Perennial fruit tree breeding is life time job and young generation from developing countries are not interested as career path.Farmers’ orchards and home gardens constitute the majority of the diverse and often unexplored and untested portfolio of fruit tree genetic resources. I see best trees of farmers can be identified and registered for immediate benefits. However in many countries regulatory issues are major constraints. Please share how are handling this issue technically and legally? Any published case studies?
if farmer's variety purposely for benefit of human being and no intention to make money from it then it should be share with other farmer and listed under national database i.e national registry (in case of malaysia we have National Plant Variety list). while foe plant breeder / farmer who wish to commercialised their new variety then it should be protected under national PVP regulation.
Thank you for your insights. I would like to hear from Thailand, China, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia and India?
Nice question Dr Bhuwon. While working for so long in a perennial crop like citrus , very often we are confronted with some genuine problems of so defined called custodian farmers . Unless , a given diversity is of some use to either concerned farmer family or to the society a a s whole , i hardly see , those farmers developing any interest to preserve that diversity , with the result , that diversity degenerates of its own over a period of time . how shall we encourage to preserve that diversity , what are the anticipated benefits to that custodian farmer, and thirdly , how shall a farmer identify the diversity that is inhabited in his own backyard , is the home of some precious material for the breeders, unless researchers discover it ..?
Dear Dr. Bhuwan, we can recommend for on site testing for registration.
Following are the reequirements which have been finalized under PPVFRA:
a. On-site testing shall be conducted at the places specified by the applicant.
b. The age of the trees at on-site shall be minimum of 10 years with the potentiality of exhibiting all morphological and reproductive characters.
c. A trial with minimum of 1 tree shall be considered for on-site testing to provide provisional registration of variety.
d. Once provisional registration with minimum of 1 tree is approved, the registrant must supply 40 clonally propagated planting materials from mother tree (Registered Tree) for regular DUS Testing. The registration will be granted only on the successful testing of clonal progeny as per the procedures laid down in the DUS testing guidelines by the PPV& FR Authority.
e. The trees must be healthy and free from pest and disease and raised under standard management practices.
Thank you for these details.
My only concern in the procedure is that unnecessary requirement of one year trial in research station when best tree are already on farm for more than 10 years or over. This undermine the role of custodian farmers and add procedural difficulties to registration. We need a simple and quick method that materials are free from disease and healthy.
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