Intervarietal Hybridization and Observation of High-quality Offspring of Cut Freesia Flowers.

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]