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The current research explored the biocontrol ability of two strains of Trichoderma fungi on infected Freesia corm by Fusarium disease. Enhancements in plant growth and performance were evaluated in response to the Trichoderma fungi in laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Laboratory experiments included five Trichoderma strains, i.e., T1, T20, and Th4, related to T. harzianum species, T2 related to T. atroviride species, and Tvi related to T. virens species. A dual culture test and investigation of the inhibition and colonization rate were carried out with 11 treatments in three replications. Results revealed that strains T1 and T2 completely covered the pathogen in 96 h of culture by 70.02% and 68.98% and successfully inhibited the colonization of the disease agent by 84.53% and 82.72%, respectively, compared to the other strains. Then, a greenhouse experiment was performed with eight treatments, using suspensions of Trichoderma strains separately or combined with the presence of Fusarium fungus isolate on Freesia cultivation. The results showed that the strains at different levels were able to increase the growth and yield of Freesia plants and control Fusarium disease. In general, the T2 strain was more effective in increasing plant growth and flower stem height in Freesia. The T1 strain specifically improved the corm diameter. Both T1 and T2 strains demonstrated effectiveness in controlling and reducing the severity of Fusarium disease and enhancing the growth quality of Freesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freesia belongs to the family Iridaceae and is one of the most popular bulbous species that can be used both as a cut flower and as a pot flower, depending on the situation. This study was carried out to produce new, high-quality offspring by intervarietal hybridization between five commercial cultivars of freesia hybrids. Eighteen morphometric traits, which were mostly related to flower organs, were evaluated on twelve progenies and five parental plants in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with three replications (2014-2018). The assessments were based on instructions of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The highest heritability of broad-sense traits was related to the outer segmental width of the perianth and the inner segmental width and length of the perianth. The lowest heritability was related to the length of stem between the first and second flowers. The number of flowers and buds had the most significant, positive correlation with spike length (r=+0.75). Likewise, the strongest positive, significant correlation was observed between the length of the inner and outer segments of the perianth (r=+0.79). Superior progenies consisted of the 20A hybrid, with a white color, which originated from the parental cross P1×P5. The 3A hybrid, with a yellow color, was obtained from the parental cross P2×P5, and the 28P hybrid, with a reddish brown color, was obtained from the parental cross P4×P5. These progenies were superior in terms of important traits such as plant height, branch number of the peduncle, spike length, number of buds and florets, compared to the parents. Thus, intervarietal hybridization in this research was proved as an effective way to generate new phenotypic variations of freesia hybrids, thereby providing opportunities to produce new plant materials for breeding purposes and release new cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of adding Wheat Organic Residues (WOR) to the soil of the pot and spraying Salicylic acid (SA) on growth parameters of freesia plants and production of its corms. The experiment was adopted as two factors. The first include three levels of organic i.e., 0, 5 and 10% while second include three concentration of Salicylic acid i.e., 0, 50 and 150 mg L-1. The results showed that adding 10% of WOR or spraying SA significantly increased the No. of total leaves, shoot dry weight, total chlorophyll content in the leaf, total soluble carbohydrate in the leaf, No. of corms per plant, diameter of corms, No. of the inflorescence per plant, length of inflorescence stem and No. of florets per inflorescence, compared to the control treatment which gave the lowest vales. Also, the results of the interaction between two factors showed that adding WOR at level 10% and spraying SA significantly increased all the growth parameters of fressia plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floral anthocyanin has multiple ecological and economic values, its biosynthesis largely depends on the conserved MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) activation complex and MYB repressors hierarchically with the MBW complex. In contrast to eudicots, the MBW regulatory network model has not been addressed in monocots because of the lack of a suitable system, as grass plants exhibit monotonous floral pigmentation patterns. Presently, the MBW regulatory network was investigated in a non-grass monocot plant, Freesia hybrida. FhMYB27 and FhMYBx with different functional manners were confirmed to be anthocyanin related R2R3 and R3 MYB repressors, respectively. Particularly, FhMYBx could obstruct the formation of positive MBW complex by titrating bHLH proteins, whereas FhMYB27 mainly defected the activator complex into suppressor via its repression domains in C-terminus. Furthermore, the hierarchical and feedback regulatory loop was verified, indicating the synergistic and sophisticated regulatory network underlying Freesia anthocyanin biosynthesis was quite similar to that reported in eudicot plants. Yueqing Li, Xiaotong Shan, et al. study the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) regulatory network in a non-grass monocot plant, Freesia hybrida. They report two anthocyanin related MYB repressors FhMYB27 and FhMYBx and verified their involvement in a functional feedback loop with MBW to regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments conducted over 3 years have indicated the efficacy of preplant paclobutrazol or flurprimidol corm soaks for leaf and scape growth control in potted freesia (Freesia hybrida). A range of cultivars subjected to 30- to 60-min soaks in 60 to 120 mg·L-1 paclobutrazol and 10- to 30-min soaks in 10 to 30 mg·L-1 flurprimidol resulted in significant and commercially relevant height control without reducing the number of flowering scapes. Cultivars varied in their response to the plant growth regulators (PGRs), suggesting that individual grower trials will be necessary to develop an optimum treatment for each location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flavonoids are important and nourishing compounds for plants and human. The transcription regulation of anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin (PA) biosynthesis was extensively studied in dicot compared with monocot plants. In this study, we characterized the functionality of an R2R3-MYB gene FhMYB5 from the monocotyledonous flowering plant of Iridaceae, Freesia hybrida. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis implied that FhMYB5 was clustered into grapevine VvMYB5b subclade. Correlation analysis indicated that the spatio-temporal expression patterns of FhMYB5 coincided well with anthocyanin and PA accumulations in Freesia per se. Furthermore, transient transfection assays in Freesia protoplasts revealed that the late flavonoid biosynthetic genes (e.g., DFR and LDOX) were slightly up-regulated by FhMYB5 alone, whereas both early and late biosynthetic genes were significantly activated when FhMYB5 were co-infected with either of the two IIIf clade bHLH genes, FhTT8L and FhGL3L. Moreover, these results were further confirmed by co-transfection of FhMYB5 with either of the bHLH genes aforementioned into protoplasts expressing GUS reporter gene driven by Freesia promoters. In addition, the overexpression of FhMYB5 in tobacco and Arabidopsis could also significantly up-regulate the expression of genes participating in the general flavonoid pathway. In conclusion, FhMYB5 was proved to function in the general flavonoid pathway in Freesia. The results implied a function conservation of flavonoid biosynthesis related MYB regulators in angiosperm plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freesia grown under cover to be marketed as cut flower is highly sensitive to substrate temperatures exceeding 15-18°C. However, freesia varieties of Beach group are especially attractive plants that may be easily cultivated under cover and do not require substrate cooling. Experiments were conducted in summer and fall of 2011 and 2012 in an unheated plastic tunnel. Planting material consisted of daughter bulbs of 'Summer Beach' freesia. The plants were treated with chitosan with a molecular weight of 8000 g·dm-3. Experimental variants involved methods of chitosan application (watering vs. spraying), its concentration (0.2 vs. 0.4%) and frequency of application (7 vs. 14 days). During the flowering period and at the end of vegetation, freesia leaves were collected to determine the content of following micro- and macronutrients: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe. The leaves collected at the end of vegetation season contained more P, K, Ca, Fe, Mn, and Zn than those collected during flowering. The content of Mg and Cu was similar in both cases, but N level was lower at the end of vegetation. Irrespective of experimental variant, leaves of all plants treated with chitosan accumulated more N, P, Ca, Cu, Fe and Mn and less Zn during the entire vegetation season than the control ones. At the end of the vegetation season, plants sprayed with chitosan revealed higher concentration of N, P, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Zn, and lower concentration of K, Cu, and Mn than those watered with the investigated compound. No clear patterns of micro- and macronutrient accumulation depending on chitosan concentration were observed. Plants treated with 0.2% chitosan contained more P, K, Mg, Mn, and Zn than those exposed to its two times higher concentration. A contrary response was observed for the leaf accumulation of N and Fe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

UDP glucose flavonoid 3- O-glycosyltransferase(3GT) is a key enzyme in biosynthesis of stable anthocyanins, which are generally required for flower coloration. Fh3GT1, a cDNA encoding the 3GT from Freesia hybrida, was overexpressed in Petunia hybrida to investigate the influence on flavonoid accumulation. Flowers of transgenic petunia showed color alteration from white to pink and were subjected to further analysis by HPLC-ESI-MS. The results indicated that overexpression of Fh3GT1 resulted in evident increase of cyanidin, peonidin, and kaempferol content in transgenic flowers, whereas the content of quercetin increased slightly. Expressions of endogenous flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes in transgenic flowers were analyzed by real-time qPCR. The results showed that transcript levels of PhCHS, PhCHI, PhF3H, and Ph3GT were significantly upregulated. Meanwhile, overexpression of Fh3GT1 also led to enhanced expression of AN1 ( bHLH) and MYBx ( R3MYB) genes, as the mRNA levels of other transcription factors remained constant in control and overexpression lines. Thus, Fh3GT1 overexpression increased the accumulation of anthocyanins and flavonols by modulating the expressions of various flavonoid biosynthesis genes in flowers of transgenic petunia. These results also suggest that Fh3GT1 is a key gene involved in anthocyanin and flavonol biosynthesis and should serve as a useful candidate to modify the components of flavonoid in other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses some features in Freesia refracta pigment system and possible use of this option as a plant diagnostic characteristic on the resistance in limiting environments. The study included freesia cultivars and hybrid forms selected in the Russian Research Institute of Horticulture and Subtropical Crops, which had different flowering terms. A detailed analysis was provided on any changes in the photosynthetic pigments content during the growing process. There are parameters of slow chlorophyll fluorescence induction (vitality index, ratio of photosynthetic activity and estimated coefficient of photosynthetic activity) in the leaves of different cultivars and hybrid forms. In order to determine the dependences between photosynthetic pigments content and parameters of slow chlorophyll fluorescence induction in freesia cultivars and hybrid forms pair correlation coefficient; it was calculated between these features among all hybrids and cultivars in general. The relationship recorded between optical indicators, and structural features of the pigment system will allow us to develop a method of rapid diagnosis of photosynthetic activity in freesia on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glycosylation of flavonoids increases their solubility and stability in plants. Flowers accumulate anthocyanidin and flavonol glycosides which are synthesized by UDP-sugar flavonoid glycosyltransferases (UFGTs). In our previous study, a cDNA clone (Fh3GT1) encoding UFGT was isolated from Freesia hybrida, which was preliminarily proved to be invovled in cyanidin 3-O-glucoside biosynthesis. Here, a variety of anthocyanin and flavonol glycosides were detected in flowers and other tissues of F. hybrida, implying the versatile roles of Fh3GT1 in flavonoids biosynthesis. To further unravel its multi-functional roles, integrative analysis between gene expression and metabolites was investigated. The results showed expression of Fh3GT1 was positively related to the accumulation of anthocyanins and flavonol glycosides, suggesting its potential roles in the biosynthesis of both flavonoid glycosides. Subsequently, biochemical analysis results revealed that a broad range of flavonoid substrates including flavonoid not naturally occurred in F. hybrida could be recognized by the recombinant Fh3GT1. Both UDP-glucose and UDP-galactose could be used as sugar donors by recombinant Fh3GT1, although UDP-galactose was transferred with relatively low activity. Furthermore, regiospecificity analysis demonstrated that Fh3GT1 was able to glycosylate delphinidin at the 3-, 4-', and 7- positions in a sugar-dependent manner. And the introduction of Fh3GT1 into Arabidopsis UGT78D2 mutant successfully restored the anthocyanins and flavonols phenotypes caused by lost-of-function of the 3GT, indicating that Fh3GT1 functions as a flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase in vivo. In summary, these results demonstrate that Fh3GT1 is a flavonoid 3-O-glycosyltransferase using UDP-glucose as the preferred sugar donor and may involve in flavonoid glycosylation in F. hybrida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment was conducted in order to investigate the effects of exogenous polyamines (PAs) on the development of mycorrhizae in roots, nutrient uptake and vegetative and reproductive growth of Freesia hybrida 'Golden Wave'. Corms of freesia were inoculated with Rhizophagus intraradices at sowing time and treated once a week by one of three PAs, putrescine (Put), spermidine or spermine, in concentrations of 0.05 and 0.1 mM each as foliar application or soil drench. Application of PAs, especially as soil drench, increased mycorrhizal colonization as well as the growth and development of inoculated plants. Among the three PAs, Put in 0.1 mM concentration was the most effective in increasing colonization, enhancing floral stem length and diameter, floral spike length, floret number on main and lateral spikes and increasing corm and cormlet weight, corm diameter and cormlet number. Sole application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi had no significant effect on the flowering time but soil drench with 0.1 mM Put accelerated flowering by about 17 days. Application of PAs elevated leaves N, P, K, Mg, Fe and Zn and corms' P, K, Ca, Fe and Zn concentration of inoculated plants. Our results suggest that soil drench application of PAs, especially Put, positively influenced mycorrhizal inoculation and nutrient uptake, which leads to improving growth, flower and corm production and quality of mycorrhizal plants of freesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An investigation was conducted to study the effects of explant sources, plant growth regulators, carbohydrates and light conditions on indirect cormlet regeneration and the induction of embryogenic callus of freesia ( Freesia × hybrida Bailey 'Argenta'). Sections of two different types of explants, corms and pupae (cold storage-produced corms), were placed on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing different concentrations of plant growth regulators. The results showed that the highest percentage of callus induction (100%), the highest callus growth (15 mm diameter) and the best type of calli were achieved for pupa explants grown on the medium that contained 4 mg L−1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2 mg L−1 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in the dark. Increasing BAP up to 3 to 4.5 mg L−1 resulted in the maximum number of regenerated cormlets from 1 cm2 calli (2 cormlets) under light conditions. Overall, the best rooting of regenerated cormlets was achieved on MS media supplemented with 1 mg L−1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). In the next stage, high quality calli were subcultured on MS media containing sorbitol, sucrose, maltose and mannitol (0, 5, 10 and 15 g L−1). The results indicated that 15 g L−1 maltose was able to induce the highest percentage of embryogenic callus, with an average of 88.9% on media containing 2 mg L−1 BAP and 1 mg L−1 NAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experimental trial was consummated on Freesia refractacv. "Red Lion" throughout two successive seasons (2009/2010 and 2010/2011) at the nursery of Horticulture Research Institute, Giza and Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt. It intended to study the response of the plant to two natural extracts (garlic extract at 250 and 500 ml/l and active dry yeast at 2.5 and 5 g/l) for improving plant quality and chemical constituents. The results indicated the prevalence of using yeast extract at 2.5 g/l for improving vegetative growth, most of flower parameters, corms and cormlet productivity. Meanwhile, using garlic extract at 500ml/l occupied the second rank in elevating number of cormlets/plot (cormlets yield) and fresh weight of cormlets. Treating plants with yeast extract at 5 g/l was the best for raising chlorophyll (a and b) in leaves. All treatments tended to increase carotenoids accumulation. Great influence was detected on chlorophyll (a) and carotenoids in leaves due to applying garlic extract at 500 ml/l, whereas using garlic extract at 250 ml/l or yeast 2.5 g/l was the best for raising total carbohydrate content. N, P and K contents in the leaves also increased as a result of applying yeast extract at 2.5 g/l. Meantime, total carbohydrate accumulation in the new formed corms increased due to using the different treatments. However, applying yeast extract at 2.5 g/l raised N and P% content in the leaves. Also, K% content in the new corms increased as a result of using garlic extract at either 250 or 500 ml/l. From the aforementioned results it could be recommended to use the low level of yeast extract (2.5 g/l) as well as the high one of garlic extract (500 ml/l) for improving Freesia refracta cv. "Red Lion" quality and chemical constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chalcone synthase (CHS) catalyzes the first committed step in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the cDNA (FhCHS1) encoding CHS from Freesia hybrida was successfully isolated and analyzed. Multiple sequence alignments showed that both the conserved CHS active site residues and CHS signature sequence were found in the deduced amino acid sequence of FhCHS1. Meanwhile, crystallographic analysis revealed that protein structure of FhCHS1 is highly similar to that of alfalfa CHS2, and the biochemical analysis results indicated that it has an enzymatic role in naringenin biosynthesis. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect the transcript levels of FhCHS1 in flowers and different tissues, and patterns of FhCHS1 expression in flowers showed significant correlation to the accumulation patterns of anthocyanin during flower development. To further characterize the functionality of FhCHS1, its ectopic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana tt4 mutants and Petunia hybrida was performed. The results showed that overexpression of FhCHS1 in tt4 mutants fully restored the pigmentation phenotype of the seed coats, cotyledons and hypocotyls, while transgenic petunia expressing FhCHS1 showed flower color alteration from white to pink. In summary, these results suggest that FhCHS1 plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of flavonoid in Freesia hybrida and may be used to modify the components of flavonoids in other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High exposure to pollen from ornamental flowers can induce an IgE-mediated occupational allergy in florists and horticulture workers. We investigated IgE-binding antigens in chrysanthemum, freesia and gerbera pollen by immunoblot analysis and analysed the cross-reactivity of these pollen with birch, grass and mugwort pollen. In immunoblots with chrysanthemum pollen, major IgE-binding structures were seen with a molecular weight (MW) of approximately 25, 45 and 65 kD. In the immunoblots with freesia pollen, IgE from freesia pollen was directed against two proteins with an MW of approximately 15 kD. Most sera showed IgE binding to an approximately 15 kD band in gerbera pollen; with some sera additional bands were seen in the range of 30-50 kD. IgE binding to chrysanthemum pollen was inhibited by mugwort pollen only, whereas IgE binding to freesia pollen was suppressed by birch, grass and mugwort pollen. The inhibitory activity of birch and grass pollen extract on IgE binding to gerbera pollen extract was serum dependent and ranged from no inhibition to complete inhibition. Occupational exposure to many different flowers induced IgE against all three types of pollen. Exposure in greenhouses to gerbera flowers elicited mainly IgE against gerbera pollen. Mugwort pollen extract inhibited IgE binding to pollen from all three flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research was aimed at determining the influence of chitosan with different molecular weights on the growth and yield of flowers and corms of 'Gompey' freesia cultivated in pots. Freesia corms were soaked for 20 minutes in 0.5% chitosan solutions with low molecular weight (2 kDa), medium molecular weight (50 kDa) and high molecular weight (970 kDa). The average deacetylation level of the chitosans used was 85%. The plants were cultivated under controlled conditions (18/16 °C day/ night, relative air humidity of 60%, quantum irradiance of 90 µmol·m-2·s-1 with a light/ dark cycle of 14/8 hours). The research results obtained have shown that chitosan is used as a biostimulator in the cultivation of potted freesia. Regardless of the molecular weight of the compound, the chitosan-treated plants had more leaves and shoots, flowered earlier, formed more flowers and corms. The application of medium- and high-molecular-weight chitosan resulted in higher plants with a higher relative chlorophyll content (SPAD). The highest increase in the corm weight was observed as a result of treating plants with high-molecular-weight chitosan. No chitosan influence on the length of the main inflorescence shoot or the inflorescence length was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse experiment was conducted at Freesia Ethiopia Plc., located at Sululta, Ethiopia, to determine the effects of planting density and corm size on flower yield and quality of cut-freesia. Planting densities 90, 100 and 110 corms per m² and corm sizes of 3, 3.5 and 4 cm in circumference were evaluated on two varieties 'Volante' and 'Casino' using Randomized Complete Block Design in factorial arrangement (3 x 3 x 2) with three replications. Emergence date, flowering date, cut flower yield and quality parameters were recorded and analyzed. Consequently, increment of planting density resulted highest number of cut-flowers. Corm size difference positively influenced the stem length, spike length and cut-flowers yield. Significant interaction effects were also found between corm sizes and varieties on yield and quality traits. In general, using the biggest corm and highest planting density exhibited superior result for the greenhouse production of the stated varieties. However, to come up with complete recommendations, further investigations should be conducted in line with other agronomic packages and varieties of economic viability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new freesia (Freesia hybrida Hort.) 'Grace Girl' was developed from selfing lines between 'Athene' and 'Vienna', followed by seedling and line selections at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration (RDA) in 2007. Characteristic tests were conducted three times from 2005 to 2007. 'Grace Girl' has double flowering florets with bright white color (RHS 155D). It has good production of cormlets, vigorous growth and low virus infection. It took approximately 135 days after planting for flowering of 'Grace Girl', and its vase life was 7.0 days. Based on greenhouse yield trials carried out from 2005 to 2007, the average yield of 'Grace Girl' was 8.3 flower stems per plant. 'Grace Girl' could be cultivated under greenhouse condition in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The differential transcriptional responses of a freesia 1-aminocyclopropane-l-carboxylate synthase gene (FhACS1) to exogenous ethephon, abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), silver thiosulfate (STS) and sugar were studied using real-time quantitative PCR. Pretreatments for periods of 24h were evaluated in bud 3 and bud 6 on the inflorescence during freesia flower development and senescence. The results showed that individual exogenous pretreatment with ethephon, IAA, ABA and SA all resulted in the accelerated senescence of freesia flowers compared to those of control buds. Ethephon enhanced FhACS1 expression and extended this high expression; IAA induced an earlier and higher accumulation of FhACS1 transcripts in bud 3, held-up FhACS1 transcript accumulation in later development in bud 6; ABA evidently stimulated a stronger and earlier response of FhACS1 and SA led a higher and longer FhACS1 transcript accumulation. Conversely, 6-BA, STS and sugar pretreatments had a positive effect on the flower development and downregulated FhACS1 expression. Among these treatments, 6-BA significantly restrained the accumulation of the FhACS1 transcript, especially in bud 6; STS also lowered the FhACS1 transcription level overall; while sugar postponed the arrival of the FhACS1 expression peak and significantly decreased the amount of FhACS1 transcript. These results show that these phytohormones and chemical substances signals lead to transcriptional regulation of FhACS1, conjecturing that FhACS1 may participate in the complex hormonal and developmental net works in freesia flower senescence. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A dark pink semi-double freesia (Freesia hybrida Hort.) 'Happy Birthday' was bred from a cross between 'Pink Jewel', F1 progeny of 'Michelle' and 'Rossini' as a female and 'White Lace' as a male parent. Test for the growth vigor and flowering characteristic were conducted from 2002 to 2007. A new variety 'Happy Birthday' has semi-double flower type with dark pink color (RHS color chart #RP66C). It has multiple flowers, distinctive flower shape, upright leaves and also stalks. The average yield of this variety 'Happy Birthday' counted over 6.7 stems per plant per season in the standard greenhouse cultivation method. It has also good production of cormlets, vigorous growth. A new variety 'Happy Birthday' is suitable for the greenhouse conditions during winter season in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A light pink double freesia (Freesia hybrida Hort.) 'Pink Ribbon' was developed from a cross of breeding a line, 'Pink Jewel' derived 'Michelle' and 'Rossini' and 'Purple Rain' followed by seedling and line selections at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), Rural Development Administration (RDA) in 2008. Growth and flowering characteristic tests were conducted from 2004 to 2007. 'Pink Ribbon' has double type flower with light pink color (RHS, RP66C). It has simultaneous flowering of many florets, good flower shape, upright leaves and stalks. The average cut flower yield of 'Purple Rain' observed in the greenhouse from 2005 to 2007 was 7.7 cuttings per plant. It has good production of cormlets, vigorous growth, too. 'Purple Rain' could be cultured under greenhouse conditions in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the first stable anthocyanin in the biosynthesis of natural compounds is UDP-glucose: anthocyanidin 3- O-glucosyltransferase (UF3GT). A cDNA clone ( Fh3GT1) encoding UF3GT was isolated from Freesia hybrida. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that Fh3GT1 was a novel member of glycosyltransferase, which was classified into monocot subgroups. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis detected transcripts of Fh3GT1 in different organs of F. hybrida and in petals of Freesia cultivars of different colors, and the expression level reached the maximum at the fully opened stage of petals. Characterization of the enzymatic assays indicated that Fh3GT1 had a role in anthocyanin glycoside biosyntheses in vitro. To elucidate the function of Fh3GT1, RNA interference vector (pART- Fh3GT1i) was constructed, and introduced into Petunia grandiflora by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Integration of the Fh3GT1 in petunia genome was confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. SqRT-PCR revealed that the endogenous Ph3GT1 mRNA expression levels decreased in transgenic lines compared with the wild-type. The content of total anthocyanin pigments also decreased with the reduction of mRNA transcript levels, and the transgenic petunia plants had significant changes on their flower colors. In summary, this work identified a UF3GT gene from Freesia hybrida and demonstrated a method to modify plant flower color by redirecting the anthocyanin biosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), two potential elicitors which activate plant defence responses, were tested on inflorescences of Freesia hybrida to suppress petal-specking caused by Botrytis cinerea. Compared to the untreated controls, MeJA applied as a vapour, pulse, or spray to freesia 'Cote d'Azur' inflorescences significantly reduced disease severity scores, lesion numbers, and lesion diameters on attached petals, and lesion diameters in a detached petal bioassay. ASM alone, at 143 μM, provided a degree of protection to freesia inflorescences by significantly reducing disease severity scores, lesion numbers, and lesion diameters compared to the untreated controls. However, no additive effect was observed for combined treatments with MeJA and ASM. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities in 0.1 μl l-1 MeJA-treated inflorescences, at 24 h and 36 h post-treatment, were 2.7- and 2.0-fold higher, respectively, compared to the untreated controls. In contrast, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity in 0.1 μl l-1 MeJA-treated inflorescences was suppressed after 36 h, 48 h, and 72 h of incubation compared to PAL activities in the untreated control flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freesia hybrida is an important worldwide cut flower, especially in America and Europe. For efficient regeneration of this flower from young inflorescence and rachillae in tetraploid, we developed a simple in vitro micropropagation protocol. Explants of Freesia hybrida can regenerate plantlets through somatic embryogenesis via two kinds of pathways, that is, directly from the epidermal cells or indirectly from an embryonic callus, depending on the exogenous plant growth regulators (PGRs) used in the culture media. In direct embryogenesis, when the explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 11.43 μM indole acetic acid (IAA) and 4.44 μM 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), the induction rate was 84% for young inflorescence and 100% for rachillae. After the multishoots were subcultured on the rooting MS medium containing 1.08 μM α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), the rooting rate was close to 100%. In indirect embryogenesis, embryonic calluses were formed when the culture medium contained 22.22 μM 6-BA and 4.52 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), and the induction rate was 92.4% for young inflorescence and 100% for rachillae. After the embryonic calluses were transferred to the medium supplemented with 11.43 μM IAA and 13.33 μM 6-BA, they could develop into plantlets with roots. In assessing the two regeneration pathways in terms of genetic and epigenetic fidelity of the regenerants, two kinds of molecular markers [amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP)] were employed. The AFLP analysis used 20 primer pairs that yielded 916 scorable bands among the donor plant and 11 regenerants from direct embryogenesis, of which 8 (0.87%) were polymorphic. The regenerants from indirect embryogenesis had 1075 clear bands of which 3 (0.27%) were polymorphic scorable bands from 18 primer pairs. Moreover, the variant band patterns included two types, that is, loss-of-original and gain-of-novel bands. MSAP analysis revealed that tissue culturing of the flower induced DNA cytosine methylation alterations in both CG and CNG levels and patterns compared with the donor plant. The variation rate was 1.1 and 1.3% for the direct and indirect embryogenesis pathways, respectively. The findings show that tissue culture of flowering plants is a form of stress which can induce some heritable epigenetic variations and should be considered in future long-term genotype preservation programs of Freesia hybrida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lemon double freesia (Freesia hybrida Hort.), 'Shiny Lemon' was developed from a cross between the domestic breeding lines ('Golden Crown' and 'White Wings') and 'Yvonne' followed by seedling and line selections at the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration (RDA) in 2007. Growth and flowering characteristic tests were conducted from 2003 to 2006. 'Shiny Lemon' has large double type flower with lemon color (RHS Y13D). It has multiple florets, good flower shape, and upright leaves and stalks. The average cut flower yield of 'Shiny Lemon' was 7.1 cuttings per plant in the greenhouse from 2005 to 2007. Additionally, it has good production of cormlets and vigorous growth. 'Shiny Lemon' could be cultured under greenhouse conditions in Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two cultivars of Freesia hybrida, 'Shangnong Jinhuanghou' and 'Shangnong Hongtaige', were used to study the respiration rate and physiological responses during flower development and senescence. Phenotypically, the vase life of 'Shangnong Hongtaige' was significantly shorter than that of 'Shangnong Jinhuanghou'. At the whole flower level, both cultivars displayed similar change patterns on respiration rate. However, the change patterns in tepals, stamens, and pistils showed some differences in the two cultivars. A respiratory climacteric existed in most organs in both cultivars except for the stamen of 'Shangnong Jinhuanghou'. During flower development and senescence, the levels of soluble proteins and soluble sugars were very high at early stages, followed by a dramatic decrease, and the lowest levels occurred in wilted tepals in both cultivars. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities increased slightly at early developmental stages followed by a constant decrease in two cultivars, and SOD activities in 'Shangnong Jinhuanghou' were significantly higher than those in 'Shangnong Hongtaige'. Peroxidase activities showed a constant increase before tepals started wilting followed by a decrease in wilted tepals in both cultivars. In both cultivars, electrolytic leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in tepals increased with the progression of development and senescence. MDA content in 'Shangnong Hongtaige' was much higher than that in 'Shangnong Jinhuanghou'. These results indicated that the respiratory climacteric, the decrease of antioxidant enzyme activities, the peroxidation of membrane lipid, and the loss of soluble compounds could be considered as indicators of flower senescence in Freesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impatiens necrotic spot virus(INSV) was first detected in New Zealand in August 2003 in Freesia refractaplants growing in a nursery on the South Island of New Zealand. Surveys were conducted to determine the extent of spread of the virus within the nursery and to other sites around the country. INSV was confirmed by a newly developed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in impatiens (Impatiens walleriana), primula (Primula obconica) and Ranunculussp. at the original site and in impatiens (I. walleriana) at two additional North Island sites. Infected material was destroyed and a management program established with the industry. However, in June 2006 a begonia (Begonia× tuberhybrida) specimen from a fourth North Island nursery was received which was found to be infected with INSV. Other species confirmed by RT-PCR to be infected at this site include cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii), as well as hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), which is a new host for INSV. Partial nucleotide sequences obtained by RT-PCR were found to be closely related to published sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For centuries, freesia has been one of the most important crops in the floriculture industry. Here, aqua-space samples collected from entire flowers of diploid Freesia refracta, three tetraploid freesia cultivars, and interspecific hybrids of three tetraploid freesia cultivars were analyzed using gas chromatograph coupled with mass selective detector. In all, 75 different compounds were identified. The compounds were mainly terpenes, hydrocarbons, alcohols, fatty acid esters and aromatic class compounds. Among these, linalool was detected from all the sweet-scented flowers except for scentless white tetraploid F. hybrida. Stable inheritance of linalool between F. hybrida and their F1 progeny was observed. Based on the present analyses, the relationship between the aroma of freesia and linalool was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The known plant defence activators acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were applied as spray and as spray or pulse treatments, respectively, after harvest and evaluated for efficacy against freesia cv. ?Cote d'Azur' flower specking disease caused by the pathogen Botrytis cinerea. Lesion numbers on non-inoculated freesia flowers and lesion diameters on attached petals of inoculated flowers were reduced by 1.43, 2.86 and 5.72mM ASM at 5 and 12C compared with untreated controls. However, ASM was ineffective in reducing lesion numbers and lesion diameters on non-inoculated and on artificially inoculated flowers incubated at 20C. ASM showed direct antimicrobial activity in vitro, significantly reducing B. cinerea mycelial growth and conidial germ tube elongation. ASM treatments did not adversely affect the vase life of cut freesia flowers. MeJA applied as postharvest spray or pulse to freesia flowers also tended to suppress B. cinerea. MeJA treatments at 12 and 20C were generally more effective than at 5C. In contrast to ASM, MeJA usually did not exert direct antimicrobial activity against B. cinerea in vitro. MeJA spray treatment leads to an increase in relative fresh weight and a reduction of wilt scores of flowers during the vase life. In contrast, MeJA pulsing at 0.6mM reduced relative fresh weight and vase life of cut freesia flowers compared with untreated controls. Overall, the results suggest a potential role for postharvest ASM spray and MeJA spray or pulse treatments in suppressing B. cinerea on cut freesia flowers. However, variable efficacy needs to be overcome before such plant defence activator treatments could be used in commercial practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compounds that activate host plant defence responses potentially offer socio-environmentally sound alternative methods for disease control. In a series of glasshouse trials over 2 years, pre-harvest sprays with acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were tested for suppression of post-harvest infection of cut Freesia hybrida L. flowers by Botrytis cinerea. For the ASM treatments, variability in reducing the incidence of B. cinerea disease was observed between years, freesia varieties, incubation temperatures and ASM concentrations. In the first year, the greatest reductions in lesion numbers on ASM-treated var. ‘Cote d'Azur’ were recorded using 2.86 mM ASM. For three different post-harvest temperature regimes, the relative reductions in lesion numbers, compared to untreated controls, were 45% at 5°C, 40% at 12°C and 30% at 20°C, respectively. In the second year, lesion numbers were most reduced using 1.43 mM ASM to treat freesia var. ‘Dukaat’ flowers. Here, the relative reductions were to 44% at 5°C, 26% at 12°C and 51% at 20°C. MeJA treatments were, in general, more consistently effective than ASM treatments in reducing lesion numbers and lesion diameters on cut freesia flowers. MeJA-treated (0.2 mM) freesia flowers (var. ‘Dukaat’) incubated at 20°C showed relative reductions of 62%, and 45% for lesion number and lesion diameter, respectively. The differing efficacy between ASM and MeJA treatments could be attributed to their differential abilities to induce the salicylic acid (SA)-mediated vs. the jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated host defence pathways, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freesia protease (FP)-A has been found in regular freesia corms (Kaneda et al., Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 61 (1997) 1554). New corms were generated from original corms that were kept for several months at 4°C. In this study, two proteases (FP-B and FP-C) have been found to new corms kept for 6 months at 4°C, and have increased during new corms enlargement. FPs were purified from the extracts of new corms, and the Mr of those were 24k (A), 25k (B), and 24.5k (C) by SDS-PAGE, respectively. The N-terminal sequences of FPs were identical to those of papain with respect to the conservative residues of cysteine protease. The sequence of FP-A was identical with those of FP-B within 20 residues of its N-terminal. It may be possible that FP-B was produced by some post-translational modifications from FP-A during the chilling. On the other hand, N-terminal sequence of FP-C was different from those of FP-A and FP-B. It was explained that FP-C was a new protease of freesia corm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Discusses the standards for the production of freesia for planting by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization, as of March 2002. Selection of candidate nuclear stock; Maintenance and testing of candidate nuclear stock; Production of certified cuttings; Execution and administration of the certification scheme.

Describes the production of corms of freesia classified for their health status. Selection of candidate material; Maintenance of the material; Inspection of material and production of classified stock; Guidelines for the inspection of freesia.

Describes the initiation of somatic embryos from the young inflorescence axis of Freesia refracta cultured on N6 medium supplemented with 2 mg/L indol-3-yl acetic acid and 3 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine. Occurrence of first cell divisions; Differentiation of daughter cells into basal cell and proembryo cell; Evidence for the single-cellular origin of direct somatic embryos.

Abstract: Postharvest petal specking caused by Botrytis cinerea is a major concern for freesia growers and sellers in Holland and the UK. Germicidal and inducible host defence effects of UV-C irradiation were evaluated. UV-C irradiation of freesia inflorescences after artificial inoculation with B. cinerea (i.e. the germicidal effect) was more effective in reducing petal specking, compared to UV-C treatment before artificial inoculation (i.e. the defence induction effect). Cut freesia inflorescences exposed to 1kJm−2 UV-C after artificial inoculation with 104 B. cinerea conidia mL−1 displayed reduced disease severity scores, lesion numbers and lesion diameters by 74, 68 and 14%, respectively, compared to non-irradiated control inflorescences. In contrast, UV-C irradiation with 1kJm−2 before artificial inoculation reduced lesion numbers and lesion diameters by 13 and 24%, compared to the non-irradiated controls. Higher UV-C doses of 2.5 or 5kJm−2 reduced disease severity scores, lesion numbers and lesion diameters when applied after artificial inoculation, but enhanced disease when applied before artificial inoculation. Vase life of cut freesia inflorescences irradiated with 0.5, 1 or 2.5kJm−2 UV-C was maintained equal to non-irradiated controls. However, 5kJm−2 resulted in phytotoxicity evident as petal discoloration and reduced vase life compared to non-irradiated inflorescences. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]