Nahla abdEl-Fattah awd, Senior Researcher Fruit breeding Department - Horticulture Research Institute. First National Meeting to Enhance Ownership of National Strategy for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 2 April 2014 -Cairo, Egypt. © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Rare fruit crops
preservation and
on farm
conservation

2. Nahla abdEl-Fattah awd
Senior Researcher
Fruit breeding Department
Horticulture Research Institute

3. Introduction
There are 5 million to 100 million species on earth.
Only about 1.9 million species have been catalogued so far.
There are 34 recognized “Hotspots” in the world.
44.4% of Global Plant species are present in Hotspots.
As much as 20% of the world’s biodiversity may be lost
during the next 30 years (and 50-66% by the end of the
century):
- 50000 out of 250000 plant species

4. 67%
Secure or
apparently
secure
1%
Other
16%
Vulnerable
8%
Imperiled
7%
Critically
imperiled
1%
Probably extinct
Current Classification of Species

5. Genetic Bottlenecks
• If populations recover from times with small numbers other
problems can persist
• Genetic bottlenecks
• Think of a traffic bottleneck  many cars approach and stop, only a
few get through.
• Same with genes – genetic diversity is dramatically reduced
• When populations are reduced to small numbers interbreeding
occurs and genetic diversity plummets

6. Why Biodiversity is important?
Provides food, fruit, fuel, timber, medicine
1.Commercial value :
Oil, Fertilizers etc. extracted from species
of plants .
2.Biological value:
Pollination
Soil formation
Nutrient enrichment
-

7. 1- Genetic diversity: genetic variability or
diversity within a species, i.e. between the
individuals of a species
Example ; 5,000 recorded varieties of mango
Types of Biodiversity

8. 2.Species diversity- diversity between
different species
Example ; Citrus jambhiri
Citrus lemon

9. 3. Ecosystem diversity – diversity within a
region
Grassland Shola forest

10. Ecosystem
Disruption
Habitat
loss
Habitat
degradation
Introducing
nonnative
species
Commercial
hunting
and
poaching
Sale of
exotic pets
and
decorative
plants
Predator
and
pest control
Pollution
Climate
change
Basic Causes
• Population growth
• Rising resource use
• No environmental
accounting
• Poverty

11. Consequences of biodiversity loss:
· loss of genetic diversity and the opportunity to use it
for crops, medicines, etc.
· droughts and floods
· soil erosion and land slides
· desertification, mineralization and water logging of
productive lands
· polluted water, loss of water
· crop loss due to decrease of pollinators, seed
dispersers and biological control
· coastal erosion (storm and tsunami damage)
Impact of Loss Of Biodiversity

12. How can we reduce biodiversity
loss?
• 2 main approaches – ecosystem or species directed
1. Preventing premature extinction of species
2. Preserving & restoring ecosystems which provide habitats
and resources for the world’s species

13. The Species Approach The Ecosystem Approach
Goal
Protect species from
premature extinction
Strategies
• Identify endangered
species
• Protect their critical
habitats
Tactics
• Legally protect
endangered species
• Manage habitat
• Propagate endangered
species in captivity
• Reintroduce species
into suitable habitats
Goal
Protect populations of
species in their natural
habitats
Strategy
Preserve sufficient areas
of habitats in different
biomes and aquatic
systems
Tactics
• Protect habitat areas
through government
action
• Eliminate or reduce
populations of alien
species from protected
areas
• Manage protected areas
to sustain native species
• Restore degraded
ecosystems

14. Preserving Endangered Species
• Preservation approaches:
• habitat restoration
• pristine restoration
• removal of introduced species
Conserving Whole Ecosystems
Isolated patches of habitat lose species much more rapidly than large
areas:
• Mega-reserves are large areas of land that contain a core of one or more
undisturbed habitats.
• focus on preserving intact ecosystems

16. Which species are most vulnerable?
- Vulnerability of species affected by …
Numbers – low numbers = automatic risk
• MVP = minimum viable population  the smallest number
of individuals necessary to ensure the survival of a
population in a region for a specified timer period
• Time range typically 10-100 years
• Most indications are that a few thousand individuals is the
MVP if time span is > 10 years
• Reproductive potential – if low = vulnerable
• Reproductive behaviors – how complex, picky, …

17. Examples for rare fruit crops in Egypt
Succary orange

18. RoumyAhmer - Fayomi
Bez El-Anzza

19. Annona reticulata

23. Statistical document of Pear in Egypt
year Total area
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
7730
8914
7573
5290
4761
4998
2858
2462
2308
1124
1277
638

29. On farm conservation

30. Definition
On-farm conservation is the sustainable maintenance of landraces
and obsolete cultivars (lines,populations) by growing them in
conformity with environmental conditions; additionally, using
growing technologies close to the conditions under which these
materials had originated and evolved.
This dynamic conservation enables the development and
evolutionary continuation of materials under the influence of the
regional environment and the technologies used.
Main aim
- keeping specific and rare plant species, which grow on this area.
- Consumption and cash income are not priority of using this
resource.

31. Types of protection
• Types of protection
- Small or large tunnels, with a wooden,
bamboo or steel construction
- Open air farm
•

32. Growing conditions
Landraces and obsolete cultivars should be
grown under conditions similar to the original
ones. It is important to avoid selection
pressures resulting in genetic drift. Farmers
running on-farm conservation should grow
landraces in smaller fields and carefully use
mechanization which does not affect selection
(e.g. does not prefer rounded or larger seeds).

33. Restoration of fruit tree diversity through preservation
of old homestead orchards has thus far been limited to
small-scale grassroots effort. The success of these efforts
has been limited because
- The lack of people skilled in grafting, and the difficulties
associated with identifying homestead trees.
- While well-known varieties like Balady orange can
effectively be field-identified with the presence of fruit,
many old trees no longer produce fruit annually, some
varieties are nearly identical vegetatively, and other varieties
lack written descriptions to aid in identification.
- Genetic analysis using simple sequence repeats is a
potential solution that has already been used in a limited
way to successfully identify cultivars.

34. Strategies for protection:
• Collection, storage, and propagation of rare plants.
• Reintroduce of rare and endangered plants to native habitat
• Monitoring of rare plant populations throughout Egypt.
• Conservation research of rare species native to Egypt.
• Training of students and volunteers to be involved in all aspects of the
program.
• Membership in a national network of institutions working to preserve
biological diversity .
• Creating educational materials and activities.

35. Field collecting from homestead orchards
• A multi step process is required for collecting cuttings or “scions” from
homestead orchards for propagation in a conservation orchard. These
include identifying target trees during fruiting season, collecting scion
wood during the dormant season, and grafting them onto rootstock in
the spring. Keeping track of work through detailed field notes is
essential, and should at a minimum include the following:

36. 1. Collection site: the name of the location of the collection site,
including map if available.
2. Elevation of collection site.
3. Physical characteristics of the site, including slope, aspect,
soil type, current management practices if any, and access to
water.
4. Estimated age of the original trees by oral history or by
inference.
5. Field descriptions of varieties: traits that distinguish species and
varieties; tree morphology and fruit characteristics such as size,
shape, texture, color, and flavor.
6. Additional, site-specific field notes from interviews and
observations.

37. Conservation Measures
Improvement of the heredity of trees and proper adoption of breeding
techniques.
-- Implementation of educational programmes to promote the knowledge of
conservation and preservation of wildlife (including flora) should be done
through literatures, scientific exhibitions, audio-visual aids and conferences
stressing upon environmental conservation
28Maintenance of the integrity of the habitat and improvement of habitat in
productivity and quality for the desired species to grow and reproduce well.
Increasing scientific, political, and legal concern about the loss of
biodiversity and protecting species from extinction.
This concern is manifested in a number of legislative efforts to protect
species, many of which have focused on protecting plant species.

38. Five general recommendations for improving the protection of rare
plants throughout the country:
• (1) encourage interdisciplinary communication and cooperation,
• (2) increase funding for rare plant research and conservation
efforts
• (3) strengthen existing legal protection and enforcement
mechanisms
• (4) maintain a dual focus of habitat protection and single-species
approaches to conservation, and
• (5) increase awareness of rare plant issues , it is necessary to
educate the public about the general importance of plants and
encourage voluntary cooperation with conservation efforts.
• Moreover,
One of the biggest problem is of course financing problem, in Park there
are not enough professional equipment (e.g. GPS) and modern geographic
information system, old database).