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EUROPEAN CENTRAL FORAGES DATABASES 23
Germany - A knowledge base for disease resistance of selected cultivated plant species
A knowledge base reviewing the current knowledge on disease resistance of plant species
investigated in the genebank branch station North (Malchow) of IPK-Gatersleben was set up.
More than 350 publications on disease resistance of the last 25 years were considered,
concerning 116 host-pathogen combinations of Brassica napus L. var. oleifera, Dactylis
glomerata L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., F. pratensis Huds., F. rubra L., Lolium perenne L.,
Medicago sativa L., Phleum pratense L., Poa pratensis L., Trifolium pratense L. and T. repens L.
Sixteen priorities are taken into consideration such as resistant genotypes, methods of
checking resistance, genetics of resistance and breeding for resistance. The knowledge base
can be made topical and complete continuously and can be searched and used throughout
the IPK genebank branch station Malchow. Seed samples can be requested from the
genebank in Malchow. In the near future this information will be recorded on the Internet
with the support of ZADI/IGR, Bonn.
Greece - Breeding for drought resistance, persistence and forage productivity
• Breeding of Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) was in the first priorities of the research conducted
during the last 15 years. Samples collected in different regions were evaluated in the field
and great variability was found. The best plants were selected to create new populations,
clones and synthetic varieties. Traditional alfalfa varieties and modern bred varieties,
indigenous or introduced, were screened and the best were tested in contrasting
environments under or without irrigation. The semidormant Greek varieties Dolichi,
Hyliki, Hypati and Florina proved to be the most persistent and the most productive
varieties under or without irrigation. Cheronia, a nondormant Greek variety, was also a
good producer, but only under irrigation.
• Medicago arborea L. is a drought-resistant shrub, suitable for marginal rocky soil
reclamation in Mediterranean dry-hot conditions. The collection of indigenous
germplasm was completed, including a total of 38 accessions. A mass selection variety
named Naxos has been registered on the national list of varieties and a large number of
clones and lines have been produced by selection for drought and cold resistance,
leafiness and forage production.
• Dactylis glomerata L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Lolium perenne L. (cocksfoot, tall fescue
and perennial ryegrass): wild and bred populations were given a preliminary evaluation
under irrigation or rain-fed conditions in individual plants or in dense sowing for heading
time, drought resistance, persistence and forage production. Large variability was found
for all characteristics within and between populations and was used in further breeding
work of the wild indigenous germplasm, aimed at creating more productive and more
persistent varieties, better adapted to dry-hot conditions. The productivity of Greek
varieties, tested in Central Greece, was similar to that of foreign varieties under irrigation,
while it was much higher under rain-fed conditions. Metsovo tall fescue and Olympion
ryegrass are both suitable for use all over Greece under irrigation or under rain-fed
conditions in cool regions. Perrevia cocksfoot could be grown well under rain-fed
conditions even in the dry-hot southeastern Greece.
Italy - RAPD fingerprints as a tool for characterizing the genetic background of
Medicago sativa L. germplasm
Lucerne is the most important forage legume crop in Italy. This study was conducted to
assess the suitability of RAPD markers in detecting the genetic variability among and within
lucerne landraces from central Italy. In a first experiment genetic variability estimations
based on bulked plant DNA samples were assessed in 16 landraces from the Marche region;
in a second experiment genetic variability estimations based on single-plant DNA samples
were assessed in six landraces from the Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzi and Lazio regions. Most
landraces from Marche were found to share a common genetic background and to have a
limited genetic variation within population, whereas landraces from the other regions