Articles
INTERSPECIFIC CROSSES IN TULIP BREEDING
For the breeding for resistance to Fusarium oxysporum, species and interspecific hybrids have been tested and crosses with the resistant ones were made.
For the breeding on resistance to mosaic virus (TBV) a test method is being developed.
Some species and their hybrids showed a high level of resistance.
There are prospects that mosaic resistant forcing tulips may be obtained.
To save energy, species and hybrids were tested for cold requirement and forcing period.
Tulipa praecox requires a relatively short cold and forcing period and is therefore considered for interspecific crosses.
However, it is triploid and practically sterile and therefore pre-breeding with related species is being studied.
Research on pollen growth and embryoculture can help here to break breeding barriers.
Tetraploid tulips can keep longer than diploids.
Therefore, tetraploids were made by laughing gas treatment in crosses including T. gesneriana and T. fosteriana.
