Responsible: Willem van Dooijeweert
Overview of the collection
The collection
The fruit vegetables collection consists of
- Lycopersicon spp. (tomato)
- Capsicum spp. (pepper)
- non-tuberbearing Solanum spp. (eggplant)
- Cucumis sativus (cucumber)
- Cucumis melo (melon)
The fruit vegetable collections originate from the former Institute for Horticultural Plant Breeding (IVT). These collections were working collections for their breeding work. The material has been characterized and partially screened for different characters. The collections include mainly old cultivars received from Dutch and foreign seed firms and genebanks, but also wild species mainly received from the USDA Plant Introduction Stations, the University of Davis, USA and the University of Reading, UK (de Groot & Boukema).
CGN adopted the collections in 1992. The quality and quantity of the seeds of these collections have been assessed and material meeting the CGN standards has been given a CGN accession number. The collections were rationalised by rejecting duplicates and hybrids. The taxonomic nomenclature has been revised. Missing passport data like population type and origin data have been added where possible.
The tomato collection includes 1275 accessions of which 1170 cultivated and research material of Lycopersicon esculentum. The pepper collection of 978 accessions includes mainly Capsicum annuum (782), but also other species. The eggplant collection of 481 accessions contains mainly cultivated Solanum melongena, but also accessions of other species like Solanum aethiopicum and Solanum macrocarpon. The cucumber collection holds only accessions of the cultivated Cucumis sativus (948 accessions).
Regeneration
About 60 accessions of tomato, 40 accessions of pepper, 25 accessions of eggplant, 15 accessions of cucumber and 60 accessions of melon will be added to the collection after they have been regenerated. Regeneration takes place in a glasshouse on rockwool. For tomato and melon one stem and for cucumber, pepper and eggplant two stems per plant are grown along ropes. Per accessions 7 - 10 plants are regenerated. Exceptions are outcrossing species like L. peruvianum and C. cardenasii of which at least 10 plants per accession are hand pollinated with a mixture of pollen.
The Dutch breeding companies assist in the regeneration of cucumber, melon, tomato, pepper and eggplant.
Characterization and evaluation
The tomato collection was characterized and evaluated by the IVT for about 45 characters. Substantial parts of the collection were screened for resistance to Tobacco Mozaic Virus (TMV), Cladosporium, Fusarium, Phytophthora, Didymella, Oidium, Clavibacter and for the relative growth rate.
The pepper collection was characterized and evaluated for about 30 characters. Parts of the collection were screened for resistance to different strains of tobamo viruses and Phytophthora capsici.
The eggplant collection was characterized and evaluated for about 35 characters. The collection was partly screened for resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. melongena and Verticillium wilt and different strains of tobamo viruses.
The cucumber collection was characterized for about 25 traits. Two third was screened for virusses.
The melon collection will be characterized with 12 descriptors of the minimum descriptor list, developed by the ECPGR Cucurbits Working Group.
Literature
Groot, E.C. de and I.W. Boukema, 1997. Economisch belangrijke vruchtgroenten geconserveerd. Prophyta 51 (2): 14-16.
Dooijeweert, W. van, 2002. The status of the cucumber (Cucumis sativus) collection of CGN. In: L. Maggioni, M. José Diez, B. Pico Sirvent, compilers. Report of a Working Group on Cucurbits. Ad hoc Meeting, 19 January 2002, Adana, Turkey, IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp 33-35.
Dooijeweert, W. van and I.W. Boukema, 2002. The status of the Solanaceae collection of CGN. In: L. Maggioni, M. Daunay, compilers. Report of a Working Group on Solanaceae. Ad hoc Meeting, 21 September 2001, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, IPGRI, Rome, Italy. pp 58-60.