Collecting, characterisation and conservation of autochthonous germplasm of Diplotaxis sp. in Slovenia.

Paper aims at presenting the situation of the Diplotaxis sp. collection in the Slovene Gene Bank of Agricultural Plants i.e. its establishment, description of accessions and their multiplication. At present the collection consist of 19 autochthonous accessions from different parts of Slovenia. The main morphological traits of all the accessions were described. The observations revealed that plants with different characteristics are present in the majority of accessions and that some accessions are composed of different species. The success of multiplication in isolation cages was poor, probably due to high self-incompatibility and absence of pollinators. To complete the collection of wild growing Diplotaxis germplasm some regions of the country remain to be examined. First observations indicate that there is quite some variability within the collected germplasm and that it is worth of further evaluation and potential breeding. The maintenance of the collection will require more attention.