FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WILD RELATIVES OF SUBTROPICAL AND TEMPERATE FRUIT AND NUT CROPS

Authors: KOEHMSTEDT, ANNE - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); VELASCO, DIANNE - University Of California; Aradhya, Mallikarjuna; Kluepfel, Daniel

Submitted to: Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2011
Publication Date: 8/1/2011
Citation: Koehmstedt, A., Velasco, D., Aradhya, M.K., Kluepfel, D.A. 2011. FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON WILD RELATIVES OF SUBTROPICAL AND TEMPERATE FRUIT AND NUT CROPS. Symposium Proceedings. 51:38-39.

Interpretive Summary: Over 50 participants from 15 different countries would spend five days, March 19-23 2011, in open discussion on the status of conservation, management, and sustainable utilization of wild relatives of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crops. This was the first such meeting, co-convened by Dr. Malli Aradhya of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Clonal Germplasm Repository and Dr. Daniel Kluepfel of the USDA-ARS Crops Pathology and Genetic Research unit in Davis, and co-hosted by the USDA-ARS and the Plant Sciences Department of the University of California, Davis. The symposium provide a forum to address the issues concerned with conservation, management and sustainable utilization of wild relatives of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crops. The symposium was inaugurated by Maureen Whalen, Assistant Area Director, USDA-ARS, Pacific-West Area by introducing the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) of the USDA-ARS and spoke about its mission in the broader context of research within the USDA-ARS. Chris van Kessel, Plant Sciences Department, UC Davis, highlighted the fruit and nut crop industries of California’s famous Central Valley, which are some of the biggest in the world and showcase the best utilization of wild relatives in sustainable production of fruit and nut crops. Nigel Maxted, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in his keynote address, made a compelling case for conservation of CWRs, setting the stage for further deliberations. Twenty-three oral presentations, including seven plenary lectures, and 31 posters were presented during the meeting. The first oral session on germplasm conservation and management consisted of three plenary lectures, first by John Preece, Research Leader of the USDA germplasm repository in Davis, followed by a second lecture on community-based, participatory in situ and on-farm conservation strategies by Bhuwon Ratna Sthapit from Bioversity International’s South Asia Office, and the third by Malli Aradhya highlighted the research on fruit and nut wild relatives (FNWRs) conducted at the Davis repository. Other oral and poster presentations covered extensively the FNWRs in the Transcaucasia and in South Asia. The second day featured three plenary lectures: the first by Patrice This of INRA in France on conservation priorities and strategies for the genus Vitis, followed by Dan Potter, professor of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, on the phylogeny and lineage based conservation approaches to the genus Prunus, and a third one by Abhaya Dandekar, professor of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, on the use of genomic tools to harness functional variability in fruit and nut crop species. The participants spent the afternoon out on field tours of the Yolo Olive Press managed by Mike Madison, a family farmer and organic grower in Davis, then the Center for Land Based Learning, a non-profit organization which offers hands-on training in agriculture, environmental management, and decision-making skills for students and young farmers, and the USDA field gene bank at the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard, Winters, showcasing about 6500 accessions of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crop species including their wild relatives. Day three began with an oral session highlighting the need for germplasm characterization with a plenary lecture by the co-convener Dan Kluepfel in which he discussed the characterization and use of the USDA-ARS Juglans germplasm collection to identify novel sources of resistance to soil borne diseases and rootstock breeding programs. Other oral and poster presentations updated the status of characterization and sustainable utilization of CWRs of grapevine, pistachio, persimmon, olive, myrtle, and pecan from the Mediterranean, Asia, and North America. The fourth oral session focused on plant explorations and highlighted the pla

Technical Abstract: Over 50 participants from 15 different countries would spend five days, March 19-23 2011, in open discussion on the status of conservation, management, and sustainable utilization of wild relatives of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crops. This was the first such meeting, co-convened by Dr. Malli Aradhya of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Clonal Germplasm Repository and Dr. Daniel Kluepfel of the USDA-ARS Crops Pathology and Genetic Research unit in Davis, and co-hosted by the USDA-ARS and the Plant Sciences Department of the University of California, Davis. The symposium provide a forum to address the issues concerned with conservation, management and sustainable utilization of wild relatives of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crops. The symposium was inaugurated by Maureen Whalen, Assistant Area Director, USDA-ARS, Pacific-West Area by introducing the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) of the USDA-ARS and spoke about its mission in the broader context of research within the USDA-ARS. Chris van Kessel, Plant Sciences Department, UC Davis, highlighted the fruit and nut crop industries of California’s famous Central Valley, which are some of the biggest in the world and showcase the best utilization of wild relatives in sustainable production of fruit and nut crops. Nigel Maxted, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in his keynote address, made a compelling case for conservation of CWRs, setting the stage for further deliberations. Twenty-three oral presentations, including seven plenary lectures, and 31 posters were presented during the meeting. The first oral session on germplasm conservation and management consisted of three plenary lectures, first by John Preece, Research Leader of the USDA germplasm repository in Davis, followed by a second lecture on community-based, participatory in situ and on-farm conservation strategies by Bhuwon Ratna Sthapit from Bioversity International’s South Asia Office, and the third by Malli Aradhya highlighted the research on fruit and nut wild relatives (FNWRs) conducted at the Davis repository. Other oral and poster presentations covered extensively the FNWRs in the Transcaucasia and in South Asia. The second day featured three plenary lectures: the first by Patrice This of INRA in France on conservation priorities and strategies for the genus Vitis, followed by Dan Potter, professor of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, on the phylogeny and lineage based conservation approaches to the genus Prunus, and a third one by Abhaya Dandekar, professor of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, on the use of genomic tools to harness functional variability in fruit and nut crop species. The participants spent the afternoon out on field tours of the Yolo Olive Press managed by Mike Madison, a family farmer and organic grower in Davis, then the Center for Land Based Learning, a non-profit organization which offers hands-on training in agriculture, environmental management, and decision-making skills for students and young farmers, and the USDA field gene bank at the Wolfskill Experimental Orchard, Winters, showcasing about 6500 accessions of subtropical and temperate fruit and nut crop species including their wild relatives. Day three began with an oral session highlighting the need for germplasm characterization with a plenary lecture by the co-convener Dan Kluepfel in which he discussed the characterization and use of the USDA-ARS Juglans germplasm collection to identify novel sources of resistance to soil borne diseases and rootstock breeding programs. Other oral and poster presentations updated the status of characterization and sustainable utilization of CWRs of grapevine, pistachio, persimmon, olive, myrtle, and pecan from the Mediterranean, Asia, and North America. The fourth oral session focused on plant explorations and highlighted the p