Albania is an ancient home of early crop domestication, strategically placed in the Mediterranean Basin, with a variety of ecological niches due to the convergence of Mediterranean and continental climates, the isolation and protection from the predominantly mountainous terrain (heights up to 2700 m), and many valleys and rivers. It contains a rich biodiversity with more than 3,200 endemic plant species. Although the country is little known to outsiders, there are enormous opportunities to preserve a great many species of fruit crops wild relatives. This paper reports results of a study since 2003 to identify and describe fruit crop wild relatives of Albania. After a scrutinizing bibliographical review and tens of expeditions undertaken in a large part of the territory, we have identified and described over 94 species. They belong to 18 families and 30 genera. In the natural ecosystems of Albania, we have found spontaneous and wild forms of many fruit trees and shrubs, including apples (Malus)(Fragaria) and vacciniums. An attempt is made in this paper to estimate the share of species found in Albania with those at EU + Mediterranean level. This has required a large bibliographical survey to draft a provisional list of temperate and subtropical fruit crop wild relatives.The work is continuing with compiling a database, mapping and further description of such rich patrimony for a small country. Enhanced information and expansion of knowledge on fruit crops wild relatives will increase awareness, in situ conservation strategies and activities worldwide.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a major cultivated forage legume crop, used mainly as forage and its benefits in sustainable cropping system in agriculture. 'Tomin' is an alfalfa native variety cultivated in large scale due to its superior characteristics and adaptability to dry conditions. Ecotypes of Tomin were grown in different regions, they show variation on their morphological and agronomical characteristics, and therefore knowledge on the level of the genetic diversity among these ecotypes would assist in introducing this crop in breeding programs to produce high quality and drought resistant genotypes. The aim of current study was to molecularly characterize four ecotypes belonging to alfalfa 'Tomin' variety cultivated into two different ecoclimatic regions. The AFLP fingerprinting using two EcoRI/ MseI enzyme combination and twelve selective primer pairs was carried out to elucidate the genetic diversity among alfalfa ecotypes. The results revealed a high variation among the alfalfa ecotypes analysed, they showed the mean similarity of 38% among them. The UPGMA based cluster analysis and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) showed that alfalfa ecotypes cultivated in two different geographical areas did not cluster according to their geographical origin, however higher similarity was observed between ecotypes from Fushe-Kruje region than between the ecotypes of Gjirokaster.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.