VARIATION OF CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FRUITS OF BOG BLUEBERRY (VACCINIUM ULIGINOSUM L.) WHEN INTRODUCING
Bog blueberry berries are a source material for food and pharmaceutical industries. However, industrial harvesting of bog blueberry is hardly carried out as plants grow in hard-to-access areas and safekeeping of berries is low during transportation to the processing plants.Special-purpose plantations of bog blueberry at the processing plants may solve the problem. To do this would require planting material noted for a high content of biologically active substances. Central Siberian Botanical Garden is a leading center of introduction and breeding of blueberry in Russia.In this connection, biochemical study of dry substance, ascorbic acid, sugars, acids, anthocyans, catechins, pectins and protopectins of berries of promising bog blueberry forms was conducted in the forest-steppe zone of West Siberia in 2011–2015.The results of research showed a wide range of variability of chemical characters due to individual peculiarities of bog blueberry forms and weather conditions in various years. Protopectins, catechins and pectins exhibited the greatest interannual distinctions.Bog blueberry samples with the greatest content of biologically active substances which can be recommended as planting material for creation of production plantations were revealed.