Diversity of initial material of buckwheat and trends in its use in breeding

Abstract

Goal. To assess the diversity of collection material differing by eco-geographical origin for a set of economic and breeding parameters to select the most valuable accessions, to describe and evaluate them in order to form specific sets of gene pool accessions, to widely involve them in breeding both for traditional and for new purposes.Materials and Methods. The plant material was evaluated and described in compliance with "Expanded Harmonized Classifier of the genus Buckwheat (Fagopyrum Mill.)"," Classifier of the genus Fagopyrum Mill.", etc. Over 1,600 accessions have been investigated for the last 20 years. The information base of the study results contains data on 10-23parameters of accessions (yield, performance, plant architectonics elements, grain size, etc.).Result and Discussion. Based on the data, the collection gene pool was grouped by trait expression and expression of trait sets. Sources of some traits or of their combinations were offered to breeders: 29 accessions - of the grain number per plant (over 100 grains) and the node number in the stem branching point (up to 5); 49 accessions - of performance and inflorescence fertility; 110 accessions - of indices of individual seed productivity and grain number per plant; 27 accessions – of technological parameters of product (grain); 73 accessions - of even ripening; 22 accessions – of moderate shedding resistance, etc. The selected accessions are of different eco-geographical origin: from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, France, Georgia, Japan and Korea.Conclusions. The investigation of the collection material under contrast environmental conditions and selection of sources of economically and breeding-valuable characteristics makes the collection a valuable source of initial material for all breeding trends. Significant value of the collection accessions lies in their different eco-geographical origin, that is, in considerable diversity of gene complexes determining the expression level of a particular trait. Constant replenishment of the collection with new material from different parts of the world and generation of promising trends in the use of buckwheat products require constant search for new sources of valuable features, formation of trait and specific collections, trials and introduction of the gene pool in breeding and production.