Germplasm resources of horticultural crops and sustainable development of horticultural industry in China

China is known as the 'Mother of Gardens', with a history of more than 6000 years. Nowadays, the horticultural industry is the second largest in Chinese agricultural sectors. There are 59 families, 158 genera and 670 species of fruit trees in China. Among them, 143 species are cultivated. There are 246 species in 50 families and 152 genera which are grown as vegetables, and in addition there are 255 species of wild edible vegetables in 25 families and 44 genera. There are 4707 species of ornamental plants in 1331 genera. Of these, 223 species have been cultivated. In total, about 20000, 35580 and 2920 accessions of fruit trees, vegetables and tea trees, respectively, have been collected and conserved, most of which are old landraces and local cultivars. The intensive utilization of elite germplasm by distribution and cross breeding in modern horticulture has greatly promoted the development of Chinese horticulture. However, plant breeding and application of new varieties leads to the reduction of local cultivars and to the narrow genetic diversity of main cultivars. Many minor crops and landraces with some defectives were neglected and discarded at the moment. New challenges and requirements are put forward for protection and utilization of germplasm in future horticultural industry development. Development of safer protection strategies and scientific mining and utilization technologies for diverse and useful germplasm of horticultural crops are necessary for a sustainable, powerful and prosperous horticultural industry in the future, not only in China, but also in the world.