BREEDING ASPECTS OF POPPY IN SLOVAKIA

Breeding of poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) for seed in Slovakia dates from 1948 and is focused on universal cultivars.
The main goal was to grow a cultivar with the capacity to produce high levels of morphine in dry capsules and also high yields of blue colored seeds.
The long-term breeding experiments have resulted a number of high yielding cultivars, with a high production potential of poppy seed.
The 0.3-0.6% morphine content of dry capsules is considered as low to moderate, and does not suit the present requirements of the pharmaceutical industry, represented by Saneca Pharmaceuticals a.s. in Hlohovec.
In regards of the recently introduced requirements and international trends in poppy production, in Slovakia, poppy cultivation focuses on breeding two types of cultivars (cultivars): (a) industrial poppy with a high capacity for alkaloid and morphine production within the dry capsules, (b) poppy for alimentation, i.e. cultivars with high seed yields to be used by the food industry and with no or low to moderate morphine content.

International Symposium on Papaver

J. Fejér

breeding, cultivars, poppy seeds, poppy straw, alkaloids, morphine content

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1036.10