Improvement of Flower Vase Life using Cross-Breeding Techniques in Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

Abstract

The vase life of cut flowers, or flower longevity, is one of the most important characteristics that determine their quality and their ability to satisfy consumer preferences. To improve the vase life of carnations, conventional cross-breeding techniques were used to develop many carnation lines with a long vase life. Two new cultivars, 'Miracle Rouge' and 'Miracle Symphony', with a genetically determined long vase life, were developed. They had vase lives of 17.7 to 20.7 days (3.2 to 3.6 times the vase length of the 'White Sim' cultivar) under standard conditions (23ºC, 12-h photoperiod, 70% RH). The ethylene biosynthesis pathway in these cultivars was almost completely blocked during natural senescence, which was responsible for the long vase life. Changes in ethylene sensitivity with flower senescence were evaluated using a time-lapse video recording system, which provides a simple and accurate way of evaluating ethylene sensitivity. The video system revealed that the ethylene sensitivity of various cultivars including 'Miracle Rouge' and 'Miracle Symphony' after anthesis decreased with increasing age.Disciplines: Horticulture / Plant breeding Additional key words: ethylene production, ethylene sensitivity, flower longevity, flower senescence JARQ 42 (3), 137 -144 (2008)

Crossings and Selections for Six Generations Based on Flower Vase Life to Create Lines with Ethylene Resistance or Ultra-long Vase Life in Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

“…The frequency distributions for vase life in the parental, first, second, third, and fourth generations showed continuous normal distributions (Onozaki, 2008;Onozaki et al, 2001Onozaki et al, , 2006b, and that of fifth and sixth generations showed the same tendency (Fig. 1).…”

“…In previous papers, we described the development of many carnation lines with increased vase life as a result of reduced ethylene biosynthesis or sensitivity by means of crossing and selection until the fourth generation (Onozaki, 2008;Onozaki et al, 2001Onozaki et al, , 2006b. In this paper, we report the results of further crossing and selection over two generations to improve the vase life of carnation flowers by using our previously selected lines as parental material.…”

Sequence Analysis of the Genome of Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

“…The vase life of cut flowers, or flower longevity, is one of the most important characteristics to carnation. 7 Carnation flowers are highly sensitive to ethylene, which induces autocatalytic ethylene production and wilting in carnation petals. 8 Conventional cross-breeding techniques have succeeded in improving the vase life of the carnation flower, 9 which is a polygenic trait that is controlled by several genes involved in ethylene production and ethylene sensitivity.…”