Recreation of European mulberry heritage is a key ARACNE task focused on identifying old mulberry varieties preserved in ARACNE partners’ germplasm collections and sampling historic local trees from traditional sericulture regions.
By combining standardised descriptor monitoring with genetic analyses, ARACNE traces the mulberries’ ancient route from Asia to Western Europe while securing a diverse genetic base for future sericulture and supporting the restoration of cultural landscapes shaped by mulberry cultivation. The Catalogue of Mulberry Varieties presents varieties conserved at CREA Padua, Italy (Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria, Padova), SCS Vratsa, Bulgaria (Nauchen Tsentar Po Bubarstvo Vratsa), UM, Slovenia (University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences), and IMIDA, Spain (Instituto Murciano de Investigacion y Desarrollo Agrario y Medioambiental, Murcia), monitored during 2023–2025 using UPOV mulberry descriptors (trunk, shoots, buds, inflorescences, infructescences, phenology) together with growth and yield traits. This three-year systematic documentation of morphological and phenological characteristics underpins the catalogue and helps maximise the use of these resources by supporting the identification of high-yielding morphotypes. The catalogue provides researchers, nurseries, and silkworm rearers with the information they need to make descriptor-based decisions when selecting and cultivating suitable mulberry varieties.”
