APPLE GENETIC RESOURCES IN KYRGYZSTAN GEOGRAPHY: DETERMINATION, EVALUATION AND CONSERVATION

It has been reported that the origin centers of apples in the world are East Asia, Central Asia, West Asia-Europe and North America. Central Asia, known as the geography of Turkestan, is an important gene center and distribution area for apples. It has been reported that wild apple genetic resources in this region are of critical importance. The reason for this has been shown as the narrowing of genetic diversity with the selection made according to the desired characteristics in commercial apple varieties. It has been stated that apple populations in Central Asia are an important gene pool that will contribute to resilience to biotic and abiotic stress conditions, fruit quality characteristics, tree growth form and some other unsolved problems. Kyrgyzstan is one of the important apple origin centers in the Central Asian region. In different regions of Kyrgyzstan, there are significant natural apple populations and forests, as well as walnut, pistachio, almond species. There are three types of apples naturally found in Kyrgyzstan. These are Malus sieversii (Ledeb.) M. Roem, Malus kirghisorum and Malus niedzwetzkyana (Dieck), known as the origin of cultivated apples. C.K. Schneid. are types. In addition to these, cultivated apples (Malus domestica Borkh) are also grown in this region. The fact that different species have been grown in the same region for a long time has created a rich diversity. In the studies carried out, fruit weight in the genotypes of these different species varied between 3.0-316.08 g. On the other hand, in genetic diversity studies, all materials were separated from each other and genetic similarity levels were found to be between 0.74-0.95. In order to preserve this rich diversity, studies such as reproduction, establish of collections, determination of the characteristics of genotypes and use as breeding material are needed. There are many plant species that are endangered and need to be protected in the Central Asian region. In the study on endangered species, M. sieversii and M. niedzwetzkyana were declared as endangered species and included in the red list. It has been stated that these species are endangered due to habitat loss and degradation, opening up of agricultural areas and genetic erosion. Despite the narrow genetic basis of cultivated apples, it has been emphasized that it is imperative to protect these endangered species at ex situ and in situ levels, which will increase genetic diversity. On the other hand, it was emphasized that M. niedzwetzkyana was also included in the list of the Red Book of Threatened Species of Kazakhstan. In this study, it is focused on the studies that can be done to reveal the apple genetic diversity, conservation strategies and evaluation of Kyrgyzstan, which is located in the center of Central Asia.