Breeding the red currant Ribes rubrum L. on improvedchemical composition of berries

The red currant is notable for high productivity, an unpretentiousness in nursing, a winter hardiness, a resistance to double-flowering infection and gemmaceous tick. Its berries are valueable feedstock, have rich chemical composition. This article presented the results of studying of genofond of red currant from collection of All-Russian Research Scientific Institute of Orchard Culture on a content of soluble dry substances (SDS), organic acids, ascorbic acid (AA), P-active matter (anthocyanins, catechines, leukoanthocyanins) in berries. The authors studied the possibility for an improving of quality of red currant berries with the use in breeding of wild currant forms: bristly currant, purple-stemmed currant and Meyeri’s currant. As second parent, the Jonkheer Van Tets variety, being the progeny of large-fruited subspecies of garden currant, was taken. The authors analysed a hybrid progeny, obtained from crossing of varieties, elite, superior seedlings, isolated on the first stage of studying. The hybrid seedlings were selected, which are the most of interest as candidate to the variety: 1360-19-88 (Ustina ½ self-fertilization) (AA content in berries to 122.3 mg/100 g, SDS — 15.2 %); 1352-20-27 (Niva ½ self-fertilization) (berries mass is 0.52 g, AA — 98.6 mg/100 g, SDS — 13.0 %); seedlings 1428-28-111, 1428-28-100, 1428-28-121 in family Marmeladnitsa ½ 44-5-78 (Chulkovskaya ½ Minnesota) (AA — 76.6, 81.8; 105.9 mg/100 g, respectively, and SDS — 14.3; 12.0; 10.6 %, resistance to powdery mildew — 0-1 scoring); 1661-31-29 (Niva ½ 261-65-19 [Jonkheer Van Tets ½ 312-209 (purple-stemmed currant)]) (berries mass is 0.56 g, resistance to powdery mildew — 0.5 scoring, AA — 72.2 mg/100 g); 1665-30-51 (Asya ½ Viksne) (anthocyanins content — 339 mg/100 g, sum of P vitamin — 1147 mg/100 g, berries mass is 0.42 g, resistance to powdery mildew — 0.5 scoirng, AA — 80.1 mg/100 g, SDS — 12.6 %).