Collecting plant genetic resources in Cuba

The Cuban homegarden ?conuco?: a perspective environment for evolution and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources

“…Several plants from more temperate climate were introduced in this way . Fruits as apples and typical European weeds still exist close to the ancient French coffee plantation known as El Olimpo, in La Gran Piedra, near Santiago de Cuba (Esquivel et al ., 1990b) .…”

“…Some plants of African origin are very important in traditional agriculture, as okra, Dioscorea and Vigna species . For the last ones, several comments have been given concerning their importance in traditional Cuban agriculture (Esquivel et al ., , 1989b(Esquivel et al ., , 1990bHammer et al ., 1991 ;Castellanos 1989) .…”

“…The plants showed strong modifications in leaf characters as a result of adaptation to those severe conditions . A tomato landrace was collected in Maisi, the Eastern point of Cuba (Esquivel et al ., 1990b), with big fruits of good quality, but thick pericarp and small leaves as an adaptation to drought and heat . Several landraces with high potential adaptation to salinity were collected near Guatemala sugar mill , where the 'conucos' reached almost the coast of Nipe bay .…”

“…During collecting missions in eastern Cuba (Esquivel et al ., 1987 some 'conucos' were studied in more detail ) . These 'conucos' are small fields or relatively large gardens for plant production, where Cuban farmers practice traditional agriculture based on local cultivars mainly .…”

“…New collecting missions in Cuba (Esquivel et al ., 1989b(Esquivel et al ., , 1990bHammer et al ., 1991) gave the possibility to gather additional information and study new cases of homegardens . The study of the material collected allows to understand evolutionary processes in landraces under homegarden conditions .…”