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Maintenance of Cannabis germplasm in the Vavilov Research Institute Gene Bank - 1997

Kutuzova, Sofia N.¹, Sergey V. Grigoryev¹, Lyudmila T. Rumyantseva¹, Janos Berenji² and Robert C. Clarke³

¹N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR), Bolshaya Morskaya 42 Street, 190000 St. Petersburg, Russia Tel.: + +7 812 314-4848 Fax.: +7 812 311-8762, e-mail: vir@glas.apc.org

²Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, M. Gorkog 30, 21000 Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, e-mail: berenji@EUnet.yu

³International Hemp Association, Postbus 75007, 1070 AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands Tel/Fax: +31 20 618-8758, e-mail: iha@euronet.nl

        Kutuzova, Sofia N., Sergey V. Grigoryev, Lyudmila T. Rumyantseva and Robert C. Clarke 1998. Maintenance of Cannabis germplasm in the Vavilov Research Institute Gene Bank - 1997. Journal of the International Hemp Association 5(1): 28-31. Nineteen ninety-seven was the fifth year of the VIR/IHA Cannabis Germplasm Preservation Project. Of the 140 accessions sown, 113 yielded seed and 74 yielded more than 120 grams, allowing for storage and distribution to researchers.

Introduction
        Hemp is a traditional Russian crop, which in the recent past occupied large areas in the country. However, in 1997 it was cultivated on only 10,000 hectares, mainly in Orel, Penza and Kursk Provinces and in Krasnodar Region.
        Along with the resurgence of international interest in hemp production, much more importance should be attributed to the preservation of the rich Cannabis genetic diversity concentrated in the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) collection. At the present phase, this task is a very difficult one due to the absence of experiment stations where the climate is warm enough and the summer daylength short enough to reproduce thermophilous late-ripening accessions, and due to increasing incidences of plants being stolen in the field. The necessity of spatial isolation of no less than 2 km apart, hampers efforts to provide security in isolated reproduction plots.
        The VIR collection harbors rich diversity of breeding resources, representing all kinds of biological traits and commercial properties. Local hemp samples from different regions of Russia demonstrate high ecological plasticity, which makes it possible to select from hemp populations, individual plants with high productivity for various climatic conditions.
        Nineteen ninety-seven was the fifth year of the VIR/IHA Cannabis Germplasm Preservation Project.

Materials and Methods
         In 1997, an attempt was made to restore the germination ability of 140 accessions. Maintenance of the collection took place in four sites within Russia (Pavlovsk, Ekaterinino and Kuban Experiment Stations of VIR, and Penza Institute of Agri-culture), two sites in the Ukraine (Ustimovka Experiment Station and the Institute of Bast Crops), and one site in Yugoslavia (Novi Sad Institute). The methods applied on isolated plots were the same as in the previous years [Lemeshev et al. 1994].

Results
Pavlovsk Experiment Station of the VIR-
        Seventeen Cannabis accessions were planted on isolated plots. The spring weather was extremely dry. The rainfall in late May was insufficient to moisten the upper horizon of cultivated soil. This caused a pronounced reduction in the number of shoots emerging on the plots and delayed development of the plants. This is the reason why only 3 accessions of all planted ones yielded adequate amounts of seed (k-143, k-144 and k-155). In two accessions (k-106 and k-393), all plants were stolen. The remaining six accessions developed very few plants with yields of 2 to 15 g (Table 1).

Ekaterinino Experiment Station of the VIR-
        Twenty-eight accessions of the Middle Russian type were planted on isolated plots. Due to the spring drought two accessions did not germinate, and six accessions developed into sparse populations. In summer, the weather was favorable for the development of hemp, but eight accessions were cut by thieves. Eighteen accessions were safely re-produced, three of which yielded less than 50 g of seed (Table 2).

Ustimovka Experiment Station, Ukraine-
        Thirty accessions were planted. Seven isolated plots produced sparse shoots because of drought, therefore the weight of seed yield in five accessions was less than 50 g. Two accessions were cut and stolen. The remaining 23 accessions produced satisfying seed yields (Table 3).

Kuban Experiment Station of the VIR-
        Twenty-two accessions of southern hemp were planted. On seven isolated plots no sprouts emerged, and on one plot seeds did not ripen. On three isolated plots only some branches of the plants remained after raids by thieves, hence a very small quantity of seeds was produced (5-15 g). Eighteen accessions were safely reproduced, though seven of them yielded less than 50 g (Table 4).

Institute of Bast Crops, Glukhov, Ukraine-
        Eight accessions were maintained here. Three of them yielded very small number of seeds as a result of sparse germination and theft (Table 5).

Penza Institute of Agriculture-
        Twenty-one accessions of Middle Russian and southern hemp types were planted here. 3 of them failed to produce a seed yield for various reasons. 2 accessions yielded less than 50 g of seed [Table 6].

Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia-
         Fourteen hemp accessions of Yugoslavian origin were safely reproduced here; Domaca (k-8), Niska (k-19), Canapa (k-376), and local samples (k-17, k-20, etc.). 100-300 g of seeds of each accession will be sent to VIR and be added to the collection after quarantine testes (Table 7).

Conclusion
         In total, 140 hemp access ions were planted in 1997. Of these samples, 14 accessions either failed to germinate or developed only critically small number of plants. 14 accessions were fully or partially cut and stolen. 113 accessions were reproduced, but 26 of this number yielded less than 20 g of seed. Thus, no less than 43 accessions of 1997 hemp materials, which either failed to yield fresh seed reproductions, or produced less than 20 g, need to be included in the 1998 planting.

• Lemeshev et al. 1994 Maintenance of Cannabis germplasm in the Vavilov Research Institute Gene Bank - 1993 Journal of the International Hemp Association