Plant variety (law)

A variety of a plant is a term used in plant breeding can be distinguished with the variants of a crop species. The variety must be distinguished by various characteristics (size, color, quantity and pattern ) from other varieties of the same species.

A distinction in horticulture, field crops, viticulture and forestry cultivar or noble variety, wild places, wildlings. The demarcation of a separate biological species or to hybrid varieties do not always follows the taxonomic habits. A certain or several wild varieties are the progenitors of cultivated varieties.

The term goes back to agricultural organization forms in the different variants of a plant species whose seeds or cuttings separated ( sorted ) were stored in order to grow it in pure culture can. The subsequent separation of stored seeds of different varieties is not usually possible.

The equivalent of the term in animal breeding is to breed.

Cultivars

Cultivars are homozygous or refined varieties that man has cultivated in the long history of plant breeding from found wild places. In recent times, but there are also genetically modified organisms in terms of a cultivar, which closely follow in practice due to the limitations still at a "natural" plant. Practically all cultivated varieties of people in their genetic expression (genotype ) are changed, albeit with pure breeding methods.

Seed of a cultivar is subjected to an examination of the characteristics, given a variety approval, is in a - registered list of varieties to be grown or traded may then also receives variety protection - national as well as EU-wide. This limitation is not subject to varieties of ornamental plants (flowers, ornamental trees ).

For fruit and vegetables, the variety of the fruit and vegetables plays a major role, particularly in apple and potato. Similarly, in salads, because under the collective term " salad " different lettuce plants are summarized, eg garden salad (Lactuca ), corn salad ( Valerianella ) and many others.

Wild varieties

Wild varieties are varieties of naturally occurring free wild plants. They are the principal form of today's cultivated fruits.

Examples:

• Wild vine (Vitis vinifera subsp. Sylvestris), the progenitor of the noble grape varieties (Vitis vinifera subsp. Vinifera )
• Einkorn (Triticum monococcum ) and emmer Wilder ( T. dicoccoides ), the ancestors of today's culture of wheat, especially wheat ( T. aestivum) and durum wheat ( T. durum).

Wildlings

Wildlings are again feral forms of crops, both as single copies as well as a wild plant, which builds a stable population, while most zurückverfällt on the robust appearance of the original parent-form, but also has its own stable subspecies formed.

Examples:

• Contributes Medlar ( Mespilus germanica ), one in Central Europe from Roman feral crop, whose original home is located in Western Asia and therefore a misleading botanical name
• Jerusalem artichoke ( Helianthus tuberosus ), a native of South America, Sunflower, which is used like a potato as a crop. It is annoying to verwildernd neophytes and also modifies their appearance ( habit ) significantly
• In silviculture wildlings are young wild plants from natural regeneration

Variety crispness

Plant varieties that do not lose their varietal characteristics through seed collection and planting are called varieties resistant. Newer plant breeding methods, however, usually does not lead to solid plant species. Here the variety properties are lost usually, the desired properties are then found only in the first filial generation ( F1 generation ) again. When such varieties still used for seed extraction and re- sowing, the variety characteristics split up.

Problem of differentiation

For many, especially the traditional plants, the stem form is unknown, as is typically the cultivated apple (Malus domestica), was at the time of the European crab apple (Malus sylvestris) assumed ancestor. But recent research has put other wild apples close as ancestors, such as the Asian wild apple (Malus sieversii ). In some cases, the existence of a separate species Malus sylvestris is questioned or held for its extinction possible by the genetic closeness of the still existing in Europe wooden apple trees will be declared the cultivated apple so that they could be hybrids or wildlings.

While plant breeding has always been dependent on experience on genetic compatibility, the classification of classical biological taxonomy was based primarily on phenomenological point of view. For instance, the (fresh ) cherry a pure species of bird cherry (Prunus avium), which is only propagated vegetatively, but varieties of plum (Prunus domestica) are usually homozygous pulled out of the seed since its bastardization. A refined at a breeding base apple variety is botanically not a hybrid but a chimera, a pad on quince ( Cydonia ) solid precious pear ( Pirus ) even genus boundaries.

Importance of wild varieties for plant breeding

Many problems of modern fruit growing can be traced back to the caused by the long history of breeding genetic poverty of modern cultivars, such as lack of adaptability to changing circumstances or pests. To make the original parent forms located, to get back to an enrichment of the gene pool, is the subject of the latest research. Typical examples are searching for the wild varieties of tomato, corn and potato in the highland areas of the Andes. Here too aggravating cause is usually not known if the wild type is not already extinct, as well as the still very incomplete for many areas of the world taxonomic recording.

Plant Variety Protection

The Plant Variety Protection certifies the intellectual property of biological organisms. It is regulated in the international UPOV Convention, which was also implemented in the EU and Germany in the law ( Plant Variety Protection Act ). After successful variety testing by the Federal Office of Plant Varieties, the applicant receives an exclusive right to the variety, which only him or his successor in the commercial use of the variety in the form of propagating material ( plants, plant parts including seeds) zubilligt ( species list ). Plant variety protection expires after 30 years and is not renewable.