Participatory Evaluation of Fruit Plant Genetic Resources

This product was developed in the framework of the project Articulating Biodiversity in Family Production funded the 4^th project cycle of the Benefit Sharing Fund (BSF) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The project was executed by the National Commission for Rural Development (CNFR) of Uruguay in partnership with the Agroecology Network of Uruguay (RAU) and the National Network of Native and Native Seeds of Uruguay (RNSNC). A total of  14 varieties of deciduous fruit trees were evaluated in family farms located in two fruit-growing areas in southern Uruguay: the metropolitan region (departments of Montevideo and Canelones) and the locality of Colonia Valdense (department of Colonia). The varieties were selected with the support of INIA, some of them being of national breeding origin, others of foreign origin but with a history of use in Uruguay, and finally foreign varieties recently introduced and released in the country. All of them were selected for their potential for adaptation to diverse agro-ecological conditions and climatic variability. Eight evaluation modules were installed with a minimum of 10 plants of each of the genetic materials under evaluation. Most of the materials were planted in 2020, while those that were not available in that year were planted in 2021. The evaluation and monitoring of the variables of interest continued until December 2022, in the same conditions. The evaluation and monitoring of the variables of interest continued until December 2022, in the same farms linked to local CNFR organizations and the Agroecology Network of Uruguay (RAU). This document provides a summary of the main findings of the above explained work.