Introducing superior genotypes of Gladiolus sp. ‎

Gladiolus is one of the most important and popular cut-flower after rose and chrysanthemum in Iran. In Iran it is one of the main bulbous cut flowers and has an important role in exporting as cut flowers. The aim of this study was producing new, high-quality Gladiolus hybrids through hybridization. It grows over an area of 350 ha in Pakdasht, Varamin, Karaj, Damavand, Mahallat, Dezful and Jiroft.

To keep up flower diversity according to new consumer demands in ornamental plant industry, plant breeders need to create a diversification and produce new flowers having new characteristics. Therefore, two popular cultivars of Gladiolus were hybridized in order to produce new hybrids with potential of commercial importance in the ornamental industry. This is the first investigation of Gladiolus hybridization in Iran and can open new perspectives for designing new breeding programs between commercial and wild Gladiolus species in future.

Four commercial varieties of Gladiolus were used for hybridization. This study was carried out in the Ornamental Plants Research Center (OPRC), Mahallat, Iran (2014-2020).

The results indicated that the most traits that were found to have high heritability are important in improving plant quality and quantity of Gladiolus. Twenty five promising hybrids showed a positive heterosis in most traits. Consequently, inter-varietal hybridization is an effective way to contribute to the phenotypic variations of Gladiolus, produce new plant materials for breeding purposes, and release new cultivars in Iran. Breeding and introduction of new cultivars of Gladiolus with innovation in ornamental are important.

Ornamental Plants Research Center (OPRC), Mahallat