Cryopreservation in Support of Diverse and Healthy Strawberry Propagation Material

Strawberry is an economically and culturally important horticultural crop in Finland. The Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) maintains strawberry material both for the national plant genetic resources programme and for certified plant production. The project investigates the use of cryopreservation for the long-term conservation and safeguarding of strawberry propagation material. The aim is to develop methods that support the preservation of healthy, true-to-type and genetically diverse strawberry resources for future use. The project will generate new scientific knowledge on cryopreservation, strengthen Finnish expertise in the conservation of vegetatively propagated plant genetic resources, and promote collaboration between research and practical plant propagation activities.