The conservation of germplasm of tropical fruits is an important action against the genetic erosion due to several agricultural activities that disturb the ecosystems in which they occur, with damages no rare irreversible to a lot of species, particularly the native ones. The establishment and maintenance of field collections of perennial fruit species are costly, being common the unavailability of financial resources for this purpose. The farmer's involvement in this process is strategically an important action, because, besides favoring the conservation of that germplasm, it also stimulates the understanding of its importance in the communities involved. Based on that, three collections of tropical fruits were installed in 1995/1996: one in the College of Agronomy of the Federal University of Bahia, in Cruz das Almas, and the others in two rural properties in the municipal district of São Felipe, Bahia, Brazil. About 30 species, most of them native, have being conserved there. Some already started fruit production, showing to have potential for commercial cultivation.
Genetic resources preservation; Annona spp.; Averrhoa spp.; Eugenia spp.; Spondias spp.; Achras sapota; Genipa americana
