Search Results
The hybrid origin of 23 rose (Rosa spp.) accessions was examined with three isozymes: acid phosphatase (E.C.3.1.3.2), malate dehydrogenase (E.C.1.1.1.37), and phosphoglucose isomerase (E.C.5.3.1.9). All three isozymes were useful for interspecific hybrid verification. This procedure was effective if the putative parents were known and differed in isozyme phenotype. To verify the origin of hybrid species or cultivars with hybrid origins, isozymes were useful but limited by the number of generations since the original hybridization and the number of accessions of the putative parental species assayed.
Poor germination in Rosa spp. has hindered breeding programs for years. Several methods exist to increase germination of rose seed. Unfortunately no consensus exists on the best method, or if any one method is best for all rose types. Rose seeds from a R. wichuraiana × Old Blush hybrid were broken into 3 replications with an average of 400 seeds per replication. Seeds were leached at room temperature with tap water for a period of 0, 3, 7, or 14 days. Constant filtration and aeration were supplied. After leaching, seeds were placed on either moist milled sphagnum moss or agar. Seeds were then placed in a cold stratification (≈2.8 °C) treatment for 8 to 12 weeks. Individual seedlings were planted when a root was visible. The combination of no leaching plus the moist milled sphagnum moss treatment significantly increased germination over leaching for 3 or more days and agar.
Carbohydrate energy source of various tissue culture media has an effect on growth and survival of the explants. Sucrose is the standard carbohydrate used in most tissue culture systems. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of five carbohydrate sources (fructose, glucose, maltose, sorbitol, and sucrose) at two levels (2% and 3%) on germination, growth, and survival of immature peach embryos (9.7 to 14.7mm) in vitro. Five cultivars were used. Overall, fructose, maltose, and sucrose each stimulated germination and growth as the primary carbohydrate energy source of peach embryo culture to the same degree; glucose and sorbitol were inferior. However, fructose was superior to sucrose in one cultivar. In general, sugar level did not affect survival, although cultivars did vary somewhat. Survival was found to be highly dependent upon embryo maturity.
The Thai Tiger series of low-chill peaches are being released for use in subtropical or tropical highland regions and particularly for use in the northern highlands of Thailand to expand the harvest season of the present low-chill variety grown, ‘EarliGrande’. The Thai Tiger series are yellow-fleshed acid-sweet peach varieties that produce excellent yields of firm peaches and will allow a continuous harvest from early April until early May in the northern highlands of Thailand.
A computer program was developed to calculate the percent contribution of the founding parents for any given peach or nectarine (Prunus persica) cultivar. The founding parents used most frequently for three low-chill (0 to 500 chill units) peach and nectarine breeding programs (Florida and Pelotas and Campinas, Brazil) were determined. The Florida program used several low-chill honey type peaches (`Hawaiian', `Okinawa') as a source of low chilling and then did extensive crossing with higher quality cultivars developed mainly in the northeastern United States. About 50% of the background of the Brazilian peach releases consists of local selections that were originally brought by the Portuguese explorers. Although each of the Brazilian programs used local peach materials, the local peaches used by each program are different. In addition, the program at Pelotas used germplasm from the Georgia–Florida and New Jersey breeding programs and the Campinas program used `Jewel' (honey peach) and several Florida nectarines (`Sunlite', `Sunred') in their development work. The founding parents among these three programs, although there is some common parentage, are different, and the intercrossing of materials from the various programs would be a useful approach to create more diversity in this germplasm.
The effect of heat on rose flowers was examined by measuring flower size in 10 diploid rose populations created by crossing the heat-tolerant Texas A&M University (TAMU) breeding lines (M4-4, J06-20-14-3) and sensitive (97/7-2, ‘Red Fairy’, ‘Sweet Chariot’, ‘Vineyard Song’, ‘Old Blush’, and ‘Little Chief’) diploid roses. As expected, the populations and individual seedlings differed in flower size. The heat-shock treatment (1 hour at 44 °C) decreased flower diameter (15.7%), petal number (23.3%), and flower dry weight (16.9%). Flower-size traits had moderately low narrow-sense (0.24, 0.12, and 0.34 for flower diameter, petal number, and flower dry weight, respectively) and moderately high broad-sense (0.62, 0.74, and 0.76 for flower diameter, petal number, and flower dry weight, respectively) heritability indicating important nonadditive genetic effects. If rose genotypes vary in floral heat tolerance, a differential response to heat among populations, seedlings, or both detected statistically by a significant interaction effect would be expected. Both the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the restricted estimated maximum likelihood (REML) analyses showed a positive population × heat stress interaction effect for flower diameter. Although our data indicate differences in floral heat tolerance among the populations and genotypes, the effect was small as compared with the other sources of variation. Thus, using this 1-hour heat-shock approach would not be an effective strategy to select for floral heat tolerance in rose.