates landrace maintainers in Europe, how do farmers
choose which landraces to maintain and which seed to save,
how dynamic in terms of genetic diversity are European on-farm
systems, and what role do the wide range of local (NGOs, farmer
cooperatives), national (governmental agencies, breeders, farmer
bodies) and European (EC legislation and policy) actors play in
landrace maintenance and use?
• Incorporation of landrace conservation within agroenvironmental schemes → the European Commission makes
significant funding available each year for various forms of agroenvironmental schemes but the national application of these
schemes varies significantly between individual EU countries,
some countries prioritize landrace inclusion and conservation;
while in others such as the UK landraces are excluded even
though older animal breeds are included. In the UK at a recent
meeting of biodiversity and agro-biodiversity communities it
became clear that those applying the Directives within the UK
wished to integrate landrace conservation but had no baseline to
work from; they did not know how to define a landrace or know
where they were cultivated in the UK (Maxted pers. comm.). As
such and bearing in mind that this UK situation may be reflected
elsewhere in Europe it is critical that the biodiversity and agrobiodiversity communities work more effectively together; the
link would surely prove mutually beneficial.
• Allied to the maintenance of agricultural landraces on-farm
is the maintenance of garden landraces in home gardens and
the two activities should not be seen as mutually exclusive →
recent experience in the UK while undertaking an inventory of
vegetable landraces (Maxted pers. comm.) has highlighted the
fact that while agricultural landraces may have been lost from
commercial cultivation they may still be maintained within home
garden systems and so it is advisable to make a fluid distinction
between on-farm and home garden systems.
317
318
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
• Landrace and on-farm information dissemination → there is
an urgent need to ensure that information concerning landrace
diversity, its conservation and actual or potential utilization is
made readily available to the widest stakeholder community.
As is argued throughout this text, sustained landrace
conservation is closely linked to utilization. Providing access
to such information is critical, both for supporting effective
and sustainable complementary landrace conservation, and to
encourage and facilitate the use of landrace genetic diversity for
crop improvement.
Utilization issues
Conservation is not an end in itself, if conservation is to be sustained
the conserved biodiversity must have some form of value to society;
value implies some form of utilization. Support and development
of different forms of landrace use enhance their maintenance within
dynamic on-farm management systems:
• New approaches in plant breeding should enhance landrace
use → the range of novel genomic and GIS techniques currently
being developed (e.g. tilling, predictive characterization, highthroughput, targeted resequencing) have each facilitated a new
approach to accession characterization and evaluation, enabling
better targeting of those genes that the breeder wishes to use
and the simpler transfer of just these target genes to host lines.
These applications are bound to lead to greater use of landrace
diversity, which in turn should promote conservation, so should
be encouraged.
• Landrace improvement, possibly through participatory plant
breeding (PPB), should be actively explored → in other continents
PPB has been promoted as a means of sustaining landrace
cultivation and so should be investigated as regards both landraces'
economic feasibility and ecological impact and also their impact
on inherent genetic diversity. PPB might be considered an essential
activity that may help to mitigate the impact of predicted climate
change on landraces, especially if simply maintaining the status
quo becomes unviable as a means of maintenance.
• Support to a wide range of product development including
support to small-scale production of landraces (access for
material for further development) → old and new uses.
• Exploration of the links between landraces and on-farm
conservation in organic production systems → including
the cultivation of landraces by a novel maintainer perhaps
through participatory varietal selection (PVS). It may be wise
to encourage those wishing to take up landrace maintenance de
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
novo by growing out the range of local landraces of ‘traditional’
crops, then allowing the growers to select those most suited to
their agro-environment or production conditions.
• Further utilization of PDO, PGI, TSGs and other product
labelling systems → although the application of these systems
is increasing, as a means of helping sustain landraces their use
could be expanded significantly, for example in the UK the only
PDO is the Jersey Royal potato variety.
Research issues
To support the actions proposed above, there are a number
of particular areas of research that are needed to improve our
knowledge of where to target landrace and on-farm conservation
efforts, how to conserve landraces that are found outside formal onfarm conservation schemes, the causes of loss of landrace diversity,
how climate change is likely to impact on landrace populations and
how to involve local communities in the local conservation and
use of landraces. Recommendations for priority research studies
are outlined below. A wider use of landraces and their enhanced
maintenance within dynamic management systems can help
communities facing the current climatic and socio-economic changes
caused by continuous innovations and developments in agriculture,
human population dynamics and economic changes. With this aim
we need to have a better understanding of:
• Present landrace diversity
• Population dynamics in relation to factors such as migration,
drift and human and environmental selection pressures
• Impact of climate change on landrace diversity and how
landraces might be managed to allow them to adapt, mitigate or
be resilient in the face of its potential impact
• Usefulness of landraces in environmentally friendly agronomic
systems
• Socio-economic factors driving on-farm maintenance of landraces
• Reinforcement of local cultural identity and linking local crops
with local culture, ‘agro-biocultural restoration’ and transmission
to the future generations of pride in their agronomic heritage will
achieve both the conservation of landraces as well as the on-farm
system itself.
Political and legal issues
Landrace management on-farm is an integral part of European food
security. Therefore, variety and seed production legislation that
conflicts with on-farm diversification should be questioned seriously
on the national and European levels:
319
320
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
• Variety protection laws or European production standards are
anecdotally thought to have negatively impacted European
agrobiodiversity. Therefore it would be wise to monitor the
changes in agriculture in the countries recently joining the EU.
• The present European legislative frame (i.e. Commission
Directive 2008/62/EC 20 June 2008, currently being implemented
in Member States), although instigated to maintain remnant
landrace diversity, may or may not have this effect (see Lorenzetti
and Negri, Chapter 31 this volume) because its prime focus is
seed marketing and also because it allows such a wide range
of interpretation and subsequent legislative implementation in
each Member State.
• Legislative models based on the need to preserve plant
genetic resources (instead of on commercializing them) exist
(see Lorenzetti et al., Chapter 33 this volume) and their wider
implementation would be more appropriate to guarantee future
food security at local and regional levels.
• Given as argued above that there is a need to establish a coherent
Global Network of On-farm Conservation, there is also a need to
provide legislative protection of the on-farm sites to ensure their
long-term financing and survival.
Land use is impacting landrace maintenance in their original
environment:
• Strict restrictions in land management and use of fertilizers and
pesticides should be introduced to prevent the degradation of
natural, semi-natural and agro-ecosystems in environmentally
sensitive areas.
• Land use planning in areas of active on-farm management
should favour the conservation of ecologically diverse growing
conditions that favour local landraces, not try to ‘improve’ the
agro-environment so that improved varieties are favoured.
Public awareness and education
There is an immediate need to increase awareness about the
importance of landrace diversity and on-farm conservation at
all levels of society: farmers, farmer communities, researchers
and research communities, policy makers, ordinary people and
local, national and international authorities. Only when a wider
understanding exists will the long-term preservation of landraces
be achieved. In this context:
• Education of the youngest generations of farmers from the
primary to the university level is crucial
• Publications, websites, leaflets about landrace maintenance
activities to be widely distributed
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
• Maintenance of local genebanks and living collections of landraces
should involve local people, through school visits to open trial days
dedicated to farmers and/or gardeners showing local landrace
diversity and offering seed opportunities to farmers
• Wide landrace seed duplication and distribution will ensure
landrace retention – don’t put all your landrace ‘eggs’ into one basket
(in terms of either landrace maintainers or genebank holdings)!
The latter two points proved to be effective in some cases (see
Negri, Chapter 17 this volume) and can help in achieving the goal.
Socio-economic issues
Perhaps as professional conservationists and scientists, we shy
away from addressing the socio-economic aspects of landrace and
on-farm conservation, but here if for no other reason than the fact
that farmers are the conservationists we should not underplay the
value of socio-economic study:
• Regional development, agro-business and environmental schemes
should include management of genetic resources in their entirety
(e.g. on-farm conservation, product development, participatory
plant breeding and legal issues as they relate to landraces).
Interestingly in the UK government funds are obtainable to
promote the use of traditional animal breeds in environmentally
sensitive areas but no such equivalent support is available for the
cultivation of traditional landraces.
• Routinely, now when developing global financial support for
on-farm projects a critical element of the project is examining
the increased commercial value of landraces, niche market and
market chain enhancement and the development of entirely
novel markets, so there seems to be much scope for further
application of these techniques to European landraces.
• Fears over global warming are promoting the localization of
production and consumption of food and these initiatives
should be supported whenever economically possible, as this is
the socio-economic sphere in which landraces can thrive.
• Support for local seed production.
Cooperation issues
To facilitate the exchange of information on on-farm conservation
activities and problem solving the widest cooperation and exchange
of information among national and European institutions, agencies,
farmers’ organizations, NGOs and individual people is desirable and
should be promoted at the national and European levels. The On-Farm
Working Group of ECPGR is currently playing a leading role at the
regional level, while it seems that cooperation at the national level needs
321
322
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
to be built up or strengthened in most European countries, perhaps
particularly making the link between national NGOs working in this
area. In addition, inter-regional cooperation would be most useful.
34.7 Conclusion
Finally, the central proposition of this text should be re-stressed:
landraces are a critical resource for the future of humankind, they
are being rapidly eroded or extinguished and yet it is their diversity
that will be required by breeders addressing the challenge of climate
change. It cannot be over-stressed that climate change presents a
new degree of threat to global food security not previously seen,
landraces contain the genetic diversity that can at least partially
mitigate this threat, but we need to act now adequately to conserve
and use landrace diversity for the benefit of humankind. The
actions required are outlined above and are summarized in Box
34.1 as a Strategic Approach to European Landrace Conservation
and Use with suggested time-bound targets. In every case we
have the required techniques and even the necessary experience
in applying them, but now we need European and national plant
genetic resource, biodiversity conservation and plant utilization
structures to coordinate and focus actions – all that is required now
is the will to act!
Box 34.1. Summary Strategic Approach to European Landrace Conservation and Use.
Goal: Effective and sustainable conservation and use of European landrace diversity.
Target 1: Prepare national conservation and use strategic action plan – each European
country to prepare a national action plan for the inventory, survey, conservation (in
situ and ex situ) and sustainable use of landrace diversity, by 2012 and integrate
plan into and complement existing national and regional plant genetic resource,
biodiversity strategies and action plans.
Target 2: Establish a European mechanism/clearing house – establish a European
mechanism for landrace diversity information using existing structures, such as
AEGIS, ECPGR On-Farm Working Group and FAO, by 2012.
Target 3: Create national priority landrace lists and identify priority sites for on-farm
conservation – each European country to prepare a national priority list of
landraces in need of urgent conservation action using existing priority determining
criteria by 2015. Identify within each country, at least five priority sites for the
establishment of active on-farm conservation projects. These sites should form
an interrelated network of internationally, regionally and nationally important onfarm conservation projects for in situ conservation.
Target 4: Create European priority landrace lists and identify priority sites for onfarm conservation – AEGIS, ECPGR On-Farm Working Group, FAO and other
relevant bodies to put in place a system for prioritizing national landrace lists and
identifying priority (20-30) sites for on-farm conservation of European regional
significance, by 2018.
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Target 5: Establish protocols for landrace information management and dissemination
– existing information management systems for landraces to be harmonized and
applied to national and the European EURISCO systems for in situ and ex situ
management, by 2015.
Target 6: Develop effective means of systematically conserving landrace diversity in situ
– each European country to assess whether existing on-farm activities adequately
represent the full range of national landrace diversity, and suggest additional locations
where required, by 2012. Raise awareness among biodiversity conservationists
of landrace diversity and request they take into account the maintenance and
conservation needs of landraces when drawing up or revising management
strategies. Ensure landrace maintainers and local communities are central to the
planning of community-based landrace conservation. Countries and agencies
to encourage landrace conservation outside conventional plant genetic resource
programmes, e.g. agro-ecosystems easements, set-aside and other appropriate
protection schemes. Promote farming systems based on landraces as a generic
means of aiding on-farm conservation. Publish protocols and examples of the
integration of on-farm conservation and use as a means of promoting landrace use.
Target 7: Develop effective means of systematically conserving landrace diversity ex
situ – each European country to undertake gap analysis of landrace diversity in
national genebanks and field genebanks (clonal collections), as result identify gaps
in collections and ensure they are filled by 2014. Promote the establishment of
community seed banks for local landrace diversity.
Target 8: Assess landrace threat and climate change status – each European country
to review the threat status and assess the predicted impact of climate change of
all priority landraces, by 2015. Establish protocols for assessing landrace threat
status similar in operation to the IUCN Red List Criteria.
Target 9: Ensure public awareness, effective security and legislative protection for
European landrace diversity – each European country to integrate awareness of the
importance of landraces into existing education and public awareness programmes
for the private sector, national associations of producers, farmers, industry and
other potential stakeholders. Also each European country to review current national
and regional policy and legislative instruments that impinge on landrace diversity
and where necessary instigate necessary policy and legislative changes.
Target 10: Promote sustainable utilization of European landraces – each European country
to promote sustainable use of landraces, research novel approach to characterization
and evaluation and encourage use of landrace diversity in breeding programmes.
References
Brush, S.B. (1995) In situ conservation of landraces in centers of crop diversity.
Crop Science 35, 346-354.
FAO (2008) Climate Change and Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. Technical
Background Document From The Expert Consultation Held On 13 To 14 February
2008. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/013/ai784e.pdf, FAO, Rome,
Italy. (accessed 10 March 2009)
Fischer Boel, M. (2008) Green Paper on Agricultural Product Quality. http://ec.europa.
eu/agriculture/quality/policy/back_en.htm, European Commission, Brussels,
Belgium. (accessed 10 March 2009)
Groom, M.J., Meffe, G.K. and Carroll, C.R. (eds) (2006). Principles of Conservation
Biology, Third Edition. Sinauer Associates www.nhbs.com/browse.php?pub=897,
Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA.
Hawkes, J.G., Maxted, N. and Ford-Lloyd, B.V. (2000) The ex situ conservation of
plant genetic resources. Kluwer, Dordrecht, Germany. 250 pp.
323
324
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
IPCC (2007) Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva, Switzerland.
Jonas, H. (1993) Il principio di responsabilità. Un’etica per la civiltà tecnologica. Einaudi,
Torino, Italy.
Kell, S.P., Knüpffer, H., Jury, S.L., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Maxted, N. (2008) Crops
and wild relatives of the Euro-Mediterranean region: making and using a
conservation catalogue. In: Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Kell, S.P., Iriondo,
J., Dulloo, E. and Turok, J. (eds) Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use, pp.
69–109. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Laliberté, B., Maggioni, L., Maxted, N. and Negri, V. (2000) Report of a joint meeting
of a Task Force on Wild Species Conservation in Genetic Reserves and a Task Force
on On-farm Conservation and Management, 18-20 May 2000, Isola Polvese, Italy.
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
Lever, L.A. (2006) A Survey of Landraces on the Shetland Islands. MSc thesis, School
of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Maxted, N., Dulloo, E., Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Iriondo, J. and Jarvis, A. (2008) Genetic
gap analysis: a tool for more effective genetic conservation assessment. Diversity
and Distributions 14, 1018-1030.
Mazzucato, A., Papa, R., Bitocchi, E., Mosconi, P., Nanni, L., Negri, V., Picarella,
E.M., Siligato, F., Soressi, G.P., Tiranti, B. and Veronesi, F. (2008) Genetic
diversity, structure and marker-trait associations in a collection of tomato
(Solanum lycopersicum L.) Italian landraces. Theoretical and Applied Genetics
116, 657-669.
Negri, V. (2003) Landraces in central Italy: Where and why they are conserved
and perspectives for their on-farm conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop
Evolution 50, 871-885.
Negri, V. (2005) Agro-biodiversity conservation in Europe: ethical issues. Journal
of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18(1), 3-25.
Negri, V., Becker, H., Onnela, J., Sartori, A., Strajeru, S. and Laliberté, B. (2000) A
first inventory of on-farm conservation and management activities in Europe
including some examples of cooperation between the formal and informal sector.
In: Laliberté, B., Maggioni, L., Maxted, N. and Negri, V. (compilers) Report of a
joint meeting of a Task Force on Wild Species Conservation in Genetic Reserves and a
Task Force on On-farm Conservation and Management, 18-20 May 2000, Isola Polvese,
Italy. pp. 14-30. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.
Negri, V., Branca, F. and Castellini, G. (2007) Integrating wild plants and landrace
conservation in farming systems: a perspective from Italy. In: Maxted, N.,
Ford-Lloyd, B.V., Kell, S.P., Iriondo, J., Dulloo, E. and Turok, J. (eds) Crop wild
relative conservation and use, pp. 392-402. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Nunney, L. and Campbell, K.A. (1993) Assessing minimum viable population
size: demography meets population genetics. Trends in Ecology and Evolution
8, 234-239.
Sanchez, E., Sifres A., Casanas, F. and Nuez, F. (2008) The endangered future
of organoleptically prestigious European landraces: Ganxet bean (Phaseolus
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
vulgaris L.) as an example of a crop originating in the Americas. Genetic Resources
and Crop Evolution 55, 45-52.
Scholten, M., Maxted, N., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. and Green, N. (2008) Hebridean and
Shetland oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Shetland cabbage (Brassica oleracea
L.) landraces: occurrence and conservation issues. Plant Genetic Resources
Newsletter 154, 1-5.
Soulé, M.E. (1987) Viable population for conservation. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK.
Thuiller, T., Lavorel, S., Araújo, M.B., Sykes M.T. and Prentice, I.C. (2005) Climate
change threats to plant diversity in Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences 102(23), 8245-8250.
Tiranti, B. and Negri, V. (2007) Selective micro-environmental effects play a role
in shaping genetic diversity and structure in a Phaseolus vulgaris L. landrace:
implications for on-farm conservation. Molecular Ecology 16(23), 4942-4955.
Tosti, N. and Negri, V. (2005) On-going on-farm microevolutionay processes in
neighbouring cowpea landraces revealed by molecular markers. Theoretical
and Applied Genetics 110, 1275-1283.
Zeven, A.C. (1996) Results of activities to maintain landraces and other material
in some European countries in situ before 1945 and what we may learn from
them. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 43, 337-341.
325
326
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Photo collection
Photo 1
(Chapter 3).
Collecting samples
and indigenous
knowledge from a
landrace grower,
Chios, Greece
(Photo: Nigel
Maxted).
Photo 2
(Chapter 6).
The landrace winter
rye from eastern
Finland has been
in cultivation for
several generations
in the family (Photo:
Timo Mustonen).
Photo 3
(Chapter 14).
French bean or
brown haricot
(Phaseolus vulgaris
L.) 'Signe', a
landrace collected
in south-east
Sweden and grown
for generations
there (Photo: Lena
Nygårds).
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
327
Photo 4
(Chapter 7).
‘Johannislauch’ an
Allium lusticanum
landrace from
Rüthen village
north of Brilon,
Land NordrheinWestfalen. This
strain is used for
the first onion
dish in the spring
season served
with a cream
sauce (Photo:
Heidi Lorey).
Photo 5
(Chapter 16).
Farmer collecting
tomato landrace
in Orihuela, southeast Spain (Photo:
Juan José Ruiz).
Photo 6
(Chapter 19).
The grower and
owner of local
timothy strain
Grindstad from
Norway (Photo:
Oddrun Karlstad).
Photo 7
(Chapter 20).
Seed plants of
"Küttiger Rüeble"
grown in a garden
in Küttingen
(Photo: Christoph
Köhler).
328
Photo 8
(Chapter 15).
Shetland cabbage
plantation on the
island of Whalsay,
Shetland island,
Scotland (Photo:
Maria Scholten).
Photo 9
(Chapter 18).
Mr Cicchetti saved
'Monteleone di
Spoleto' emmer
wheat from
extinction and
developed new
products and
techniques for this
crop (Photo: Renzo
Torricelli).
Photo 10
(Chapter 21).
Manor Farm,
Suffolk newly
rethatched with
long-strawed
wheat (Photo: Mike
Ambrose).
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
329
Photo 11
(Chapter 22).
A vine landrace
harvested
and awaiting
processing in
Terceira Island,
Azores, Portugal
(Photo: Nigel
Maxted).
Photo 12
(Chapter 23).
Traditional
lentil landrace
threshing, Lefkada
Island, Greece
(Photo: Leonidas
Nikolaou).
Photo 13
(Chapter 26).
Jim McEwan,
Production
Director at
Bruichladdich
whisky distillery
in Islay, Scotland,
tasting spirit
made from bere,
a Scottish barley
landrace (Photo:
Bruichladdich
distillery).
330
Photo 14
(Chapter 27).
Local potato
strain Puikula from
Finnish Lapland
(Photo: Antti
Hannukkla).
Photo 15
(Chapter 30).
The crab apple
Malus sylvestris
–basis for a
delicious fruit tea
(Photo: Monika
Höfer).
Photo 16
(Chapter 30).
Wild apple tree
(Photo: Monika
Höfer).
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Index
Note: page numbers in italics refer to figures and tables
accessions
adaptation
88–9
clonal
90, 91
contractual multiplication
114
genebank
307–8
Greek National Genebank
99
inbreeding depression
93
seeds to NordGen
69
Shetland cabbage
240
Sweden
158–9
adaptation
80
Conservation Variety
89
Agricultural Extension Service
of Lazio Region (ARSIAL)
118
agricultural practices, low-input
268
agricultural production, diverse
314
agro-biodiversity
4, 5–6
conservation
33
Georgia
244–6
organic production
37
agro-business schemes
321
agro-ecosystems
4
agro-environmental schemes
317
Agronomy Institute for Northern
Temperate Crops
251
Albania, genetic erosion
34, 36
Allium (onion)
150
Allium cepa (onion)
63
Allium lusitanicum (onion)
Photo 4
Allium sativum (garlic)
63
Amateur Variety
81
inventory
82–4
among landrace estimate of
erosion risk
293
Apium graveolens (celery)
11
apple
‘Ananasrenette’
91
‘Jonogold’ cultivar
91
Portuguese inventory
129
UK varieties
161
see also crab apples
apricot
150
archaeophytes
25
Armoracia rusticana (horseradish)
148
aromatic plants, Bulgarian
inventory
64–5
Avena sativa (oats)
79, 149, 165
see also oats
Avena strigosa (small/black oat) 35, 233
see also oats, small (black)
Azores islands, cultivars
130
back garden system, Hungary
back-mutations
113–14
90
barley
improved variety selection
25–6
landrace collections
29
line varieties
91–2
mildew-resistance
30
Russia
149, 151
spring
25–6
UK
163, 167
see also bere
basil
64, 65
bean
‘Brienzer Chrugler’
195
broad (see Vicia faba (broad bean))
Bulgarian green beans
collecting accessions
56
Bulgarian inventory
59–61, 62–3
common see Phaseolus vulgaris
(common bean)
French
Photo 3
garden see Phaseolus vulgaris
(common bean)
green see Phaseolus vulgaris
(common bean)
home garden cultivation in
Switzerland
195
runner see Phaseolus coccineus
(runner bean)
‘Schweflerbohne’
195
‘Signe’
Photo 3
bean weevil resistance
60
beet
150–1
fodder
69
bere
163, 233, 234
agronomy research
255–6
beer
258–9
commercialization
251
cultivation
163, 260
environmental benefits
315
diversity
235
environmental conditions
241
farmers’ knowledge of crop
254–5
fertilizer use
256
flour
analysis
256–8
baking properties
258
fungicide use
256
grain characterization
256–8
growth promoter use
256
history
252–4
malting characteristics
258
markets
251–62
mineral analysis
256–8
planting time
255
product development
258–61
331
332
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
240–1
seed production
260
seed rate
256
seed sample collection
235
supply chains
251–62
development
260
vitamin analysis
256–8
whisky
259–60, Photo 13
yields
256
Beta vulgaris (beet)
150–1
biocultural restoration
310–11
Biodiversity International
27
Biodiversity Targets (2010)
4, 33
biodynamic breeders
269
BIOGEN database
137–8
Brassica, UK field crop landraces 165, 166
Brassica juncea (mustard)
150
Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata
(Shetland cabbage)
233
see also Shetland cabbage
Brassica rapaeuropaea (turnip) 146, 147, 195
breeders’ varieties
25
see also plant breeders’ rights;
plant breeding
breeding variety protection,
legislation
37
Bruichladdich Distillery
(Islay)
259–60, Photo 13
buckwheat
149
Bulgaria
collecting expeditions
54–5
crop plant collections
26–7
genetic variation
53
green beans collecting accessions 56
National Institute of Plant
Genetic Resources
54–5
Bulgarian inventory
aromatic plants
64–5
cereals
56–8
decorative plants
64–5
grain legume crops
62–3
landrace
53–66
medicinal plants
64–5
vegetables
58–61, 63–4
Bureau for Applied Biology (Russia) 143
Burns, Robert
254
cabbage, Shetland
165, 233, Photo 8
accessions
240
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
237, 239–40
seed sample collection
235
Calendula officinalis (calendula)
64
Cannabis sativa (hemp)
150
see also hemp
Capsicum annuum (pepper)
58, 59
Hungarian inventory
112
cardoon
‘Cardon épineux de
Plainpalais’
192–3
culture
193
origin
192
production
193
selection
193
Swiss cultivation
192–3
varieties
192
Carpathian Mountains, cereal/
maize landraces
36
carrot, ‘Küttiger’
193–4, Photo 7
Carthamus tinctoria (safflower)
113
Carum cavi (carroway)
148
catalogues
33
see also National Catalogues
celery
11
cereals
Bulgarian inventory
56–8
Carpathian Mountains
36
Finnish inventory
71
Outer Hebrides landraces
163
Portugal
126, 130–1
Romanian inventory
141
Russian
145–6, 147, 148–9
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
240–1
UK landraces
165
see also named types
certification see seed certification systems
chickpeas
101
Chiloe (Chile), potato landraces
11, 12
Cicer arietinum (chickpea)
101
climate change
16, 312–13, 321
clonal selection
289
clover
‘Essex Broad’
163–4
‘Kent Wild White’
163
‘Kersey White’
163–4
Northern forms
148
red
148, 187
sweet
148
UK landraces
163–4
white landrace
28
collecting expeditions, Bulgaria
54–5
collections
28–9, Photo 1
living
321
collective memory, loss
124
Common Catalogues, EU directive 304
Common Ground, apple varieties 161
conservation
evaluation technique/priorities 307
see also landraces, conservation
Conservation Variety
80, 81, 272
adaptation
89
inventory
82–4
Italian law
301–2
line breeding categories
92
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Consortium of Fagiolina
Growers
179, 180
Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
27
Convention on Biodiversity (1992) 4, 5, 45
Conference of the Parties
33
cooperation issues
321–2
cowpea
Consortium of Fagiolina
Growers
179, 180
cultivation
179
domestication
177
‘Fagiolina’
177–81
genetic characterization
178
Italy
177–81
market price
179
on-farm conservation
178, 179–80
Protected Designation of
Origin
179–80
rescue of landrace
177–9
see also Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)
crab apples
283–6, Photo 15
collection
285
desiccation
285–6
dried fruit
285
ex situ conservation
284
genetic resources
283–4
hybridization rate
284
in situ conservation
284
tea making
286
timber
285
tree
Photo 16
vitamin C content
286
crop(s)/crop plants
competitiveness
94
dispersal in Russia
147
gene pool monitoring
93–4
improvement
26
living material collections
26
local in Russia
148–51
risk analysis
93–4
varieties
25
wild relatives
5
see also fibre crops; field crops; root
crops
crop breeding, genetic bottlenecks
24
crop husbandry, Russia
145, 147
cultivars
25
Azores islands
130
Madeira island
130
modern
161, 306
replacement of landraces
309
cultivation, level
47, 48
cultural erosion, local
3
cultural identity reinforcement
311
cultural museums, on-farm
conservation
69
culture, crop-related
3, 161
Eglouvi lentils
customs, traditional
Cynara cardunculus (cardoon)
Czechoslovakia
crop plant collections
landrace collecting
333
230
228
192–3
27
29
Danish inventory
69
data collation
50–1
Dauca carota (carrot)
193–4
decorative plants, Bulgarian
inventory
64–5
disease resistance
30
diversity
bere barley
235
conservation
241
Environmentally Sensitive
Areas in Hungary
114–16
ex situ conservation
316
home gardens in Hungary
115
information collation
48–9
knowledge
308
landraces
46–7, 309
lentils
225–7, 228
loss in Georgia
244
maintaining
46–7
maintenance in Eglouvi
lentils
225–7, 229
peas in Sweden
159–60
preserving
46–7
in situ on-farm conservation
316
tomato landraces
172–4
see also genetic biodiversity
domestication
23
evolutionary processes
24
Siberia
148
domestication syndrome
23
DUS (Distinction, Uniformity,
Stability) criteria 13, 266, 270, 271, 287
Finnish modification
297
threat to landraces
309
Eastern Europe
agriculture
29
see also named countries
ecosystems, instability
16
ecotypes
5
education
320–1
Eglouvi (Lefkada, Greece)
lentil festival
228
lentils
223–30
einkorn
139, 183
Elkana
246
seed depository
248
environmental benefits, landrace
cultivation
315
environmental conditions, bere
barley growth
241
334
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
environmental schemes
321
Environmentally Sensitive Areas,
Hungary
108–9, 110, 114–16, 311
High Nature Value Areas
114–15
Ethiopia, wheat landraces
12
EU directives for agricultural
crops
13–14, 80, 271, 320
Common Catalogues
304
decision criteria
287
genetic diversity
93
genetic erosion risk
292–3
Italian implementation
300–4
Italian legislation comparison 301–2
National Catalogues
304
seed legislation
287, 296
varieties
290
European Association for Research
in Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) 27–8
European Common Catalogue
13
European Co-operative Programme
for Plant Genetic Resources
(ECPGR)
28, 309, 321–2
European Plant Conservation
Strategy
4, 33
European seed legislation
287–94, 296
European strategic approach to
landrace conservation
305–23
European Strategy for Plant
Conservation 2008–2014 (ESPC)
4
Evira
296
seed marketing
298
evolutionary processes, domestication 24
extinctions
16, 33, 36, 308
assessment
316
F1 hybrids
2, 161
Fagopyrum sagittatum (buckwheat) 149
Farm Seed Opportunities
266–72
case studies in Europe
268–9
field trials
269–70
objectives
268–9
on-farm variety evolution
269–70
seed regulations
270–2
varieties
290
farmer breeders
269
farmers
access to markets
247–8
knowledge of bere crop
254–5
landrace maintenance
309–10
lentils
230
studies
317
VASO project (Portugal)
276
Farmers’ Rights, definition
272
farms
Romania
141
traditional
311
farro
183–5, Photo 9
cultivation
183
genetic distinction
183–4
see also Triticum dicoccon
(emmer wheat)
fibre crops
genetic erosion in Romania
139
Russia
146, 147, 150
field crops
landrace survival
35
in situ occurrence of landraces 162
UK
167
Finland
collecting missions
70
conservation variety registration 298
farmers
75–6
inventory
70–7
outcomes
75–7
research programme
73–4
knowledge on landraces
75–6
landrace crops
2
landrace maintenance
310
legislation
296
national policies for landrace
cultivation
296–9
National Programme for
Plant Genetic Resources for
Agriculture
72–3
oat landraces
30
‘Puikula’ potatoes 264–5, Photo 14
rye
Photo 2
seed certification
296
seed handling
74–5
seed legislation
296
seed marketing
297–8
subsidies
76
conservation varieties
298–9
support systems
for landrace cultivation
296–9
for on-farm maintenance
76–7
varietal trials
71–2
variety registration
296–7, 298
web-based information service 76–7
flax
genetic erosion in Romania
139
Russia
146, 147, 150
seed in Germany
79
fodder beet
69
food consumption, localization
37
food security
30–1, 314, 319
forage
Norwegian crops
187
seed production in Norway
188
UK landraces
163–4
see also clover; grasses
former USSR collapse, Georgia
impact
245–6
founder effect
24
fruit
48
German inventory
85–6
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Russia
146, 150
fruit teas, crab apple
283–6, Photo 15
fruit trees
Portuguese inventory 129,129–30,132
Russia
146
gap analysis
307, 316
garden plants
landraces
35, 317
see also home garden landraces;
kitchen gardens
garlic
63
genebanks
13, 27–8, 321
accessions
99, 307–8
deviation
90
European collections
29
germplasm storage
81–2
Greece
97–8
accessions
99
Hungary
116
indexes
31
Joint European Documentation
systems
28
landrace registration
291
Portugal
124
primitive varieties
24
UK
167
variety registration
291
gene pool
3
monitoring
93–4
genetic biodiversity
2, 31
cultivated components
8
EU directives for agricultural crops 93
farro
183–4
global
6
inventories
8
lack in modern varieties
3
landrace nomenclature
10–11
loss
3, 33–5, 92
Portuguese common bean
131
priority measures
315–16
proxy for estimation
46–7
pulsation
24
threats
12–15, 33–5
assessment
16
tomato
174
see also diversity
genetic bottlenecks
24
genetic erosion
33–5, 36, 80
assessment
316
evaluation of threat
119–21
German inventory
89–90, 91, 92
grapevines
132
indicators
120, 121
Italy
34, 118
evaluation of threat
119–21
Lazio Region law (Italy)
118
risk
292–3
Romanian landraces
139
socio-economic environment
121
genetic resources see plant genetic
resources
genetic variation, Bulgaria
53
geographical isolation
35
Georgia
agricultural diversity loss
244
agro-biodiversity
244–6
loss
245–6
significance
244–5
exchange of best methods/
practices
248
farmers’ access to markets
247–8
farmers’ organization
248–9
indigenous knowledge
249
landrace reintroduction
249
local farmers’ associations
247
local initiatives to preserve
indigenous crops
246–9
on-farm conservation
244–9
planting materials
247
primary seed sources
247
seed collections
248
seed multiplication scheme
248
sustainable utilization of
threatened crops
246–7
German Information and
Coordination Center for Biological
Diversity
80
Germany
crab apples
283–6
crop plant collections
26
flax seed
79
inventory
79–94
accessions
84–5
explorative approach 83–4, 85–7
fruit
85–6
genetic erosion
89–90, 91, 92
names of landraces
85
population varieties
90–1
regional approach
83
vegetables
85, 86
landrace collecting
29
oat breeding
92
oat crop
92
oat landraces
79
germplasm
categories
88
characterization
125–6
databases
31
diversity in Portuguese common
bean
131
genebank storage
81–2
management
94
VASO project (Portugal)
277
Global Plan of Action (FAO)
125
Global Plant Conservation Strategy
4
335
336
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Global Strategy of Plant
Conservation
4, 33
globalization
29
grapevines
127, 128
germplasm conservation
203
Portugal
203–10, Photo 11
diversity maintenance 208,209–10
landrace distribution
205, 206
landrace number cultivated 206
landraces recorded
220–2
motivation for landrace
culture
208, 209
on-farm diversity
207–8
questionnaire
213–19
vegetative material exchange 207
Portuguese inventory 127, 128, 132
grasses
indigenous in Russia
148
UK landraces
163–4
see also forage; timothy grass
Greece
genetic erosion
36
landraces
100–1
lentils
223–30, Photo 12
management of landraces
97–101
National Genebank
97–8
accessions
99
national PGR systems 97–8, 99, 100
secondary centre of diversity
101
green beans collecting accessions,
Bulgaria
56
Grindstad Farm (Rakkestad,
Norway)
188–90, Photo 6
growers, studies
317
Guanacaste National Park
(Costa Rica)
310–11
hay, timothy grass
188, 189
Helianthus annuus (sunflower)
150
Helichrysum bracteatum
64
hemp
genetic erosion in Romania
139
Russia
146, 150
herbarium collections
29
Heritage Seed Library (UK)
161
home garden landraces
35, 48, 317
collection
49
diversity in Hungary
115
Romania
141
hop see Humulus lupulus (hop)
Hordeum (barley)
149, 151
see also barley
horseradish
148
Humulus lupulus (hop)
148
Hungary
back garden system
113–14
collection sites
106
crop plant collections
27
diversity
114–16
Environmentally Sensitive
Areas
108–9, 110, 114–16, 311
High Nature Value Areas 114–15
genebank
116
home garden diversity
115
inventory
104–16
kitchen gardens
115
landraces
backyard multiplication
112
protection
110–12
National Inventory for PGRFA 106–7
on-farm conservation
112–16
on-farm management
110–12
Pannon Seed Bank
105–6
protected area
management
107–9, 110
Research Centre for
Agrobotany
104–5
collections
105–6
seed supply system
116
hybrid population development
281
hybrid varieties, replacement of
landraces
309
hybridization
30
inbreeding depression
93
India, rice genetic diversity
15
indigenous knowledge
collection
Photo 1
Eglouvi lentils
225
Georgia
249
information dissemination
318
information service, web-based
76–7
intensive agriculture, landrace
survival
35–6
International Board for Plant
Genetic Resources
27
International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) 268
International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture
(FAO, 2001)
4–5, 33, 45, 300
International Union for the
Protection of New Varieties of
Plants (UPOV Convention)
189–90
inventories
31, 32, 33, 45–51
Bulgarian
53–66
checklist approach
49
comprehensive
45–6
data collation
50–1
Denmark
69
Finland
70–7
Germany
79–94
Hungary
104–16
Italy
117–23
landrace tracking
49
methodology development
316
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
passport data
55
Portugal
124–32
post-inventory follow-up
51
Romania
137–42
Russia
143–52
scope
47–8
Sweden
155–60
UK
33, 47–8, 161–7
IPGR Sadavo
54
Isle of Arran Distillers (Scotland)
259
Italy
annual vegetable preservation
35
cowpea
177–81
emmer wheat
183–5, Photo 9
flint maize landraces
15
genetic erosion
34, 118
evaluation of threat
119–21
inventory
117–23
landrace collecting
29
landrace crops
2, 11
landrace hotspots
36
landrace maintenance
310
legislation
117, 300–4
EU directive comparison 301–2
implementation
119
Lazio Region
law
117, 118–19, 122–3
regional laws
302–4
on-farm conservation
50
regulations for landrace inventories/
conservation
117, 118–19
implementation
119
IUCN Red List categories
16
Joint European Documentation systems
for genebank collections (EURISCO) 28
kitchen gardens
Hungary
root crops
Russia
see also home garden landraces
knowledge
diversity
loss of empirical
see also indigenous knowledge
Lactuca salad
Switzerland
land use
landraces
allochthonous
autochthonous
awareness raising
backyard multiplication
collecting
commercial value
conservation
115
146
146
308
124
92
194–5
320
2
23, 47
23, 47
310–11
112
28–9, 316
321
5–8
actions needed
15–16
European strategic
approach
305–23
ex situ
5–7, 8
initiatives
17
in situ
5–7, 8
status
307–8
techniques
7, 8
continuous cultivation
139
Creole
23, 47
cultivation
environmental benefits
315
future opportunities
314–15
on-farm
311–12
cultural associations
161
definition
9–10, 25, 80–1, 288–9
distinction
47
diversity
46–7, 309
European strategic approach to
conservation
305–23
extant
5
extinction
16, 33, 36, 308
field crops
35
Finland national policies
296–9
garden plants
35, 317
genetic distinctions
10–11
genetic diversity
31
loss
3–4
genetic erosion
14–15
genetically homogeneous
31
history in Europe
25–8
hotspots
36
improvement
318
inventories
31, 32, 33
loss
causes
12–14
estimates
11–12
maintainers
15, 48, 49
names
28
need for
306–7
nomenclatural distinctions
10–11
on-farm conservation
7
threats to
308–13
priority measures
37
seed legislation
288–90
selection from
26
single-maintainer
48
small-scale production
318
survival
35–6
threats to biodiversity
11–15
tracking
49
types
23
use
29–31
utilization
318–19
value-adding
312
varietal trials
71–2
landscape conservation areas,
Hungary
108, 110
337
338
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Lapland, Puikula potatoes 265, Photo 14
Lazio Region law (Italy) 117,118–19,122–3
legislation/legal issues
319–20
breeding variety protection
37
European
287–94
Finland
296
Italy
117, 118–19, 300–4
see also regulations; seed legislation
legislative models
320
legumes
Bulgarian inventory of grain
crops
62–3
Greek landraces
101
Portugal
126, 131
Russia
149–50
seed in Switzerland
191
see also named types
Lens clymenum (vetchling)
101
Lens culinaris (lentils)
223
Lens esculentum (lentils)
63, 101
lentils
Bulgarian inventory
63
characteristics
226
conservation
228–9, 230
cultivation
225–7, 229
diversity maintenance 225–7, 228, 229
Eglouvi
223–30
farmers
230
germplasm
230
Greece
223–30, Photo 12
Greek landraces
101
household description
225
indigenous knowledge
225
marketing
227–8
medicinal use
228
on-farm conservation
228–9, 230
seed selection
227, 228
seed sufficiency
227
seed system
225–7
traditional customs
228
lettuce, ‘Grasse de Morgues’
194–5
line selection
30
line varieties
90, 91–2
Conservation Variety
92
Linum usitatissimum (flax)
150
see also flax
living collections
321
localization
47, 321
Lycopersicon esculentum
(tomato)
63, 100–1, 171
see also tomato
machair habitat
Madeira island, cultivars
maintainers
farmers
single-maintainer landraces
value
234
130
15, 49
309–10
48
306–7
maize
‘Amíudo’
277, 278
Bulgarian inventory
56–7
Carpathian Mountains
36
flint landraces
15
Hungarian inventory
112
hybrid population development 281
modern varieties
2–3
open-pollinated varieties
277
participatory breeding
programme
131
‘Pigarro’
277, 278, 279–80
Portugal
126, 130–1
VASO project
275–81
Romanian inventory
141
seed selection cycles
279–80
VASO project (Portugal)
275–81
Malus sylvestris (crab apple)
283
see also crab apples
Malus x domestica (apple)
283
see also apple
marginal environments
30
marketing
Finland
297–8
tools
315
markets
bere barley
251–62
farmers’ access
247–8
Medicago falcata (yellow medic)
148
medicinal plants, Bulgarian
inventory
64–5
Mediterranean diet, Greek landraces 101
Mediterranean islands
36
Melilotus albus (sweet clover)
148
mildew-resistant barley
30
Millennium Development Goals (UN) 5
millet
147, 149
modern varieties
2–3
diffusion
12
genetic diversity lack
3
yields
3
molecular studies
30
Monteleone di Spoleto (Umbria,
Italy), farro landrace
183–5
Mursala tea
65
mustard
150
National Catalogues
13, 33
EU directive
304
National Institute of Plant Genetic
Resources (Bulgaria)
54–5
National List (UK)
161–2, 165–6, 167
National Lists
13
national parks, Hungary
108, 109
National Programme for Plant Genetic
Resources for Agriculture (Finland) 72–3
nature conservation areas,
Hungary
108, 110
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Neolithic Revolution
25
neophytes
25
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
collections
33
Greek on-farm conservation
100
home garden landraces
48
landrace survival
35–6
Portugal
125
priority measures
37
NordGen (Sweden)
157
Nordic Gene Bank
(NordGen)
28, 69, 155–6
ex situ conservation
75
Finnish inventory
70–1, 72
landrace nomenclature
11
seed accessions
69
Norse people
254
Norway
forage crops
187
Grindstad timothy 187–90, Photo 6
Molstad red clover
187
oats
accessions
83
breeding in Germany
92
Bulgarian inventory
58
cultivars
32
German inventory
84–5, 87
Germany
79
landraces
30
survival
35
‘Leuterwitzer Gelbhafer’
79
‘Monarch’
165
‘Murkle’
165
‘Probsteier’
31
Russia
147, 149
‘Sächsischer Gebirgshafer’
79
small (black)
35, 233, 234
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
240–1
seed sample collection
235
straw
234
UK
165
Ocimmum basilicum (basil)
64, 65
Ockham’s razor
47
olives
cultivars
101
Greek production
101
landraces
101
Portuguese inventory
127, 131–2
onion
63, 150
Bulgarian inventory
63
‘Johannislauch’
Photo 4
Onobrychis vicifolia (sanfoin)
‘Hampshire Common’
47–8
UK landraces
164
organic production
37, 318
Orkney
bere beer
258–9
bere cultivation
163, 260
outbreeding crops
92–3
Outer Hebrides, cereal landraces
163
Panicum miliaceum (millet),
Russia
147, 149
Papaver somniferum (poppy)
150
participatory plant breeding
37, 266
initiatives
268
landrace improvement
318
varieties
271
VASO project (Portugal) 277, 280, 281
participatory varietal selection
318
passport data
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
235, 236, 238
specimens
55
pears, Portuguese inventory
129
peas
1449
Bulgarian inventory
62
genetic analysis
159–60
Swedish diversity
159–60
pepper see Capsicum annuum (pepper)
phaseolin marker
131
Phaseolus (bean)
Greek landraces
101
Hungarian inventory
112
Phaseolus coccineus (runner bean)
139
Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)
11
Bulgarian inventory
59–61, 62–3
collecting accessions
56
Germany
92
Greek landraces
101
home garden cultivation in
Switzerland
195
Portugal inventory
126, 131
Romanian inventory
138, 139, 141
Phleum pratense (timothy grass)
148
see also timothy grass
Phytophthora infestans (potato
blight)
3, 264
Pisum sativum (pea)
62, 149, 159–60
plant breeders’ rights
13
plant breeding
3, 25
novel approaches
318
participatory
37
Sweden
155
plant genetic resources
5–8
conservation
5–7, 8
erosion
33
management
94, 321
movement
27, 34
ownership
118
safeguarding
302
plant variety rights (PVR), protection 297
Poland
crop plant collections
27
339
340
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
landrace collecting
29
political issues
319–20
Pomologen-Verein (Germany)
85–6
poppy
150
population varieties
90–1, 272
Portugal
cereals
126, 130–1
Colares region
203–10
collective memory loss
124
Douro region
203–10
emigration
124
empirical knowledge loss
124
fruit trees
129, 129–30, 132
genebanks
124
grapevines
127, 128, 132, 203–10,
Photo 11
inventory
124–32
methodology
125–6
landrace collection
124
legumes
126, 131
olives
127, 131–2
socio-economic factors
124
VASO project
275–81
vegetables
126–7
potato
landraces
11, 12
Puikula
264–5, Photo 14
yields
265
Romanian inventory
141
potato blight
3, 264
Potato Famine, Ireland (1845–1849)
3
pre-breeding methodologies, VASO
project (Portugal)
277–8
primitive varieties
23, 24
product development schemes 312, 318
product diversification, emmer
wheat
184–5
production, localization
37, 321
programme for the diversity of
cultivated plants (POM)
156–9
protected areas, Hungary
107–9, 110
Protected Designation of Origin
(PDO)
179–80, 314, 315, 318, 319
cardoon
193
emmer wheat
184–5
products
292
Puikula potatoes
265
Protected Geographical Indication
(PGI)
314, 315, 319
products
292
Prunus armeniaca (apricot)
150
public awareness
320–1
pumpkins, Bulgarian inventory 59, 63
pure lines
2
quality labels
region of origin
314
291–2
regional development schemes
321
regional uniqueness
314
regulations
landrace inventories/
conservation in Italy
117, 118–19
seed
270–2
thatching
199–200
reintroductions
10
research
319
rice
genetic diversity
India
15
Thailand
14–15
Indica strains
14
Japonica strains
14–15
risk, clonal accessions
91
risk analysis, crops
93–4
Romania
BIOGEN database
137–8
cereals
141
crop plant collections
27
farms
141
genetic erosion
139
home garden landraces
141
inventory
137–42
landrace distribution
138, 140
on-farm conservation
50
potatoes
141
roofing materials
plant types
197
see also thatching
root crops
kitchen gardens
146
Russia
146, 147, 150–1
rural populations, reduction
14
rural poverty alleviation
3
Russia
agricultural practice
144–8
Asian part
146–8
barley
149, 151
beans
149
beet
150–1
buckwheat
149
Bureau for Applied Biology
143
cereals
145–6, 148–9
crop husbandry
145, 147
crop plants
collections
26
dispersal
147
environmental extremes
143
European
144–6
fibre crops
150
flax
146, 147, 150
fruit growing
146, 150
geography
143
grasses
148
hemp
146, 150
inventory
143–52
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
rye
kitchen gardens
landrace collection
legumes
millet
modern landraces
oats
onions
peas
poppies
root crops
rye
Scythian culture
Slavonic
sunflowers
Tripolian culture
vegetables
wheat
spring
146
143–4
149–50
147, 149
151–2
147, 149
150
149
150
146, 147, 150–1
148–9, 151
144–5
145
150
144
146, 147
147, 149
152
Bulgarian inventory
56–7, 58
‘Carsten’ variety
93
Hebridean
233
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
240–1
Hungarian inventory
112
‘Petkus’ variety
93
Russia
148–9, 151
winter strain
76, Photo 2
ryegrass, Kent perennial
163
safflower
Salvia sclarea
sanfoin
Scotch whisky industry
113
65
47–8, 164
253–4, 259–60,
Photo 13
Scotland, landrace maintenance
310
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
233–42
cereals
240–1
diversity conservation
241
ex situ conservation
235–8
passport information 235, 236, 238
seed registration
238
seed storage
238
Shetland cabbage
237, 239–40
Scottish landraces
current use
234
distribution
233
recent research
235
see also bere
Scythian culture (Russia)
144–5
Secale cereale (rye)
112, 148–9, 151
see also rye
seed(s)
distribution
321
duplication
321
exchange
13
on-farm production
269–70
quality
270
seed accessions, Nordgen
69
seed banks
317
Seed Call (Sweden)
156–7, 159
pea genotypes
159–60
seed catalogue
German inventory
84
inventories
49
seed certification systems
12–14
Finland
296
Scottish landraces
234
seed depositories
317
seed handling, Finland
74–5
seed legislation
202, 319–20
European
287–94, 296
Finland
296
genetic erosion risk
292–3
landraces
288–90
region of origin
291–2
varieties
288–90
seed lists
33
seed marketing, Finland
297–8
seed multiplication scheme, Georgia 248
seed producers
269
seed registration, Scottish Landrace
Protection Scheme
238
seed regulations
270–2
see also DUS (Distinction, Uniformity,
Stability) criteria
seed savers
268–9
seed selection
cycles
279–80
lentils
227, 228
seed storage, Scottish Landrace
Protection Scheme
238
seed stories, Sweden
159
seed sufficiency, lentil landraces
227
seed supply system, Hungary
116
seed system, Eglouvi lentils
225–7
Seed Trade Act (Finland, 2000)
296
seed trauma resistance
60
selection
2
improved varieties
25
line
30
Shetland
bere beer
258–9
bere cultivation
163
landrace maintenance
310
Shetland cabbage
165, 233, Photo 8
accessions
240
Scottish Landrace Protection
Scheme
237, 239–40
seed sample collection
235
Siberia
146–8
domestication of plants
148
Sideritis scardiaca (Mursala tea)
65
silage, timothy grass
189
single-maintainer landraces
48
341
342
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
Slavonic Russia
145
Slow Food
33
cowpeas
179
socio-cultural information, Finnish
inventory
75
socio-economic environment
321
genetic erosion
121
Portugal
124
Solanum demissum
3
Solanum lycopersicon (tomato)
172
see also tomato
sorghum, landraces
11
Soviet Union, crop plant collections 26
Spain, tomato varieties 171–5, Photo 5
spice crops, Bulgarian inventory
63–4
strategic conservation approach 315–23
subsidies, Finland
76
conservation varieties
298–9
sunflower
150
supply chains, bere barley
251–62
sustainable agriculture
4
sustainable utilization, threatened
crops in Georgia
246–7
Sweden
accessions
158–9
French beans
Photo 3
inventory
155–60
pea genetic analysis
159–60
plant breeding
155
programme for the diversity of
cultivated plants (POM)
156–9
Seed Call
156–7, 159
pea genotypes
159–60
seed stories
159
vegetables
156–7
Swiss Commission for the Conservation
of Cultivated Plants (CPC)
191
Switzerland
cardoon cultivation
192–3
carrot cultivation
193–4
garden vegetables
194–5
lettuce
194–5
seed legumes
191
vegetables
191–6
Tagetes patula (tagetes)
65
Thailand, rice genetic diversity
14–15
thatched properties
198–9, Photo 10
thatching
197–8
fire risk
199–200
long-straw wheat
197–202
regulations
199–200
threat assessment techniques
316
timber, crab apple
285
timothy grass
148
Grindstad
187–90, Photo 6
hay
188, 189
imported seed
187
local cultivars in Norway
187–90
New Grindstad
190
Scots
163, 164, 233
certification
234
silage
189
tomato
172
aroma
173–4
breeding
172
Bulgarian inventory
63
‘De la Pera’
171, 173, 174–5
disease resistance
172
domestication
172
flavour quality
171–2, 174
genetic diversity
174
Greek landraces
100–1
introgressed DNA
172
landrace diversity
172–4
micronutrient content
173
modern hybrid cultivars
172
morphological variation
172–3
‘Muchamiel’
171, 173, 174–5
on-farm management
175
resistant gene introgression
174–5
Spanish varieties
171–5, Photo 5
traditional variety
improvement
174–5
virus susceptibility
171
tourism
impact on Eglouvi lentils
228
traditional farm conversion
311
tourism-based economies
29
Traditional Speciality Guaranteed
(TSG)
315, 319
traditional varieties
improvement of tomatoes
174–5
UK
162–5
Trasimeno Lake (Umbria, Italy),
cowpea landraces
177–81
Trifolium, Northern forms
148
Trifolium pratense (red clover)
148, 187
Tripolian culture (Russia)
144
Triticum (wheat)
Ethiopian landraces
12
landrace survival
35
Triticum aestivum (bread wheat)
56
genetic erosion in Romania
139
Russia
149
thatching
198
Triticum dicoccon (emmer
wheat)
29, 149, Photo 9
cultivation
183
Italy
183–5
Monteleone di Spoleto
184–5
Triticum durum (durum wheat)
149
Triticum monococcum (einkorn) 139, 183
Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat)
198
turnip
146, 147
Swedish
195
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
UK
barley
163, 167
brassica field crops
165
cereal landraces
165
ex situ conservation
166
field crops
167
in situ occurrence of landraces 162
forage landraces
163–4
genebanks
167
genetic erosion in wheat
35
inventory
33, 47–8, 161–7
long-straw wheat
197–202
maintainers of traditional
varieties
166
National List
161–2, 165–6, 167
oats
165
obsolete varieties
166, 167
seed availability
166
wheat traditional varieties
162–5
UK Portal for Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture
162
UPOV Convention (International
Union for the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants)
189–90
utilization of landraces
318–19
Valhalla Brewery (Unst, Shetland) 258–9
Value for Cultivation and Use
(VCU)
270
varieties
267–9, 290
evolution on-farm
269–70
hybrid
309
improved
25
line
90, 91–2
local
271
old 271
participatory plant breeding
271
population
90–1, 272
primitive
23, 24
protection laws
320
registration in Finland
296–7, 298
seed legislation
288–90
see also Conservation Variety;
traditional varieties
variety certification
12–14
VASO project (Portugal)
275–81
farmers
276
germplasm
277
implementation
275–6
location
276
methodology
277–8
participatory plant
breeding
277, 280, 281
pre-breeding methodologies 277–8
results
279–81
selection
cycles
279–80
phenotypic recurrent
278
S2 recurrent
278–9
vegetables
48
annual
35
Bulgarian inventory
58–61, 63–4
garden
194–5
German inventory
84
landrace hotspots
36
Portuguese inventory
126–7
Russia
146, 147
Sweden
156–7
Switzerland
191–6
VEN Samelist
85, 86
vetch 112
Bulgarian inventory
62
Russia
149–50
vetchling
101
Vicia (vetch)
62, 112, 149–50
Vicia faba (broad bean)
126, 141
Russia
149
Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)
11, 63
Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata
(cowpea), Italy
177–81
Vikings
254
viral diseases, tomato
171
vitamin C content, crab apples
286
Vitis vinifera (grape)
203
wheat
‘April Bearded’
162, 163, 201
‘Barbela’
80
‘Blue Cone’
162, 163
bread (see Triticum aestivum
(bread wheat))
Bulgarian inventory
56–7
coned
198
durum
149
emmer (see Triticum dicoccon
(emmer wheat))
genetic erosion
35
landrace survival
35
line varieties
91–2
‘Little Joss’
162, 163
long-straw 162, 167, 197–202, Photo 10
cultivation
201–2
landraces
200–1
on-farm conservation
200–2
seed legislation
202
‘Maris Huntsman’
162
‘Maris Widgeon’
162, 163
modern varieties
2–3
Portugal
126, 130–1
‘Rampton Rivet’
162, 163, 201
‘Rivet’
162, 163, 198, 201
Russia
147, 149
soft
56
spring
152
‘Squarehead’s Master’ 162, 163, 201
thatching types
198
343
344
BIOVERSITY TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 15
UK traditional varieties
162–5
‘Victoria d’Automne’
201
winter
genetic diversity
15
landrace
28
whisky, bere
259–60, Photo 13
whisky industry
253–4
wine industry, European
314
within landrace estimate of erosion
risk
293
yields
bere
modern varieties
Puikula potato
256
3
265
Bioversity International
is the operating name of the
International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute (IPGRI).
Supported by the CGIAR
ISBN 978-92-9043-805-2
European landraces: on-farm conservation, management and use
Technical Bulletin No. 15
Bioversity
Nigel Maxted