Collection and evaluation of ten peculiar wild mulberry resources in Yunnan

ObjetiveBasic materials for breeding new fruit mulberry varieties from wild mulberry resources in Yun-nan were explored in order to lay foundation for creating new mulberry germplasm resources.MethodTen peculiar mul-berry germplasm resources were selected from collected wild mulberry resources in Yunnan. Their leaf nutrition,main economic characters,seed germination rate and fruiting traits were investigated and analyzed.ResultAmong ten pecu-liar wild mulberry resources,two of them could be used as male parent in breeding,because their male inflorescences were especially long and the pollen were easy to be collected. One of them was Morus atropurpurea Roxb.,with strong ability of fruit setting,large fruits,and uniform degree of maturity,which could be utilized directly. One of them was M. mongolica Schneid. with small fruits,which can be used as ideal drought-resistant rootstock breeding resources,because of its strong ability of fruit setting,high setting percentage and high germination rate. The other six were M. laevigata Wall.,with large and long fruits,strong ability of fruit setting and strong growth potential,which could be used to inter-breed with cultivated varieties for new variety providing fruit and leaf.ConclusionThe tested ten specific wild mulberry resources,as basic race to develop diversifying mulberry resources,can be planted in suitable planting areas,or in a fur-ther crossbreeding program with cultivated varieties,thus developing new varieties of material.