ARI REVIEW FOR 2016-2017

including soluble carbohydrates, organic acids, anthocyanins, phenolic compounds in the pomegranate juice, characterisation of free radical scavenging potential of pomegranate juice and assessment of juice antioxidant value, seed hardness, texture and fibre content, and fruit storage performance. Also, genetic diversity among the 30 pomegranate genotypes was assessed using 10 microsatellites representing 10 loci. All the microsatellites were polymorphic. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5, with an average of 3.3. Our results demonstrate the existence of significant genetic diversity within the collection, which renders the clonal evaluation highly valuable. ( M.C. Kyriacou, A. Kyratzis ) CONSERVATION OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES National coordination Cooperation with Biodiversity International, mainly through participation in the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and other international and national organisations continued. ARI is the National Focal Point in the European Internet Search Catalogue (EURISCO), the national correspondent for the FAO-World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources and the national representative to the Committee established by the Council Regulation 870/2004. It is also involved in the implementation, at the national level, of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. ( A. Kyratzis ) National Genebank (CYPARI) Seed collection has focused on native plant genetic resources threatened by genetic erosion and on useful plants such as, landraces and crop wild relatives. Around 200 new accessions have been collected during the last two years. One hundred and sixty-six accessions have been collected in the context of the CAREMEDIFLORA project and 57 accessions for the Global Tree Seed Bank project. Out of 200 accessions, 108 concern species listed to the Red Data Book of the Flora of Cyprus, 20 accessions concern species listed to Annex II of the Habitat Directive and 18 accessions are from species covered by the Bern Convention. Germination tests have been routinely conducted to assess germination capacity of the CYPARI conserved accessions. Focus has been given to the development of germination protocols for rare plants of the flora of Cyprus. ( A. Kyratzis ) Conservation Actions for Threatened Mediterranean Island Flora: ex situ and in situ joint actions CARE-MEDIFLORA aims to improve the conservation status of threatened plant species of the Mediterranean. It is a project implemented by institutions of six Mediterranean islands and the IUCN/SSC Mediterranean Plant Specialist Group. The institutions involved are jointly addressing short-term and long-term conservation needs: 32 Vegetable Crops