Abstract:
Objective A highly adaptable and stress-resistant variety of Freesia bearing flowers of a unique color was bred.
Method A variety of Freesia from the Netherlands, Red Lion, was crossed with the purple Royal Blue in March 2006. A year later, the target purplish red hybrid F1 plant, R1B1-1, was selected. After screening and expanding through generations of cloning from 2008 to 2012, Freesia hybrida Red Jade stabilized characteristics was finally obtained. Subsequently, it was subjected to a comparison test with its parents from 2013 till 2015, a SRAP molecular identification for species confirmation in 2016, and the multi-point tests from 2017 to 2019.
Result Red Jade was planted from late September to early October in Fuzhou, Fuqing, Zhenghe, and other localities to bloom for 30-40d from late February to early March in the following year. Its upper perianth was purplish red (RHS:N74A), and the throat yellow (RHS:14A), in color. The average length of leaf was 41.8cm, that of flower stem 41.3cm, that of flower stem girth 4.9mm with a branch count of 3.9, that of main inflorescence 7.2cm with a main inflorescence floret count of 8.9, and that of flower diameter 3.9cm with a reproduction coefficient of 6.7.
Conclusion The new variety, Freesia hybrida Red Jade, was highly adaptable, stress resistant, and suitable for cultivation in Fujian and area of similar frost-free climate. Combining sexual hybridization and asexual propagation could be a promising approach to breed novel varieties of Freesia.