Conservation of genetic diversity in the Solanaceae family in Bulgaria

Abstract

Conservation of plant biodiversity is a priority of the activity in IPGR – Sadovo. Annually accessions from the international centers of genetic resources are introduced, studied and maintained. Expeditions in different geographical region of the country are conducted and local varieties are collected. During the period 1978 – 2012 the National collection was enriched with 3398 local and introduced accessions from the Solanaceae family, including tomato (1149), pepper (2073) and eggplant (176). All accessions are registrated by passport data in the National register according to the international standards of FAO, ECP/GR and Bioversity International. Evaluation characteristics from the investigations are stored in databases by international descrip¬tors of IPGRI. Trait collections for earliness, disease resistance, high content of biochemical indices and good taste qualities in favor of breeding programs were created. 55% of accessions in the collection are submitted for long term storage at the National Genebank.