COLLECTION, STUDY AND USE OF A GENE POOL OF WILD SPECIES OF THE GENUS PRUNUS L.
The Krymsk Experimental Breeding Station stores a gene pool of stone fruits of 5000 genotypes as a result of collecting missions in the centres of origin of cultivated plants. The pool was used to single out the donors and characteristics significant for breeding that enabled the formation of the genetic collection of stone fruits and to syntheses the new collection donors which were employed to develop the new varieties of stone fruits. Their use was especially efficient for breeding clonal stocks. Using the genotypes of wild species of stone fruits from the State Register of Selection Achievements admitted for reproduction in the Russian Federation, we developed 17 clonal stocks. As a result of analytical selection we singled out the genotypes that were given the status of varieties from the gene pool of wild-growing stone fruits: seedling rootstocks ‘Pamirskiy 5’ and ‘Tikhoretskiy 4’, clonal stocks ‘L-2’ and ‘Kuban 86’, ornamental cherry trees ‘Kiparisovaya’, ‘Rozanna’, ‘Krasna devitsa’, ‘Malyshka’; Louiseania ulmifolia - ‘Ocharovanie’, ‘Rozoviy shar’, ‘Snezhanna’. As a result of study of the gene pool of the wild-growing stone fruits and the outcomes of their selection usage, additions and corrections were introduced in the system of the genus Prunus L. We suggest transferring the section Amygdalopsis (Carr.) Lincz. of the subgenus Amygdalus (L.) Focke and Microcerasus Webb. of the subgenus Cerasus Pers. to the subgenus Prunophora Focke besides the sections Prunus and Armeniaca (Lam.) Koehne. An intraspecific taxonomy of species was developed for: cherry plum - P.cerasifera Ehr.; blackthorn - P.spinosa L.; Microcerasus incana (Pall.) M. Roem. - P.incаna Stev.; Microcerasus prostrata Roem.- P.prostrata Labill.; dwarf almond - P.nana (L.) Bert. et Hedr. and others. We put forward a hypothesis of the origin of several species of stone fruits, including P.spinosa, P.darvasica, P.fruticosa, P.Maackii, P.kurilensis, P.nana, P.fenzliana, P.buharica, P.spinosissima, P.petunnikovii and some others.