The use of antibiotics is not permitted in Switzerland; moreover, no other medication exists to combat European foul brood. Hives with symptoms must therefore be destroyed in order to limit the outbreak, and the contaminated material must be sanitised. Since prevention is the best cure, early detection is desirable. Numerous studies have been undertaken and documents have been created at the Swiss Bee Research Centre and elsewhere to draw the attention of beekeepers to these problems and inform them about the causes and the control measures to be implemented.
Balconi C., Galaretto A., Ana Malvar R., Nicolas S. D., Redaelli R., Andjelkovic V., Revilla P., Bauland C., Gouesnard B., Butron A., Torri A., Barata A. M., Kravic N., Combes V., Mendes-Moreira P., Murariu D., Šarčević H., Schierscher-Viret B., Vincent M., Zanetto A., Kessel B., Madur D., Mary-Huard T., Pereira A., Placinta D. D., Strigens A., Charcosset A., Goritschnig S.
Genetic and phenotypic evaluation of European maize landraces as a tool for conservation and valorization of agrobiodiversity.
The ECPGR European Evaluation Network (EVA) for Maize involves genebanks, research institutions, and private breeding companies from nine countries focusing on the valorization of maize genetic resources across Europe. This study describes a diverse collection of 626 local landraces and traditional varieties of maize (Zea mays L.) from nine European genebanks, including criteria for selection of the collection and its genetic and phenotypic diversity. High-throughput pool genotyping grouped the landraces into nine genetic groups with a threshold of 0.6 admixture, while 277 accessions were designated admixed and likely to have resulted from previous breeding activities. The grouping correlated well with the geographic origins of the collection, also reflecting the various pathways of introduction of maize to Europe. Phenotypic evaluations of 588 accessions for flowering time and plant architecture in multilocation trials over three years confirmed the great diversity within the collection, although phenotypic clusters only partially correlated with the genetic grouping. The EVA approach promotes conservation of genetic resources and opens an opportunity to increase genetic variability for developing improved varieties and populations for farmers, with better adaptation to specific environments and greater tolerance to various stresses. As such, the EVA maize collection provides valuable sources of diversity for facing climate change due to the varieties’ local adaptation.
