Genetic diversity of medicinal plants

Aim. To study accessions of new medicinal plants, to form and augment collections, to use valuable accessions of the gene pool in breeding and collections for educational and outreach activities. Results and Discussion. We present results of multi-year research work on creating collections of medicinal and essential-oil-bearing plants, their using in breeding, training and educational activities. The collection of the Botanical Nursery of the Experimental Station totals 990 samples belonging to 436 species of 254 genera of 69 families. The following genera are most fully represented: Mentha – 13 species (263 samples), Thymus L. – 11 species, Salvia L. – 6, Echinacea Moench – 6 (29 samples), etc. The collection consists of accessions from 22 countries: 605 from Ukraine, 29 from Russia, 22 from Germany, 12 from Bulgaria, 11 from the USA, 5 from France, etc. Training collections of mint and medicinal plants, trait collections of calendula, thyme, and echinacea and the basic collection of mint were formed and registered with the NCPGRU. Collections are dynamically being formed, and accessions of tree/shrub medicinal species belonging to the genera Sambucus L., Berberis L. and Crataegus L. are being studied. Selected accessions and sources of economically valuable traits are constantly involved in breeding. Ten new varieties of medicinal plants were originated from the gene pool accessions variety Yuvileina (2018) – from Dalmatian chamomile , variety Poltavka (2018) – from blessed milk thistle, variety Berezotitska Soniachna (2020) – from pot marigold, variety Struminka (2020) – from dyer's-madder. Acquisition companies in 14 regions of Ukraine resulted in gathering the gene pool accessions of valuable medicinal species for breeding and investigating: 720 seed samples, 62 planting material samples, 42 raw material samples and 691 herbarium specimens. Conclusions. The exploratory research at the Experimental Station of Medicinal Plants of IAEM NAAS allowed building up unique collections of medicinal and aromatic plants, accessions of which are used in breeding, training and educational activities, as well as to preserve the biodiversity of domestic and wild plants.