줄기와 새순에 가시가 없는 조생성 두릅나무 ‘서춘’ = Aralia elata Cultivar ‘Seochun’ with Prickle-Less Stems and Shoots for Early Harvesting

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. (the Korean angelica tree) is a popular wild spring vegetable crop in East Asia. Owing to its ease of cultivation and harvesting from the second year after planting, this species is a promising forest crop for short-term income. However, the presence of prickles on the stems and shoots reduces harvesting efficiency and negatively affects product quality. This study reports the breeding and morphological characteristics of a new prickle-less cultivar, ‘Seochun’, which exhibits strong cold tolerance and early sprouting. Among the 192 native accessions collected across Korea, a superior prickle- less and cold-tolerant clone was selected and evaluated over two years (2019-2020) of field trials. The stems of ‘Seochun’ were completely smooth and prickle-less, with a larger basal diameter (40.0 mm) compared to the control (29.7 mm). The sprouting and harvesting times were approximately seven days earlier than those of the control. As an early harvest and prickle-less cultivar of A. elata, ‘Seochun’ is expected to improve both the shoot productivity and labor efficiency during harvesting and cutback operations (Research support number: 375).