Austrian garlic acreage quadrupled during the last decade and the degree of self-sufficiency reached about 25 %. With the expansion und intensification of garlic cultivation new challenges have to be met by the producers.
At present garlic planting material has to be imported from Spanish or French growers and it is impossible to obtain regional cultivars. Moreover, imported garlic planting material proved to be infected with phyto-pathogenic organisms (e.g. viruses and Fusarium species).
Virus infection of garlic plants may cause a yield loss of up to 50% or even more when mixed infection with several viruses occurs. Yield losses due to fusariosis can also be high. No direct control measures are available against virus infection and the control of fusariosis is insufficient. The only effective measure is the use of pathogen-free planting material. The objective of this project is to extend the range of garlic cultivars for production in Austria. To achieve this, ten cultivars are selected by garlic growers, specialists for genetic resources and the researchers of the project taking into account production conditions, adaptation to climate, susceptibility to diseases, marketability.
Selected cultivars are screened for the presence of viruses and fungi. Then pathogen elimination is carried out in tissue culture and in vitro multiplication of pathogen-free plants by a method improved by AGES.
Acclimatization of in vitro plants and their transfer to the field are an important step towards the production of pathogen-free planting material. Hence, the optimization of acclimatization of in vitro plants in the greenhouse and the transition to the field are a crucial factor of the project. Alternatively, to acclimatization in the greenhouse in vitro bulblets will be planted directly in the field.
At the end of the project, Austrian garlic growers should obtain regionally adapted cultivars that have a stabile yield. Moreover, these cultivars are maintained in tissue culture in order to supply pathogen-free planting material whenever necessary. |