Wurzen/Pillnitz, October 1-2 - CIOPORA Secretary General Dr Edgar Krieger visited the Bundessortenamt Fruit Testing Station in Wurzen, Saxonia, meeting with the station leader Dr Erik Schulte and his colleague Stefan Eschke. The main discussion topic was the UPOV Test Guideline for Apple, currently under discussion in the UPOV Technical Working Party for Fruits (TWF). Dr Krieger raised the issue of Minimum Distance between varieties, particularly in respect of apple mutations. A visit to the trials provided practical insights into the work of the examiners. While checking for Distinctness between varieties, the characteristics of leaves are equally important as the ones related to fruits. Dr Krieger raised concern that based on different incisions of margin an apple variety can be declared distinct form another variety, while the fruits of both varieties may be identical. The examiners expressed their understanding of the CIOPORA's concern but referred to the existing UPOV rules, according to which every plant characteristic is equally important.
Pictures: The BSA Apple examiners demonstrate the distinctness evaluation on apple leaves at the Fruit Testing Station in Wurzen.
On October 2, Secretary General visited the Julius Kühn-Institute in Pillnitz, where breeding of apples and cherries takes place. With 800 entries, the Institute hosts one of the world's largest apple collections. Dr Krieger was given a tour of the Institute by Director Prof Dr Henryk Flachowsky. The party discussed the present-day R&D in fruit breeding as well as Plant Variety Protection in general and the issue of Essentially Derived Varieties, in particular.