Vietnamese Rubus: Crop wild relatives of the raspberries and blackberries

Authors: Hummer, Kim; Oliphant, James - Jim; HOAI, TRAN - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS); KIEN, NGUYEN - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS); YEN, D - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/2020
Publication Date: 12/1/2020
Citation: Hummer, K.E., Oliphant, J.M., Hoai, T., Kien, N.V., Yen, D.B. 2020. Vietnamese Rubus: Crop wild relatives of the raspberries and blackberries. Acta Horticulturae. 1297:29-36. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1297.5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1297.5

Interpretive Summary: Northern Vietnam contains a wealth of wild species relatives of raspberry. In fall 2015, and during the year in 2017, these wild relatives were collected during a Vietnamese-US cooperative expedition in Northern Vietnam. The exploration involved representatives of the Plant Resources Center (PRC), Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, in Hanoi and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon. The exploration was supported through the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) Plant Exploration/Exchange Program. Permissions for collecting were obtained from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the administration of four Vietnamese National Parks. Taxonomic identification and review indicated that about 110 Rubus accessions of 30 species were collected from Northern Vietnam. Rubus species were plentiful throughout this region, including in Tam Ð'o, Hoang Lien Son National Park on Phan Xi Pang (Fansipan) Mountain, Phia O'c - Phia Ðén National Reserve, Ba B' National Park, Cúc Phuong, Ninh Bình, and Bá Thu'c National Park, Thanh Hóa. Root samples for propagation and seeds were collected in 2015. Preliminary trips were taken in April 2017 prior to seed collection. In October-November after the rainy season, some of these species simultaneously displayed all stages of phenology from bud break to fruit development. The diversity of the Rubus species in the high elevation regions of Vietnam suggests floristic similarities with highland areas in Taiwan, Southern China (Yunnan), and the Himalayas. This plant material will be established and evaluated for descriptive characters in Vietnamese and U.S. genebanks as research of these genetic resources continues.

Technical Abstract: Northern Vietnam contains a wealth of Rubus L. species, predominantly in the subg. Malachobatus and subg. Idaeobatus. In fall 2015, and during the year in 2017, wild relatives of raspberries and blackberries were collected during a Vietnamese-US cooperative expedition in Northern Vietnam. The exploration involved representatives of the Plant Resources Center (PRC), Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, in Hanoi and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon. The exploration was supported through the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) Plant Exploration/Exchange Program. Permissions for collecting were obtained from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the administration of four Vietnamese National Parks. Taxonomic identification and review indicated that about 110 Rubus accessions of 30 species were collected from Northern Vietnam. Rubus species were plentiful throughout this region, including in Tam Ð'o, Hoang Lien Son National Park on Phan Xi Pang (Fansipan) Mountain, Phia O'c - Phia Ðén National Reserve, Ba B' National Park, Cúc Phuong, Ninh Bình, and Bá Thu'c National Park, Thanh Hóa. Root samples for propagation and seeds were collected in 2015. Preliminary trips were taken in April 2017 prior to seed collection. In October-November after the rainy season, some of these species simultaneously displayed all stages of phenology from bud break to fruit development. The diversity of the Rubus species in the high elevation regions of Vietnam suggests floristic similarities with highland areas in Taiwan, Southern China (Yunnan), and the Himalayas. This plant material will be established and evaluated for descriptive characters in Vietnamese and U.S. genebanks as research of these genetic resources continues.