Bioresource collection of flower crops in FRC SSC of RAS and its use in breeding research

The paper deals with topical issues of introduction and breeding research in the framework of import substitution in the floriculture industry. An extensive gene pool of flower crops has been mobilized at the Federal Research Centre the Subtropical Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Sochi). On the basis of the Centre’s collections, apart from scientific purposes of conserving biodiversity, researching plants resistance and adaptability, as well as developing methods for studying cultivar samples, etc., there are practical tasks of obtaining planting material and cut flowers, including off-season periods, and using them in various forms of floral decoration, which are being solved. Bioresource collections include 1,499 cultivar samples, of which 34.29 % are perennial herbaceous plants, 20.61 % are bulbous and bulbotuberiferous, 16.94 % are irises, 14.34 % are pelargoniums, 9.47 % are species of natural flora, 4.34 % are chrysanthemums. The collections are also the basis for conducting breeding research in order to create highly ornamental, original, environmentally resistant and productive cultivars in the Centre with different flowering periods. Over the past 10 years, 85 cultivars of flower crops have been created (including 36 pelargoniums, 15 freesias and anemones, 12 chrysanthemums, 4 gerberas, 2 primroses, 1 tulip). The obtained cultivars are highly ornamental and resistant to bio- and abiotic factors. Freesia, anemone and pelargonium cultivars registered in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation belong only to the FRC SSC of RAS.