Abstract
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) is the only native species of the genus Castanea in Europe. A collecting mission has been carried out in Andalusia (South of Spain) with the purpose to evaluate of the genetic variability of this species in this region. During the field trips, two different types of chestnut trees have been detected: one of clonal nature (varieties obtained by graft) and other of sexual nature (trees derived from nut). For the former, 156 trees were located in plantations in the Genal river Valley (Malaga) and the Natural Park of `Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche' (Huelva), where 43 varietal denominations were recorded. Thirty out of them had never been mentioned. For the latter, 29 stands were located in Almería, Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, and Málaga. This work reveal that this species present a high degree of genetic variability. Nevertheless, their preservation is seriously threatened in the most zones due to the varietal substitution, the low profit or the abandonment, which determinate the urgent necessity to safeguard these genetic resources.
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Martín, M.A., Moral, A., Martín, L.M. et al. The Genetic Resources of European Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) in Andalusia, Spain. Genet Resour Crop Evol 54, 379–387 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-005-5969-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-005-5969-z