The conservation variety regime for preserving horticultural biodiversity in Italy.

Conservation varieties were introduced in Europe on 14 December 1998, with the European Council's Directive 98/95/EC, as a derogation from the seed regulation, with the aim of protecting Vegetable Genetic Resources (VGR) of agricultural and horticultural species that are naturally adapted to local and/or regional conditions, traditionally cultivated and threatened by genetic erosion, by promoting their conservation in situ and sustainable use practices. With reference to vegetable species, 191 varieties have been registered in Europe since 1998, of which 43 (23%) for Italy. Comparing this figure with the number of varieties of vegetable species registered in the Common European Catalogue - about 21,593 - and considering that in Europe today there are estimated to be thousands of varieties used in agriculture, many of them landraces, for the protection and valorization of which the conservation variety scheme has been specifically established, the low number of varieties registered to date seems to be a missed opportunity for European agriculture. The work aims to describe the state of the art of the horticultural conservation variety regime in Europe and, in particular, in Italy, analysing its historical and regulatory evolution, evaluating its limits, derogations, actual and potential applications in the field, and finally identifying possible future prospects for this conservation scheme.