Ginseng Conservation Program in Russian Primorye: Genetic Structure of Natural and Cultivated Populations

'The Regional complex long-term program of restoration (reintroduction) of Primoryes ginseng population up to 2005' elaborated by Primorye governor administration, Regional Committee of Natural Resources and Russian Academy of Sciences operates in Russian Primorye. The Institute of Biology and Soil Science (IBSS) provides the scientific implementation of this program including the genetic analysis of extant ginseng populations, plant reproduction and offspring identification. According to our investigations, the genetic resource of P. ginseng in Primorye is represented by three populations of wild-growing ginseng and a few private plantations. The results obtained by RAPD allowed concluding that this resource is dispersed among the wild and cultivated ginseng sub-populations in such a way that each of sub-populations studied has to be represented in living plant collection as a stock material to maintain species genetic variability. The allozyme analyses also showed that the small sub-populations of natural ginseng are characterized by unique genetic diversity and, therefore, they all need to be represented in reintroduction centers. Additionally the allozyme analysis discovered that the Blue Mountain and Khasan populations possess the most genetic diversity. So, at least one more reproductive ginseng unit has to be created besides two already existing reintroduction centers representing the Sikhote-Alin and the Blue Mountain populations.