The synthetic Beta core collection - state of the art

Abstract

More than 10,000 Beta accessions are maintained in genebanks worldwide. Beta core collection accessions were designated to facilitate access to useful genetic variation within large holdings. A set of core collection accessions can be selected by different procedures, depending on the crop and the type of available data. The branching and path indicator (PI) method has been used to establish a Beta core collection consisting of 805 accessions. The core collection currently is being screened for resistance to eight diseases and for drought tolerance within a collaborative project funded by the Commission of the European Countries. The central project database contains 2,013 evaluation results, expressed on a I to 9 scale. In 122 events, accessions were scored equal to or lower than '3' (= very low to low susceptibility). The preliminary analysis of the evaluation data detected 60 of the 122 events in P1132 (B. vulgaris ssp. maritima) followed by 21 events in P1135 (B. vulgaris ssp. vulgaris Garden Beet').