The aim of this research is to examine the morphological and pomological characteristics of the wild pear population in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina with the purpose of allocating genotypes for breeding programs of varieties and rootstocks. During 2012 and 2013, the study of the wild pear characteristics was carried out on the localities of: Banja Luka, Manjaca, Potkozarje and Kozara. This research included morphological characterization of vegetative organs and pomological characterization of the fruits of all the selected genotypes. The shape of leaves in all the examined genotypes was elongated. The study of wild pear populations in the Banja Luka region has shown that wild pears are characterized by mostly smaller fruits, rounded form, while a few genotypes had fruits of elongated and flattened shape. Fruit weight varied from 7.44 g to 21.47 g and 73% of genotypes had fruit weight of over 10 g.

Th e paper presents the results of the analysis of pomological-technological characteristics of 13 hazel cultivars present in production plantations in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH). Th rough previous analysis of pomological characteristics of fruit in several hazel plantations it was noted that there was a possibility of erroneous cultivar denomination. Th ese fruits are sold at the domestic market as hazels for consumption, as well as for confectionary and cosmetic industry. Due to the increasing interest of producers in BIH for hazel cultivation and the uncontrolled spread of seedlings by producers through the off shoots from the existing production plantations, a possibility has been created to establish a plantation with erroneous assortment and thus an inadequate cultivar composition, particularly in terms of pollination and fertilization. Th erefore, a comparison was carried out of pomological characteristics of fruit and the content of oil in the kernel of 13 hazel cultivars from older plantations in BIH with cultivars from the Collection of Nuts in Maribor owned by the Biotechnical Faculty of Ljubljana. Based on the analysis conducted, a deviation of fruit characteristics of some cultivars was determined, compared to the standard features of cultivars by which names they were labelled. Cultivars labelled by the producer during the collection of samples as: ‘Istrian Round’, ‘Tonda di Giff oni 2’, ‘Hall ś Giant’ and ‘N.N.1’ were identifi ed and they fully corresponded with their characteristics to the following cultivars: ‘Istrian Long’, ‘Mortarela’, ‘Fertile de Coutard’ and ‘Hall ś Giant’. Th e research also showed that the fruits of the examined cultivars in BIH according to their pomological properties are as good as the fruits of cultivars grown in other areas.

The assessment of quality of old apple varieties was made in order to preserve and use these germplasm in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The characterization was done for ten old varieties of apples selected on the basis of good characteristics of sensory analysis. The following parameters were considered: fruit weight, fruit length and width, stalk length and width, fruit flesh firmness; soluble solids content and total dry matter content of the fruit juice; pH, titratable acidity (TA), vitamin C, total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant potential evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging assay. Statistical analysis was performed separately for sensory, pomological and biochemical characterization (in two consecutive years) by analysis of variance. Only traits such as weight, width and height of the fruit were the biggest in ‘Vinjugara’ which had a low content of titratable acidity whereby it could be singled out as an acceptable variety for consumers. ‘Đedovaca’ had the highest content of phenols (1711.8 mg GAE/100 g of fruit weight), which is in complete relationship with good free radical scavenging activity (11.1 mg of fresh fruit/ml). ‘Kolacara’ and ‘Gospoinjaca’ were distinguished as particularly interesting for good nutritional characteristics, primarily the content of phenols, flavonoids and free radical scavenging ability, but also for suitable storage characteristics, °Brix content and firmness. Due to favourable pomological and biochemical characteristics these varieties were recommended to be included in the breeding program that will result in the enrichment of germplasm of the apples from these areas.

The increasing fragmentation and degradation of forest habitats and the hybridization with cultivated varieties potentially threaten the genetic integrity of wild apple (Malus sylvestris /L./ Mill) and wild pear (Pyrus communis L.). Wild apple and wild pear have been included in the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme – EUFORGEN priority lists for development of conservation strategies. Researches are required into the genetic diversity and the structure of local populations to determine the most suitable conservation policies for these species at different scales. In this study, the RAPD markers were used in order to evaluate interspecies genetic similarity of wild apple trees and wild pear trees from the Starcevica Forest Park, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Primers OPA-05, OPA-07, OPA-09, OPA- 10, OPG-03, OPG-11, OPG-12, OPG-13 and OPAC-03 were used to analyse genetic similarity of wild apple trees, while OPA-01, OPA-03, OPA-05, OPA-07, OPA-08, OPD-04, OPD-14, OPG-03 and OPG-06 were used to analyse genetic similarity of wild pear trees. There was a high level of polymorphism among the analysed wild apple trees, as well as among the wild pear trees, demonstrating a considerable richness in terms of wild apple and wild pear genetic resources in the Starcevica Forest Park. The significant genetic diversity of wild apples and wild pears is present between different test polygones, while when it comes to diversity within the test polygons, it can be concluded that very similar genotypes of wild apples and wild pears generally prevail within a polygon.

In July 2015, 179 grapevine plants belonging to 16 grapevine autochthonous cultivars were assessed for sanitary status using DAS ELISA test for the presence of: Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1 (GLRaV-1), Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 2 (GLRaV-2)and Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3). Furthermore, surveyfor the phytoplasma presence and laboratory analyses using nested-PCR/RFLP assay was conducted at the beginning of September 2015 on grapevine cultivars which were not positive in DAS ELISA test for the presence of the four viruses. Out of 179 tested plants with DAS ELISA test, 146 (81%) were positive for the presence of at least one virus. The most widespread viruses were GFLaV- 1 and GFLaV- 3 with approximately 80 % of grapevines infected. Nested–PCR/RFLP assay showed that out of 33 tested samples 2 were positive for the presence of phytoplasmas from 16SrXII group. Sanitation of infected grapevine cultivars is needed in near future.

Molecular confirmation of the process of differentiation of meristematic tissue of plants is primarily based on histomorphological characterization of the tissues carrying these processes. For perennial plants – fruit trees, the knowledge of these processes is important to define runtime type and pomotechnical treatments but also to identify the genes responsible for determination of the apices into a generative phase of differentiation. Which apex extraction techniques will be applied depends on the structure of buds, i.e. whether an apex differentiates only into generative elements – pure flower buds, or the differentiation goes into two directions: differentiation of leaf primordium with axillar meristematic dome and differentiation of generative elements of flowers in the peak or lateral zone of an apex – mixed buds. The fruit trees of the genus Prunus have purely flower buds and for this purpose the whole apex is taken, between protection – cover leaves, on lateral positions of all collateral buds at shoot nodes. The moment of initiation of determination and the dynamics of differentiation of generative buds are different at different type of shoots on a tree. It is therefore necessary to know the shoots growth cessation time which is in correlation with apex determination. Fruit trees of the genus Prunus are ending the growth of shoots by rejection of shoot peaks, and the cast away time depends on the type, length and the position of shoots.

The research on 10 old and indigenous pear cultivars was conducted during 2012 and 2013 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following characteristics were determined: fruit weight, fruit length and width, stalk length and width, fruit flesh firmness ; soluble solids content and total dry matter content of the fruit juice ; pH, titratable acidity, vitamin C, total phenolics, total flavonoids and antioxidant activity of the fruit cell juice. On the basis of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of pomological fruit characteristics the studied cultivars were divided into four main groups. Based on the PCA of biochemical traits the studied cultivars can be divided into three groups. Extremely high phenolic content in the cvs Mioljnjaca, Žutica, Poljakinja, Karamut and Gradiscanka recommends them for their inclusion in a breeding programme. The cvs Mioljnjaca and Poljakinja are also characterised by large and firm fruit and since the antioxidant capacity affects the duration of fruit storage, it is expected that these traditionally grown varieties can survive longer and keep their valuable nutritional ingredients longer.