Objective A new variety of high-yield, high-resistance, premium Oncidium cutting flower was bred to expand the pool for resource diversification in Fujian.
Method The somaclonal variation of the tissue-transplanted seedlings of Onc. Gower Ramsey was used for the breeding. After a preliminary field selection, the tissue culture was extended, and strains compared when flowering. The desirable specimens were subjected to molecular identification, culture extension and multi-point testing for further screening.
Result The new variety, Jinhui, was thus obtained. Its primary flowering time in Fujian occurred between November and January with a secondary flowering period from May to June. It had an average pseudobulb length of 10.96 cm, pseudobulb width of 4.11 cm, peduncle length of 40.14 cm, inflorescence length of 78.14 cm and branch count of 11.15 during the blooming period, representing the increases by 21.64%, 18.10%, 18.58%, 29.18% and 22.66%, respectively, as compared with those of control at significant difference level. Its yield on cut flowers reached 30 700/667m2, which was a significant increase of 17.18% over control. The new shoots on a plant positioned significantly lower than did on control. Jinhui had good adaptability, strong stress resistance, and excellent applicability for cultivation in Fujian and areas of similar frost-free climate.
Conclusion Using plant somaclonal variation of Onc. Gower Ramsey, Jinhui was a new, high-yield, high-quality and strongly resistant variety generated from the transplanted seedlings of the original plant. It demonstrated a technical feasibility of the process for selecting and breeding the cut flower.
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