The article discusses the cultivars of spring two-row barley ‘Povolzhsky 22’, ‘Povolzhsky 49’, ‘Povolzhsky Yantar’, and ‘Povolzhsky Priz’ bred by the Volga Scientific Research Institute of Selection and Seed-Growing named after P.N. Konstantinov, a branch of the Samara Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The article describes the morphological, biological and economic characteristics of the cultivars. To prepare herbarium specimens of nomenclatural standards, plant material of cultivars ‘Povolzhsky 22’, ‘Povolzhsky 49’, and ‘Povolzhsky Yantar’ was used. These cultivars are represented by one herbarium sheet each and duplicated by 2, 1 and 3 sheets, respectively. A herbarium specimen of cultivar ‘Povolzhsky Priz’ has also been prepared, although State Variety Testing of the cultivar was not completed in 2023. This herbarium specimen will be registered as the nomenclatural standard of the cultivar when the latter will be included in the State Register.

All herbarium specimens include whole plants at the milky ripeness stage, ears at the waxy ripeness stage, and grain samples. Appropriate plants were collected in Pushkin, in the fields of the “Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR” (St. Petersburg), and ears and grains were obtained from the Volga Scientific Research Institute of Selection and Seed-Growing named after P.N. Konstantinov (Samara Province).

All materials used for preparing herbarium specimens of a cultivar are the offspring of plants obtained as a result of individual family selection. Herbarium specimens of nomenclatural standards, their duplicates and herbarium specimens of cultivar ‘Povolzhsky Priz’ were prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants (ICNCP), registered in the VIR Herbarium database and transferred to the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, their Wild Relatives and Weeds (WIR) at the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources.

As part of the present work, nomenclatural standards of spring barley cultivars ‘Krauf’ and ‘Pamyati Chepeleva’ were created by the Ural Research Institute of Agriculture.

The plant material for these nomenclatural standards was collected at the Research and Production Base “Pushkin and Pavlovsk laboratories of VIR”.

The article presents descriptions of morphological and biological and economic properties of the cultivars.

The nomenclatural standard of cultivar ‘Krauf’ is represented by one herbarium sheet and has one duplicate sheet, while that of cultivar ‘Pamyati Chepeleva’ is represented by one herbarium sheet and two duplicates.

Every sheet contains the entire plant at the milky ripeness stage collected at the Pushkin Laboratories of RPB “Pushkin and Pavlovsk Laboratories of VIR”, as well as mature spikes and grains samples collected at the Ural Research Institute of Agriculture. The plant material for the herbaria was taken from the offspring of one seed sample.

The nomenclatural standard specimens were prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants (ICNCP) and registered in the VIR Herbarium database. The herbarium specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of Cultivated Plants of the World, their Wild Relatives and Weeds (WIR) at the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources.

Crop wild relative (CWR) species of the Sakhalin flora, as well as local cultivated species and varieties, represent a crucial source of plant genetic resources (PGR) on Russia's largest island. The purpose of the work was to inventory PGR of Sakhalin Island.

Species of wild relatives of fruit and berry, forage, vegetable, medicinal, and other crops of the Sakhalin region are of undeniable interest for their introduction into cultivation and for direct use in breeding. Due to the remoteness of most areas of Sakhalin, it is necessary to conduct a more detailed survey of the most demanded species from a breeding perspective in order to refine the distribution of these species, as well as to collect the most valuable genotypes.

As a results of the exploration, 186 herbarium specimens (over 220 herbarium sheets) were collected. For each collection site, a photo documentation was made with geographical coordinates indicated. The studied species are characterized by geographic diversity, ranging from Eurasian to Japanese-Chinese species. For the first time in the flora of Sakhalin, a species of dikuscha currant (Ribes dikuscha Fisch. ex Turcz.) has been discovered. Both wild and cultivated species of strawberries (Fragaria iinumae Makino, F. yezoensis Hara, F. × ananassa Duchesne, F. moschata (Duchesne) Weston) and Sakhalin raspberries (Rubus sachalinensis H. Lev.) were found, which exhibit wide intraspecific diversity and were sampled not only as herbarium specimens, but also for live plant studies. Five wild honeysuckle species were collected along with two species of kiwi (Actinidia arguta (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq., A. kolomikta (Maxim.) Maxim.); crimson glorywine (Vitis coignetiae Pulliat ex Planch.), etc. The collected PGR also included those used by humans as forage, vegetable, industrial, medicinal and flavoring species.

In 2023, field explorations of cultivated plants and their wild relatives were carried out in the regions of the Volga Upland, the western part of the Caspian Lowland and the Stavropol Upland with the aim of further replenishing seed and herbarium collections of VIR.

A total of 525 samples of CWR and cultivated plants were collected, including 200 are herbarium sheets, 323 seed samples of cultivated plants and CWR, and a couple of cuttings. The collected material encompasses 145 species, including 91 cultivars. Seeds of the cultivars were purchased at markets, in supermarket chains and from local residents. The following areas were examined in detail: the left bank of the Lower Volga (Peschany anabranch, Kigach anabranch, as well as the “Novaya Roshcha” protected area). In the Republic of Ingushetia the team collected samples of cherry plum, Caucasian pear, barberry, viburnum, Lonicera orientalis, sea buckthorn, raspberry, and Malus orientalis, which local residents use in their diet. Also, samples of spicy herbs such as savory, catnip, oregano, thyme, etc. were collected. Hops were sampled in the Tambov and Volgograd provinces, the Republics of Ingushetia, North Ossetia and Adygea, from abandoned household plots in Botanika village in Gulkevichi District (Krasnodar Territory). The exploration in vicinities of Derbent and of the wall of Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent resulted in collecting a rare specimen of Secale sylvestre Host., which previously used to be a fairly common plant in the North Caucasus, but is very rare now. Vegetable crops were collected along the entire route of the collecting mission. It was not always possible to collect seeds, so a part of the material enriched the herbarium collection. The collected material reflects the use of a vast range of vegetable and spicy plant species by the local population.

Collecting missions help to understand which species are of primary importance for the conservation of natural processes, biodiversity and the maintenance of local ecosystems. The genetic diversity of a region is a key object of research for geneticists and plant breeders. Landraces of vegetable, cereal and other crops may have unique properties, such as adaptation to local climate conditions or disease resistance. Work on the mobilization and conservation of the plant genetic diversity is the basis for modern breeding and genetic research.