Analysis of the collection of Coriandrum sativum L. as a source of high-potential samples for selection research

Abstract

One way for conservation the genetic diversity of plants is to make collections of the samples of different species. Specific collections of species that are used as food, medicinal, industrial crops are usually created in institutions where the studies of their useful properties, selection and seed production are conducted. One of the most common essential oil crops is Coriandrum sativum L. The main direction for coriander selection is the development of varieties with high yield and high content of essential oil. The goal of this research was to study the coriander collection in the conditions of the Crimean Foothills as valuable source material for selection. This collection includes 159 samples from 30 regions obtained from the Federal Research Center “Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources” and 5 varieties from the Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea (RIAC). Analysis of this collection by a set of parameters was carried out in 2017-2019 in accordance with the techniques for essential oil crops. The study was conducted at the experimental site of the RIAC located in Krymskaya Roza village (Belogorsky district, Crimea). The climate of this region is moderately continental. This territory belongs to one of the five agroclimatic regions – upper foothill, warm, not humid enough; to the northern subarea with moderately mild winters. High variability of the collection for the most significant productivity parameters was established. So, coefficients of variation for yield of fruits and for the content of essential oil are 37.2 and 51.3%, respectively. This indicates high potential of further work with this collection in order to develop valuable selection material. Evaluation of the results of studying this collection in years with different weather conditions made it possible to select 26 samples according to the set of parameters or to specific valuable features that were high-potential for further selection.