Articles
CHARACTERISTICS AND BREEDING OF UNDERUTILIZED JAPANESE RUBUS GENETIC RESOURCES
Article number
918_78
Pages
625 – 630
Language
English
Abstract
The genus Rubus consists of more than 600 species that are widely distributed from tropical to subarctic regions.
Raspberry, R. idaeus and R. strigosus, and blackberry, R. subsp. Rubus, R. ursinus and R. hybrid, are cultivated as major horticultural crops worldwide.
More than 35 Rubus species are native to Japan.
These species and foreign cultivars were not utilized for breeding or cultivation until the 1990s.
Disease and insect damage to raspberries and blackberries in Japan is extensive due to warm humid summers that facilitate proliferation of pests and diseases.
Chemical control of diseases and insect pests of raspberries and blackberries is not well developed because few pesticides have been approved for these minor crops; thus limiting their commercial production.
However, import of raspberries and blackberries has increased in Japan over the previous decade due to changing dietary habits.
This study investigates the diversity of native Japanese species, their importance to cultivated berry production, and their potential as a genetic resource.
Whole plants or seeds of species, such as R. crataegifolius, R. ikenoensis, R. mesogaeus, R. palmatus, R. parvifolius, R. pectinellus, R. phoenicolasius and R. vernus, were collected mainly from the Tohoku district in the northeast of the mainland.
The collection included seeds from Hokkaido which were obtained in 2005 and 2009 during an expedition in collaboration with the National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR), Corvallis, USA. In addition, cultivars were introduced from NCGR, Corvallis.
The collected plants were conserved and evaluated for growth habits, genetic relationships, and fruit constituents, and were used to develop molecular markers.
The future contribution of the native Japanese species toward breeding and cultivation by providing genetic resources is anticipated.
Raspberry, R. idaeus and R. strigosus, and blackberry, R. subsp. Rubus, R. ursinus and R. hybrid, are cultivated as major horticultural crops worldwide.
More than 35 Rubus species are native to Japan.
These species and foreign cultivars were not utilized for breeding or cultivation until the 1990s.
Disease and insect damage to raspberries and blackberries in Japan is extensive due to warm humid summers that facilitate proliferation of pests and diseases.
Chemical control of diseases and insect pests of raspberries and blackberries is not well developed because few pesticides have been approved for these minor crops; thus limiting their commercial production.
However, import of raspberries and blackberries has increased in Japan over the previous decade due to changing dietary habits.
This study investigates the diversity of native Japanese species, their importance to cultivated berry production, and their potential as a genetic resource.
Whole plants or seeds of species, such as R. crataegifolius, R. ikenoensis, R. mesogaeus, R. palmatus, R. parvifolius, R. pectinellus, R. phoenicolasius and R. vernus, were collected mainly from the Tohoku district in the northeast of the mainland.
The collection included seeds from Hokkaido which were obtained in 2005 and 2009 during an expedition in collaboration with the National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR), Corvallis, USA. In addition, cultivars were introduced from NCGR, Corvallis.
The collected plants were conserved and evaluated for growth habits, genetic relationships, and fruit constituents, and were used to develop molecular markers.
The future contribution of the native Japanese species toward breeding and cultivation by providing genetic resources is anticipated.
Authors
H. Imanishi
Keywords
native Japanese Rubus, utilization, genetic resources
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