WP5 Case study on genetic resources in food and agriculture

esources. Most commercially grown crops, vegetables and soft fruits are dominated byfew high-yielding varieties. Especially for annual crops there is hardly any cultivation ofold varieties. It is estimated that compared to the first half of the twentieth century, 75 percent of cultivated plants in agriculture and horticulture have disappeared (UBA, 2002 in:Wolff, 2004). Although Germany has a long history of scientific research into plantgenetic resources, there is no complete inventory of cultivated plant species and varieties,let alone written comprehensive information about management and utilisationtechniques. In the case of vegetables, fruits and herbs private gardens surely still hold ahigher variety of plants. On-farm management happens e.g. in agricultural and historicalopen-air museums.Plant breeding in Germany is mainly organised privately (except fruit and vine). TheSaatgutverkehrsgesetz (SaatG, German Seed Trading Law) demands compulsory varietyapproval and registration, requiring compliance with the DUS-criteria and proof of Valuefor Cultivation and Use (VCU) (§30(1), 34 SaatG). VUC includes criteria such as qualityof cultivation, resistance, yield and quality, yield still being the predominant indicator(Wolff, 2004). New varieties must show a distinct improvement compared to existingvarieties, and around 90 per cent of applications fail because of these VUC requirements(Steinberger J. in Wolff, 2004). The testing is carried out by the Bundessortenamt(Federal Agency for Varieties) and is paid for by the breeders’ organisation. Traditionalseed-supply systems are lost almost completely (Efken, 2004).Thus, there are new developments as well. There is a rising interest and need for varietiesdeveloped according to specific guidelines of organic farming associations. As theBMELV aims to increase the share of organically farmed land in Germany, the potentialfor on-farm management activities will rise accordingly (Efken, 2004). Interest in use ofplants as renewable resources for materials or energy opens opportunities for areintroduction of old species (such as flax and hemp), but the full range of uses is still tobe developed.Ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources happens at six places in two publicresearch institutions, numerous botanic gardens and in around 20 special collections, butthere is by far not enough capacity for a complete conservation because of the highgenetic diversity of wild plants. Research on the conservation of plant genetic resources isdominated by the requirements and techniques for improving ex situ conservation. Agreat deal of research is being done in the field of the characterisation and evaluation.Little scientific experience has been gathered in the area of in situ and on-farmconservation. Practical and scientific work in this area is mainly carried out by a numberof German nongovernmental organisations. Research on the potential use of naturereserves for the conservation of genetic resources was mainly carried out in the formerGDR prior to reunification.25