The project has started to make a national collection of fruit and nut varieties in the country.  The project will catalogue these varieties, and after collection, and cataloguing, the varieties will be evaluated and the information provided to nursery growers, farmers and extension workers, and demonstrated in the demonstration orchards.  Each variety will be collected onto two sites to ensure security of the collection.  The collection will not all be in one place, but will be accessible through records held on a central database, thus creating a “National Collection”.

PHDP had a germplasm registration survey accross Afghanistan in 2006 - 2008, based on the principle that the main and high market value genotypes and also that some outstanding genotypes should be collected, resulted in the field registration and labelling of 956 in-situ accessions. Each accessions has been marked with metallic labels; passport data and when possible, first characterisation data have been collected., and passport data  Surveys have been carried on in many areas of the country, with some delay in areas due to security issues. The survey done on nurseries and the characterisation of their production in terms of species and cultivars, not with standing the lack of certain identity, was very useful for the selection of genotypes to be collected.

For year 2008 it is planned to continue survey activities with the objective on entering in the in situ collection possible valuable genotypes escaped to the first survey; special attention will be devoted to perennial species less represented in the present collection. It is expected to register between about 50 new accessions. A similar activity is foreseen for years 2009-2011. Surveys under next possible projects should include nuts (walnuts, hazelnut) and other minor fruit tree species present in the country.

To see the germplasm in-situe data  Click Here