Genetic resources

Ornamental plant breeding in Estonia was started in 1946 by Adolf Vaigla, a teacher and lilac breeder at Räpina School of Horticulture.

In 1947, plant breeding also started in the Polli branch of the Plant Breeding Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Before then, there had been no significant breeding of ornamental plants in Estonia.

In the second half of the 20^th Century, local varieties of ornamental plants were mainly bred in Tallinn Botanic Garden. The main breeding methods were hybridisation and selection with a focus on agrotechnics of hybrid seedlings. Unfortunately, only a few of the varieties bred in Tallinn Botanic Garden have survived to the present day.

Research of the archives of the botanical gardens and libraries shows that in parallel with the work in scientific institutions, ornamental plant breeding has been also carried out in private gardens. Many private plant breeders and collectors have been contacted to expand the information regarding plant breeding in Estonia. The examination of the collections of private gardeners and the information they have provided indicates that plant breeding in private gardens started in the second half of the 20^th Century. The inventories of private collections have led to the discovery of many unknown local varieties.

The main genus object of plant breeding in Estonia was Clematis, Dahlia, Dasiphora, Gladiolus, Hemerocallis, Iris, Lilium, Narcissus, Primula, Rosa, Sempervivum and Syringa.

The main objectives of the programme are the collection and conservation of the genetic resources of ornamental plants. Parallely, the conservation, preservation and research of the genetic resources of aromatic and medicinal plants is carried out in cooperation with the Institute of pharmacy of the University of Tartu. Since 2002, 459 varieties and breeds of ornamental plants of Estonian origin and 79 species of medicinal and aromatic plants have been collected and planted in the plant collections of the University of Tartu Botanical Garden.

The detailed objectives of the programme are mapping and inventorying of private collections; collection, preservation and systematic renewal in ex situ collections of genetic resources of ornamental, aromatic and medicinal plants; development of the instructions for the description and evaluation of varieties; conservation of varieties in other collections; data collection and documentation; evaluation of cold and disease resistance; exchange of accessions according to the international agreements and procedures; preparation of publications; organisation of informational events; cooperation with other institutions; participation in working groups of Nordic-Baltic projects; participation as an active member in the ECP/GR programme coordinated by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute.

The conservation and research of wild-related species of cultivated plants, which is an important theme of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Global Biodiversity Framework, is a new objective of the programme. In 2019, a list of priority 88 species of wild-related species of cultivated plants for Estonia was compiled. The ongoing establishment of ex situ collection of wild-related species and their conservation is part of the activities of the University of Tartu Botanical Garden.

• Estonian Crop Research Institute
• Polli Horticultural Research Centre of the Estonian University of Life Sciences
• University of Tartu Natural History Museum and the Botanical Garden