Conservation of genetic resources in the Cucurbitaceae family in Bulgaria

Lilia Krasteva, Nikolaya Velcheva, Dochka Dimova, Stefan Neykov

Abstract: A rich collection of 2014 local and introduced accessions from Cucurbitaceae family is supported at the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources in Sadovo. Local forms are collected from different regions in North and South Bulgaria. Introduced are accessions from The Netherlands, USA, Russia, Israel, Taiwan, Japan, China, Germany and others through the international free germplasm exchange. During the period (1978 – 2012) 1961 accessions from collection were studied: cucumber (970), melon (331), watermelon (238) and pumpkin (422). More than 80% from the evaluated accessions are included in the long term storage in the National Genebank in the Institute. Databases with passport and evaluation features by the international descriptors were created and a number of indicators depend on the type of the culture. Accessions with valuable economical characteristics, like early ripeness, disease resistance and good taste qualities were determined. Storage of the information is helpful for specialists in the field of plant genetic resources and facilitates its use for scientific – research activity.

Keywords: Cucurbitaceae accessions; databases; evaluation; genetic diversity; storage

Date published: 2017-01-25