In this paper is briefly presented domestication and breeding of sea buckthorn in China, Russia and Europe. Sea buckthorn has been known and used by humans for centuries in both Asia and Europe. Russia and China are leading countries in the area of domestication, breeding, cultivation and introduction of products on the market. Sea buckthorn is a multipurpose plant with nitrogen fixing capacity and the chemical composition of the berries is unique amongst the wild berries from the Northern Hemisphere. However, after many years from the start of domestication programmes with sea buckthorn no large commercial plantations have been established in Europe. The main problem in developing of growing systems is the mechanical harvesting. Furthermore, evaluation and characterisation of genetic diversity presented in this paper is very important for the future preservation and sustainable usage of genetic resources.
Keywords: Hippophae rhamnoides, domestication, genetic diversity.