Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393659
Research Project: Efficient and Effective Preservation and Management of Plant and Microbial Genetic Resource Collections

Location: Agricultural Genetic Resources Preservation Research

Title: Malus doumeri: The tropical apple species in Vietnam

Author
item HOAI, TT - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
item KIEN, N - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
item YEN, DB - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
item THUY, NT - Vietnam Academy Of Agricultural Sciences (VAAS)
item CHAO, C - Retired ARS Employee
item Volk, Gayle

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/2/2023
Publication Date: 12/7/2023
Citation: Hoai, T.T., Kien, N.V., Yen, D., Thuy, N.B., Chao, C.T., Volk, G.M. 2023. Malus doumeri: The tropical apple species in Vietnam. Acta Horticulturae. https://DOI.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1384.11.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1384.11

Interpretive Summary: Malus doumeri is a wild apple species that is native to tropical regions of Vietnam. It is an unusual species because all other species of Malus are native to temperate regions. USDA-ARS and colleagues at the Plant Resources Center, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Hanoi, Vietnam performed explorations to collect seeds from M. doumeri trees in Vietnam. Collected seeds were placed into long-term storage in the Vietnamese and USDA genebanks, significantly improving the ex situ conservation status of M. doumeri. This manuscript provides information about the geographic distribution and botanical descriptions of the trees that were sampled.

Technical Abstract: Malus doumeri is a tropical wild apple species, growing adjacent to citrus, bananas, and coffee in Vietnam. Chloroplast sequence data reveal that it is distantly related to the cultivated apple. Malus doumeri trees are up to 40 meters high and are sparsely distributed in the Vietnamese landscape. In 2018-2021, fruit and seeds were collected in Lam Dong, Cao Bang, and Ha Giang, Vietnam through collaborations between the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Plant Resources Center (PRC), Vietnamese Academy of Agricultural Science in Hanoi. Passport and phenotypic data were recorded and seeds were split between the USDA National Plant Germplasm System and the PRC. These results are the first glimpse into the distribution and the morphological traits of this rare Malus species.