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46 Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter, 2002, No. 132
is highly appreciated and used to prepare local dishes. Young
leaves and shoots are usually cooked, and are characterizedby a
bitter taste (Branca 1991, 1999, Branca and Iapichino 1997, La
Malfa et al. 1996).
Whìte mustard (Sinapis alba L. 'amareddu jancu')
The species is found throughout Sicily, mainly on alluvial soils
where it is a very common weed along the road edges. Young
leaves and shoots are noted for their bitter taste, which is reduced
after boiling,and are commonly used inomelettes (Branca 1991).
WìldBrassica specìes (n=9)
These species represent part of the primary gene pool of B.
oleracea, and their hydrids with Brassica crops show a good fertility 99.Obiettivo l, P.O.MURST-cNR' and 'BRASCO' Projects are
(Bothmer et al. 1995). Their taxonomy was recently revised by
Snogerup et al. (1990) andby Raimondo et al. (1991).The former
research team individuated a B. rupestris group formed by B.
rupestris Rafin., B.villosa Biv., B. incana Ten. and B. macrocarpa
Guss., while the latter one assigned ali of them the taxonomic
status ofspecies together with B.drepanensis, B. tinei Lojac. and B.
bivoniana Mazzola et Raimondo. None of these species are used
directly for food, but in different zones ofSicily, it is well known
that when wild and cultivated Brassicas grow in the same area,
they often hybridize, producing very specific cultivated types
usually maintained by growers. Becauseof this great variability
and the presence of supposedly primitive characters (e.g.leaf
shape and hairiness, fruit length and position, or presence of
seeds in the beek) it has been suggested thatSicilyis the cradle of
these wild Brassicaspecies (Gomez-campoand Gustafsson1991).
Conclusions and future perspectives
The sudden disapperance of agriculture on all Egadi islands is a
striking example of how genetic diversityin the on-farm sector is
sensitive to laws or regulations affecting agricultural economies.
Farming on these islands relied to a large extenton local varieties,
landracesofcereals, vegetablesand herbs. Withinafew yearsallthe
autochthonous crop genetic diversitywill belost completely. The
dramatic genetic erosion observed here clearly demonstrates the
necessity to collectinsular plantgermplasmand to preserveitinex
situ collections;on-farm conservationmay help tosafeguardit, but
some practicalproblems have tobesolved (Harnmer etal. 1997).
Thealready provenuse ofMediterraneancrop germplasm for
Canadian oat breeding suggests further collectingexpeditions in
Italy for ex-situ preservation. The recently collected Avena
germplasm willbe carefully characterizedand contribute to bet-
ter understanding of the genepools of wildoats.
Additional data and details about the present collecting
mission are reported in the exploration registers stored c/o
Istituto del Germoplasma.
Availability of germplasm
The summer in Italy was exceptionally hot. The hot, dry season
resulted in early maturity of several species, and the targetted
wild plants had in most cases shed their seeds, so it was neces-
sary to pick the seeds from the ground. Seed quality can therefore
be expected to be very good, since the seeds were mature.
Partofmaterial collected willbe divided and deposited in the
genebanks ofBari, Gatersleben and Saskatoon for further classifi-
cation and characterization. After its multiplication, all the
germplasm collected will be ready for distribution to thescien-
tists. The seeds and the detailed passport information of all
accessions, including geographical coordinates and local names,
will be available to the public. The Internet sites of IG, IPK and
PGRC (GRIN-CA) will contain this information and the future
characterization data.
Acknowledgements
The financial support and assistance of 'Fondi Strutturali 1994-
gratefully acknowledged.
We wish also to express a special gratitude to ourlocalguide
MrGiuseppe Guarrasi of Favignana. Only thanks to his extraor-
dinary helpfulness was it possible to obtain a good understand-
ing of local agriculture, nature and history of the Egadi islands.
Mr Guarrasi guided us to ali the farms stili active on the
Favignana island, rendering the detection of relevant sites for
collection much more efficient.
Finally, the collecting team is particularlygrateful to the local
farmers on the Egadi islands, who shared their knowledge and
many oftheirseeds, and whohavepreserved the localgermplasm
in spite of unfavourable economie conditions during the recent
years.
References
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dell'isola di Favignana (Egadi). Graduation thesis, University
of Studies of Palermo, Italy.
Bothmer R von, Gustafsson M, Snogerup S. 1995. Brassica sect.
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Boukema IW. 1995. Taxonomic grouping to be used in the Euro-
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