SIGNS OF INTER-CROSSING BETWEEN LEAFY KALE LANDRACES AND BRASSICA RUPESTRIS IN SOUTHERN ITALY

In southern Italy, landraces of leafy kales are grown in home gardens, some-times in close proximity to populations of wild relatives. Inter-crossing between wild and cultivated populations might affect allele frequency patterns of the respective populations. This has implications for genetic resource conservation and overall variability of the Brassica genepool currently in use. AFLP studies on wild Brassica and leafy kale landraces collected in Calabria and Sicily show evidence that inter-crossing between leafy kale and Brassica rupestris is a common phenomenon.