Introduction of Wild Golden Root (Rhodiola rosea L.) As A Potential Economic Crop in Bulgaria

Rhodiola rosea L.: from golden root to green cell factories

“…rosea L. is a dioecious, perennial plant native to East Asia, Russia, Japan, Korea and Southern China (Martin et al 2010). In the mountains it grows at altitudes between 2 000 and 2 600 m (Platikanov and Evstatieva 2008) The natural habitats of R. rosea are at the edge of exhaustion due to indiscriminate harvesting of R. rosea plants for their valuable pharmacological substances (Ling-ling et al 2007;Bai et al 2014). That is why this species is with high conservation value throughout its area of distribution.…”

“…R. rosea is protected species with endangered status in Great Britain, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Platikanov and Evstatieva 2008); critically endangered in Bulgaria (Sidjimova et al 2014) and vulnerable in Slovakia (Galambosi et al 2006), where its collection is strictly forbidden (Platikanov and Evstatieva 2008). It is also a subject of protection in many former Soviet Union There are several strategies developed for the preservation of R. rosea, including field cultivation and micropropagation with the aim of restoring R. rosea to its natural habitats (Tasheva and Kosturkova 2010).…”

“…Extensive collections were established during the last few decades in different parts of the former Soviet Union in Tomsk; Siberia; Petersburg; Syktyvkar. Platikanov and Evstatieva (2008). They considered the ecological conditions in Bulgaria as unfavourable for seed propagation, mostly due to higher temperatures and lower air and soil humidity in comparison to other parts of its areal.…”

“…They considered the ecological conditions in Bulgaria as unfavourable for seed propagation, mostly due to higher temperatures and lower air and soil humidity in comparison to other parts of its areal. Therefore, they recommended vegetative propagation by direct rooting of cuttings of 2-5 cm length (Platikanov and Evstatieva 2008). Mineral fertilization with N, P and K increased the raw material yield by about 30-40% and that of phenylpropanoids after 2 years of cultivation (Buchwald et al 2015).…”

“…Therefore, it is a priority plant with vulnerable to critically endangered status, strictly forbidden for harvesting (Platikanov and Evstatieva 2008;Cuerrier et al 2015) and included in the Red List of protected plant species in many countries throughout the world (Mossberg and Stenberg 2003;Sidjimova et al 2014).…”