The “identification” commission met at the Salles-la-Source village hall last week. These are members of the Variétés locales 12 association from different sections of the Aveyron department who choose the apple varieties. These are selected so that samples can be sent to INRA for genetic analyses. The results are compared with the file of apples already identified at the national and even European level. Result: since the start of operations 25 years ago, more than 150 varieties have been identified in Aveyron alone.
They are therefore considered endemic to the department. This is a source of pride for the association. And it is not over since around fifteen are being analyzed, including six coming from the orchard of the convent of the nuns of Bonneval which has entrusted its management to the association, i.e. a very large number of apple trees including several varieties are unknown to specialists. “We are also going to discuss today a major project: publishing a book on the particularities of Aveyron fruits. If we have the knowledge of the content, we are not specialists in publishing and we poorly measure the skills which are necessary to obtain a beautiful work We will have to surround ourselves with good advisers A book has just been published at the national level and apples endemic to the department have been selected to appear in it. specific to our fruit heritage and our terroir? ask Gérard André and François Aigouy, the co-presidents of Variétés locales 12. “We have a lot of visitors during the graft distribution days in spring or at the fruit festival at the beginning of November. Hopefully, from this great interest that we are seeing among the public, enthusiasts will emerge to join us and help us and take over. You don't need to have fallen into a pot of apples when you were little, you just need to have an interest in safeguarding and promoting our fruit heritage.”hopes Gérard by making an appointment for the next spring meeting.
Explanatory panels on the choice of varieties based on terroir, exposure, use of fruit, etc. already exist. They will have a good place in the book if the idea of its edition which has just germinated develops thanks to the good care of the members of Variétés locales 12 and the partners who will have mobilized with them.
