56th Session of the Technical Working Party for Fruit Crops (TWF), UPOV
01/07/2025
Come backThe fifty-sixth session of the Technical Working Group on Fruit Crops (TWF) was held from 23 to 26 June 2025 in Bursa, Turkey.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Institute of Plant Variety Expertise took part in the above-mentioned working group, organised by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The participants discussed key issues related to DUS examination methods (distinctiveness, uniformity, stability), in particular:
- Amendments to TGP/5, TGP/7 were considered, in particular regarding example varieties, the number of vegetation cycles and standard wording in the Test Guidelines.
- A draft protocol was presented on the validation of molecular markers for characteristic-specific assessment. Confidentiality and restricted access to methodologies were highlighted as important considerations.
- Drafts of new and updated guidelines for crops such as pears, plums, hazelnuts, passion fruit, goji, etc. were discussed.
Representatives of UIPVE - Larysa Prysyazhnyuk, Deputy Director for scientific work, and Valentyna Matus, Senior Researcher of the Department of Plant Variety Variety Testing on Uniformity and Stability, presented national approaches to the development of fruit crops variety collections in Ukraine.
As part of the session, participants visited the Atatürk Horticultural Central Research Institute in Yalova. The delegation observed breeding programs and variety collections of strawberry, cherry, table grapes, kiwifruit, and more. An excursion was also held at Yalova Seçkin Fide, a company specializing in the production of young plants.
Ukraine’s active engagement in TWF supports international harmonization in variety testing and strengthens technical collaboration in plant variety protection.