TWO 2025, the UPOV technical group on ornamentals meets in the Netherlands
From March 31 to April 3, the UPOV Technical Working Party on Ornamental Plants (TWO) met in the Netherlands. The meeting was hosted by the Naktuinbouw and was held in a hybrid format. Around thirty delegations from around the world participated in this annual meeting. More than 110 participants from different countries were present, a third of whom attended the meeting in person in Roelofarendsveen, the others connected online. The discussions covered a wide range of topics related to variety protection, the creation or revision of technical guidelines for 7 genera/species, as well as general texts concerning breeders’ rights and DUS testing methodologies.
Regarding molecular techniques, the TWO took note of the document proposing guidelines for the validation of methods for evaluating molecular markers specific to DUS characteritics. It also received a presentation on the confidentiality of molecular information from a representative of various breeders’ associations, who proposed, among other things, considering the confidentiality agreement developed by the European Union as an example for the future development of a common model. GEVES, for its part, presented the results of the project “Harnessing GbS to support DUS testing in ornamentals – A case study on Hydrangea”. The initial aim of this project was (1) to develop a molecular toolset from describing the Hydrangea collection and (2) to build a comprehensive reference library of molecular profiles which can be used (a) to secure DUS trials by checking the varietal identity of reference varieties and (b) to reduce the size of the trials by guiding the selection of similar varieties to be put side by side with the candidate varieties. This project demonstrated the cost-effectiveness of opting for high-throughput sequencing to describe an entire reference collection with a high number of molecular markers in a single experiment. It may pave the way for similar projects to support DUS testing in other ornamental species for which genomic resources are not available or maintaining a living collection is difficult and in silico reference library of molecular profiles may be an attractive alternative.
Finally, the TWO discussed the value and reliability of botanical names in ornamental plants. Inaccurate taxonomic information provided by applicants could have administrative consequences for international cooperation and the granting of plant breeders’ rights.
The experts present had the opportunity to visit the Naktuinbouw facilities in Roelofarendsveen, as well as the Dutch Flower Bulb Inspection Service (BKD) and the Royal General Association of Bulb Growers (KAVB) in Lisse.
