Management of walnut genetic resources to improve the efficiency of the breeding process in the South of Russia

Abstract

Walnut is one of the main nut crops of world importance. Conservation and efficient use of genetic resources is one of the fundamental principles of breeding work. The most efficient way to work with genetic resources is to create core collections that include most of the genetic diversity with the least number of samples in the collection. There are several different approaches to the creation of core collections, differing in the criteria for the selection of characters and the number of samples in the collection. This article provides an overview of the most effective approaches to creating walnut core collections in southern Russia. Of course, both genetic and phenotypic diversity should be taken into account. Microsatellite markers or SNPs may be the most appropriate tools for assessing genetic diversity, depending on the objectives and sample sizes. The article also provides an overview of the most valuable traits from the point of view of walnut breeding in the North Caucasus.