CPVO Working Group on Disease Resistance in Vegetable Species: A Proactive Methodology for Prioritising Their Integration into DUS Protocols
The inclusion of new disease resistance characteristics in vegetable species in the description of new varieties is a major topic of international discussion for breeders and industry on the one hand, and international bodies such as UPOV and CPVO on the other. Given the technical complexity of the discussions, a European working group led by the CPVO was set up in early 2025. Welcomed by the UPOV TWV vegetable technical group (May 2025), this working group aims to evaluate and prioritise any revision or creation of a new protocol for evaluating genetic resistance in the CPVO DUS protocols and UPOV guidelines. Five CPVO “Disease Resistance” sub-working groups were set up. Bringing together the Spanish, French and Dutch examination offices and the breeding community, the work covers a total of 13 species x pest pairs from 5 species or groups of species (bean, cucurbits, melon, pepper, tomato and tomato rootstock).
The Working Group led by the CPVO reiterated that any consideration of a characteristic of resistance to a pest will only be considered in terms of its relevance to the finalisation of the official examination of Distinctness – Uniformity – Stability, for example through more effective structuring of the reference collection (selection of controls for comparison with a new application) or finalisation of a distinction for very similar varieties on the basis of the examination protocol in force for the species concerned.
In early 2025, a preliminary survey identified all vegetable species x pathogen pairs that were the subject of current or future projects, regardless of their scope or level of completion.
Bringing together a wide range of specialists in variety evaluation, plant pathology and molecular biology from examination offices and international breeding companies, the first steering meeting of this European group in March 2025 enabled the proposals received to be examined and ranked on the following basis:
- usefulness for evaluation in Distinction (currently and in the near future, depending on developments in selection programmes)
- level of interest among examination offices accredited by the CPVO
- operational readiness (for example, existing test protocol, inter-laboratory tests carried out)
- revision stage announced at UPOV level.
The five working groups thus formed focus their activities on a specific species or group of species, with a precise list of diseases considered, and have a discussion leader from a national examination office, responsible for organising exchanges between interested participants.
The objective for 2025 is to propose, as far as possible, revisions to test protocols at the annual technical meeting of the CPVO Vegetables’ Expert Meeting in November 2025. Subsequently, international discussions could be envisaged on the basis of a European technical consensus.
The five CPVO working groups on disease resistance, set up in March 2025 with the contribution of the French (GEVES), Dutch (NAKT) and Spanish (INIA – CSIC) national offices, as well as seed companies, via Euroseeds or directly, have so far considered the following species: beans, Cucurbits, melons, peppers, tomatoes and tomato rootstocks, for 13 species/disease pairs:
- Three pairs have been prioritised in level 1 (red) including two for tomatoes and one for tomato rootstock, with expected deadlines as soon as possible, in 2025-2026.
- 6 priority pairs at level 2 (orange) with deadlines envisaged in 2026-2027.
- 4 pairs of level 3 priorities (yellow), with deadlines envisaged after 2027.
To date, only the Tomato/ToBRFV pairing has received European co-funding since 2022, as part of the CPVO – ToBR-Ag project.
All other areas of work are currently self-funded. However, European financial aid could be considered for projects yet to be submitted.
