mohammad kermanshahani

Variety creation in ornamental plants is always considered by the breeders. To achieve this goal, controlled crosses were performed among various cyclamen genotypes with different flower color, shape and leaf pattern. The results showed that crossing is effective for creating varieties with new flower characteristics in cyclamen. 15 genotypes with different flower color and shape were obtained, but white leaf patterns in more progenies were similar to the feature of their parents. In comparison to self-pollination, cross-pollination had a great influence in increasing growth rate and also in reducing required time for flowering. In general, progenies resulted from crossing compared to those from self-pollination, flowered two months earlier. Mean flower number in these progenies was averagely 1.7 times higher than that of their parents. In terms of growth rate, the progenies from cross-pollination had either more or less growth rather than parents. In conclusion, it is of worth to consider cross pollination as an effective way to create varieties with high growth rate and proper floral view in cyclamen.

Low seed yield is a limiting factor for cross breeding and hybrid seed production in cyclamen. This study was performed to investigate pollen germination and its relation to cross-pollination success and fruit set in this plant. In order to achieve a high level of pollen germination, the effect of different concentrations of chemical compounds were examined on in vitro pollen germination of cyclamen in modified Brewbaker and Kwack medium, containing sucrose (10 and 20%), calcium nitrate (0, 200 and 300 mg l-1), and boric acid (0, 100 and 200mg l-1) at two pH levels (5.5 and 6.5). Maximum pollen germination was obtained in media containing higher concentration of calcium and boron regardless of sucrose concentration and pH level. Pollen germination percentage was genotype-dependent. Cross-pollination was performed among four different genotypes characterized by various pollen germination percentages. There was a direct correlation between cross-pollination success and pollen germination percentage. Genotypes with 30% higher pollen germination led to 10% increase in fruit set.