A new EC-funded project has been set up to stimulate the use of rare genebank material in leafy vegetable production.

The most important European leafy vegetables are lettuce, spinach and chicory but the minor crops of lamb's lettuce and rocket (rucola) are also becoming increasingly important, especially with the trend towards more sales of bagged mixed salads. A network has been established of 14 partners from 10 European countries that brings together genebanks, universities, research institutes and NGO's active in conservation and utilisation of the genetic resources of these crops. The project is coordinated by Chris Kik from the Centre for Genetic Resources (CGN), Wageningen, the Netherlands.

The potential is huge, over 8,400 accessions of lettuce alone are held in genebanks and living collections by project partners across Europe.

Spinach and chicory have more than 900 accessions each and there is a total of 270 accessions of rocket and lamb's lettuce. The task is to characterise more than 1200 of these accessions and to develop the databases of these crops to improve access and utilisation of the collections. Evaluation of important characteristics of more than 750 accessions will allow breeders to use the most promising germplasm in their programs to develop improved materials. Promising sources of resistance to pests and diseases will be used to develop varieties less demanding of fungicides and pesticides. The selection of improved and more attractive varieties should stimulate consumption of these healthy vegetables. Parts of the collections will also be evaluated for nitrates, oxalic acid and glucosinolates, which can have negative effects on health.