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This study investigated trends in lily (Lilium hybrids) cultivars and challenges for growing cut lily flowers using a survey of producers in the South Korean lily industry. A questionnaire requested information on various topics including the total growing area, length of farming experience, cultivars grown, factors considered when purchasing bulbs, cultivation systems, horticultural practices, disease and pest problems, and horticultural problems. The survey targeted the membership of the Korea Lily Producer Association and the number of respondents corresponded to 43% of all lily farmers in the country. Oriental-Trumpet (OT) hybrid ‘Yelloween’ and Oriental hybrids ‘Siberia’, ‘Medusa’, and ‘Sorbonne’ were mainly cultivated in South Korea. The main flower colors were yellow, white, and pink. Factors considered in choosing cultivars were the prices of bulbs and cut flowers affecting income of the farm. More than 90% of respondents used soil culture in a greenhouse to grow cut flowers. There were various horticultural practices used from planting to harvest. The main pests harming bulb and flower productivity were fungus gnat (Bradysia difformis) and bulb mite (Rhizoglyphus robini), and the most common horticultural problem was leaf scorch. Overall, the survey suggested that the stable production of lily bulb with low cost and high quality was required and practical techniques should be developed for increasing the cut lily production efficiency. In addition, the pests, diseases, and horticultural problems in the given local environmental conditions should be considered when breeding new cultivars and developing production technology.

Lilium lancifolium (syn. L. tigrinum) is the only polyploidy-complex species involving both diploid (2n = 2x = 24) and triploid (2n = 3x = 36) plants in the genus. The origin of natural triploid remains a mystery and research has been limited mainly to chromosomal studies that have overlooked research on pollen ontogeny. By spatiotemporal comparison of the development and morphology of diploid and triploid pollen grains, we study the correlations between pollen fertility and morphological development in diploid and triploid plants and propose the necessity and importance of further research on natural polyploid-ontogenetic diversity. In this comparative investigation, we used various microscopy techniques including histological analyses, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The main morphological differences between triploid and diploid pollen grains started with abnormal tetrad formation of triploid, followed by inadequate amylogenesis and amylolysis in young microspores, and finished with the formation of an abnormal structure of pollen surface layers in maturing pollen grains, which finally resulted in pollen grain unfolding and male sterility. From observing the series of morphological events that induced male-sterile pathway in natural triploid pollens, this study showed a variety of correlations between pollen development and fertility, which differed from male sterility resulting from gene mutation, indicating that there exists greater variability in pollen male-sterile ontogeny. Our results suggest that multilateral research is required for understanding the fickle ontogeny of natural male-sterile polyploid.