Gyoo Byung Sung
Division of Sericulture and Entomology,
National
Institute of Agricultural and Science Technology
61 Seodun-Dong Suwon, South
Korea
E-mail: [email protected]
Paper contributed to Expert Consultation on Promotion of Global Exchange of Sericulture Germplasm Satellite Session of XIX th ISC Congress, September 21st -25th Bangkok, Thailand
It has become imperative to emphasize the need for the conservation of germplasm as prime material for plant breeding in these days. Germplasm is the total amount of genetic variability among each individuals of a species and among species.
Genetic variability is also a prerequisite for the mulberry plant improvement, which increases in yield, which improves the quality of leaf and the adaptations to different stress conditions or agro-climatic regions, and which enhances resistance to pests and diseases.
Mulberry leaves are an exclusive food source of the silkworm Bombyx mori. And mulberry(Morus spp) has been the traditional materials for silkworm rearing industry for a long time as more than four thousand years. However, the whole sericulture industry has been declined and in the difficult situation since international competition of cocoon price has lost in Korea. Due to the rapid declining of the silk industry, the demand for mulberry has been declined in the same time.
However, the situation has not been so pessimistic as concerned since the medical functions of mulberry were found in the leaf and fruit and their research has been actively executed, i.e. the mulberry leaf has medical functions related to lowering high blood pressure and lowering blood-sugar level, which causes diabetes. Besides the mulberry fruit has anti-oxdiative function.
Recently, lots of new techniques to produce a new sericulture products such as Genus Cordyceps of entomopathgenoic fungi, silkworm powder for lowering blood sugar and Nuegra, a natural alternative to Viagra by using silkworm, have been developed to overcome the declining industry and the mulberry plantation has now revived to the increasing cultivation.
The need to conserve and utilize plant genetic resources as a safeguard against an unpredictable future is well recognized. In 2001, the Department of Sericulture and Entomology, National Institute of Agricultural and Science Technology(NIAST), Rural Development Administration (RDA) was designated as Institute responsible for maintenance and conservation of mulberry germplasm.
We have collected 615 genotypes (Annex 1) in Korea and other countries, which are maintained both in the field and greenhouse and a large number of morphological and agronomical characters are being evaluated for utilization in breeding programs.
