From the CTPS Fruit Species Section

The CTPS Fruits Species Section met in March for its last plenary session of the CTPS 2019-2024 mandate.

This was an opportunity to take stock of the work carried out over the last 5 years, particularly as part of the SPAD 2 plan. Much of the work focused on the industry’s integration of the latest regulatory changes (Plant Health Regulation, Organic Agriculture Regulation), on the proposed new European Regulation on plant reproductive material.

The Section has also worked to promote a diversified range of species and varieties on the market: blueberry plants are now available in certified form, and 168 fruit varieties already marketed before 30 September 2012 have been included in list 2 of the Catalogue. 58 of these were approved by the Section at this meeting, enabling work on characterising citrus plant genetic resources (CRB Citrus of San Guiliano), and variety creation adapted to a specific terroir (peaches vines of Monts du Lyonnais). In its next term of office, the Fruits Species Section will focus on gathering and disseminating information on the behaviour of varieties. Thise work was launched by the organisation of a seminar in November 2023 on “Approaching fruit quality: a major challenge for the fruits sector”. We look forward to welcoming the new members of the Section at the end of 2024, but in the meantime, the groups and committees will continue their work!