ISHS Acta Horticulturae 715: VIII International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture
INTRODUCTION OF VACCINIUM CULTURE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC |
| Authors: | F. Paprstein, V. Holubec, J. Sedlak |
| Keywords: | Vaccinium, blueberry, germplasm, evaluation, propagation, cuttings, in vitro |
| Abstract:
Wild and cultivated Vaccinium germplasm was studied and evaluated within a project on neglected small fruits. Several wild species were collected in various ecological environments inof the Czech Republic, grown in nursery and evaluated. Similarly, wild species were studied in two regions in Asia and collected. Available germplasm is being evaluated according to newly designed national descriptor lists. Current cultivar and species diversity has been enlarged by gathering new materials from germplasm collections, from gene banks, and from the wild. From 29 accessions evaluated, three cultivars got the best evaluation – ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Toro’ and ‘Weymouth’. In contrast, ‘Northland’, ‘November’ and ‘Jersey’ got either a low mean evaluation rating or some important descriptors were ranked low. Growing technologies useful for Czech conditions have been tested. Propagation, using softwood or hardwood cuttings, was investigated under different conditions and using various rooting hormones in the greenhouse in 2003. Generally the best rooting cultivars were ‘Darrow’, ‘Brigitta Blue’ and ‘Nelson’. Tissue culture methods using apices were optimized. Sterilization, treatment times, agar-solidified media and concentration of growth regulators were tested. Longer sterilization times resulted in necrosis and explants had to be washed or transplanted to fresh media. Lower mineral nutrient content in the medium (derived from Murashige and Skoog, 1962) and decreased acidity (pH to 4.5) was found to be optimal for three cultivars: ‘Blueray’, ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Nelson’. Significant cultivar differences were found in all tested procedures. Further, other media and combinations of growth regulators will be tested to enlarge the multiplication ratio. It is likely, a cultivar-specific treatment is desirable for optimal propagation. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
