The Indigenous Germplasm of Chetnut (Castanea sativa Mill)in the Etna area: ecophysiological aspects and morphological traits of the fruits

In Sicily, chestnut ( Castanea sativa Mill.) is present at altitudes that run from 300 to 1600 m asi and, due to the extreme variability of the environmental conditions, a large autochthonous germplasm has been dif- ferentiated. On the island, starting back as far as ancient times, chestnut was an important crop for rural com- munities but, after the Second World War, the tendency of the rural population to move to the capital cities and because of Cryphonectria parasitica attacks, chestnut plantings reduced dramatically. Recently, an investigation has commenced in the Etna area to collect the residual genetic resources of chestnut. Although many of the che- stnut genotypes found on the slopes of Etna produce fruits that do not fully meet the international quality stan- dard for direct consumption (marroni), scientific interest toward the genotypes selected rely on the fact that trees grow well and produce at such a low latitude as the middle of the Mediterranean