The National Action Plan (NAP) supports the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources (PGREL) in Switzerland. Thanks to NAP projects, the genepool was characterized on Swiss apple gene resources. These valuable genetic resources should enter the market and be used for organic breeding and production. One way is through direct cultivation of suitable old apple varieties, another way is breeding with old genetic material and modern varieties to improve certain properties like storability. The aim is to breed robust varieties that have lasting disease and pest resistance, produce high quality fruits, cover a wide range of tastes, and have a good storability as well as good agronomic properties for cultivation.
