Sweet chestnut （Castanea sativa Mill.）, the only native species of Castanea genus in Europe, occupies over 12,000 ha in Andalusia （South of Spain）. From 2000 until now, we have carried out different activities foc...Sweet chestnut （Castanea sativa Mill.）, the only native species of Castanea genus in Europe, occupies over 12,000 ha in Andalusia （South of Spain）. From 2000 until now, we have carried out different activities focused on the location and cataloguing of the different chestnut groves in the region and the evaluation of the genetic variability contained in this germplasm. Two different types of chestnut groves were detected： one of clonal nature （varieties obtained by grafting） and another of open pollination （trees from seed）. In the first case, the aim of our study was to identify and characterise the main chestnut traditional varieties. High levels of genetic variability were detected in clonal orchards by means of morphological and molecular analysis. A total of 38 varieties were identified： 12 in Huelva and 26 in Malaga regions. Moreover, we reported data about the presence of synonymies and homonymies. Our results indicate that chestnut production in this region is a traditional system that uses varieties developed in situ, constituting a genuine system of ＇on farm＇ conservation. Nevertheless, their preservation is seriously threatened in most zones due to the varietal substitution, the low profit or the abandonment, which determines the urgent necessity to safeguard these genetic resources. Furthermore, preliminary results for chestnut populations indicated a high degree of genetic variation.展开更多
文摘Sweet chestnut （Castanea sativa Mill.）, the only native species of Castanea genus in Europe, occupies over 12,000 ha in Andalusia （South of Spain）. From 2000 until now, we have carried out different activities focused on the location and cataloguing of the different chestnut groves in the region and the evaluation of the genetic variability contained in this germplasm. Two different types of chestnut groves were detected： one of clonal nature （varieties obtained by grafting） and another of open pollination （trees from seed）. In the first case, the aim of our study was to identify and characterise the main chestnut traditional varieties. High levels of genetic variability were detected in clonal orchards by means of morphological and molecular analysis. A total of 38 varieties were identified： 12 in Huelva and 26 in Malaga regions. Moreover, we reported data about the presence of synonymies and homonymies. Our results indicate that chestnut production in this region is a traditional system that uses varieties developed in situ, constituting a genuine system of ＇on farm＇ conservation. Nevertheless, their preservation is seriously threatened in most zones due to the varietal substitution, the low profit or the abandonment, which determines the urgent necessity to safeguard these genetic resources. Furthermore, preliminary results for chestnut populations indicated a high degree of genetic variation.
