Evaluation of Finnish roseroot (Rhodiola rosea) gene collection from different geographical origins

During the domestication experiments of Rhodiola rosea, a collection of roseroot strains from differ-ent geographical origins was created at Mikkeli, South-East Finland (61° 44‘ N, 27° 18‘ E ). The aims of this study was to compare the root biomass and salidroside and total rosavin contents of eleven Finnish, eight Scandinavian, five Central European and two Russian (Altai) accessions and to choose the best accessions for further propagation. The analyses were carried out in the laboratory of Expert Bio, St. Petersburg, Russia. The fresh weight of Rhodiola rosea roots ranged between 0.32 and 2.74 kg/plant. The Central European accessions developed the biggest roots, with an average of 1.93 kg/root (1.30–2.74 kg), followed by the Scandinavian accessions with the mean of 1.17 kg/plant (0.78–1.66 kg) and the Finnish accessions with the mean of 0.79 kg/plant (0.32–1.30). Altai accession was similar (x=0.76 kg/plant). The average salidroside content of the Scandinavian and Altai accessions were below 1.0 %, while the Finnish and Central European accessions contained 1.3–1.4% of salidroside. No statistical differences between the geographical groups were found. The Scandinavian and Central European accessions contained 1.0–1.15 % of total rosavins on average. The Finnish accessions contained higher quantities, 1.5 %, of total rosavins. Significantly higher contents were measured in the Altai accession, 2.4 % (P<0.001). Six accessions containing high salidroside and total rosavin contents were chosen for saving in the official Finnish medicinal plant gene collection.