Collaborative Survey of Eggplant Genetic Resources in Lao PDR, 2018

Under the Joint Research Agreement, the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences [currently, integrated with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO)], Japan, and the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) have collaborated since 2014 to survey plant genetic resources in Lao PDR. The main objective of this survey was to collect samples of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and related crop species from the Bolikhamxay and Khammounane provinces of central Lao PDR. Between November 5 and 21, 2018, we collected 135 samples, including S. melongena (102) and other Solanum spp. (33). We found a wide diversity of eggplant landraces in central Lao PDR, with variation in fruit shape (flattened, globular, ovoid, pear shaped, ellipsoid, and cylindrical), size (19.2 to 417 mm long), and color (purple, green, and white); spineless landraces were also common. The collected seeds were deposited at NAFRI; a subset of the collection will be transferred to the Genetic Resources Center, NARO, Japan, as backup under the Standard Material Transfer Agreement of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Seeds from these genetic resources will be reproduced via self-pollination, and the NAFRI staff will evaluate the characteristics of the plant material in the next season. We plan to evaluate the accessions’ morphological characteristics and resistance to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, bacterial wilt, powdery mildew, and nematodes in Japan.本報告は，独立行政法人農業生物資源研究所とラオス農林省国立農林業研究所 (NAFRI) との間で 2014 年に締結された共同研究協定（JRA）に基づいて行われたラオス国における 2018 年のナス遺伝資源の調査報告である．調査は，2018 年 11 月 5 ～ 21 日にかけて実施された．今回，我々はラオス国中央地域であるボリカムサイ県およびカムアン県を調査し，ナス栽培種Solanum melongena 102 点およびナス近縁種を 33 点の合計 135 点の種子サンプルを収集した．当該地域におけるナスの多様性は高く，果形や果色に広い変異が観察された．また，とげなし性の在来種が多かったことは興味深い．収集した遺伝資源の種子は，NAFRI において保存されるとともに，定型の素材移転契約 (SMTA) を用いて農研機構遺伝資源センターに移転され，保存される予定である．また，NAFRI では，これら遺伝資源の種子を自殖による増殖の後，特性調査が行われる予定である．さらに，日本では，土壌伝染性病害虫への抵抗性を含む特性が調査される予定である