COLLECTION OF LAND RACES OF CULTIVATED PLANTS IN SOUTH ITALY 1985

In continuation of collecting missions in the last five years a further mission has been carried out in South Italy jointly by staff members of the Istituto del Germoplasam, Bari, and the Zentralinstitut fur Genetik und Kulturpflanzeforschung, Gatersleben, in September/October 1985 for studying and collecting plant genetic resources. In this year the activities have been concentrated on Sicily. 225 samples, mainly of vegetables, grain legumes and some cereals have been collected. A good part of the material is represented by highly variable old land-races; this is especially true for oats, barley, maize, french beans, faba beans, Brassica spp. and many other vegetables. Whereas genetic erosion is rather advanced in cereals, especially in wheat, land-races of many species of vegetables are grown on a large scale. The results of this mission increase our knowledge concerning the flora of cultivated plants of South Italy considerably.