Background

Geographically, climatically and ethnically, Central Asia harbours a high cultural and natural diversity. Among these, fruit trees are frequently found under irrigated conditions. The occurrence of cultivated fruits in this region has a similarly broad spectrum as in Central Europe, but little is known about their local distribution, history, use, and intra-specific diversity. A number of species such as walnut (Juglans regia L.), mulberry (Morus alba and nigra L.), apple (Malus sp. L.), almond, and apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) have originated and or domesticated in the region. Given the diversity of agricultural management and climatic niches, a large landrace diversity has been formed that is yet to be explored, evaluated, and managed for breeding and agroforestry purposes. For about 30 years, this diversity has been severely threatened as commercial crops, including modern/uniform varieties and cultivars, replace this traditional diversity. The effect of this replacement on agro-ecosystems, livelihoods and local populations/association, and its agricultural implications (disease and pest occurrences, adaption to various environmental factors, and thus yield-related traits) are however not understood. Understanding the current distribution of diversity of a fruit trees as whole or single species and deriving suitable management strategies will be goals of this master’s thesis.