Interspecific hybridization between Dahlia Dissecta and D. Rupicola

• Published in: Acta horticulturae no. 1087; pp. 321 - 324
• Main Authors: Mejia-Munoz, J, Flores-Espinosa, C, Pena-Oretga, G, Alvarado-Cano, M. E, Gaspar-Hernadez, R, Reyes-Santiago, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Society for Horticultural Science 01.01.2015
• Subjects: branching; color; Dahlia; drought tolerance; flowering; flowers; growth habit; hybrids; interspecific hybridization; leaves; microsatellite repeats; phenotype; pollination; progeny; seeds; stems; Mexico
• ISSN: 0567-7572
• DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1087.41

Dahlia is considered Mexico’s National Flower since 1963. It belongs to the genus Dahlia (Asteraceae) which consists of 41 species divided in four categories, according to the growth habit and leaf morphology. Dahlia dissecta and D. rupicola are in the Entemophyllon section and are distributed in the north part of Mexico. D. dissecta has a recurrent flowering habit whereas D. rupicola shows drought resistance. The aim of this work was to obtain interspecific hybrids, which shared characteristics of both species. D. dissecta was hand pollinated with D. rupicola, the obtained seeds were sown and grown up till the flowering stage, when morphological characteristics were evaluated. The progeny showed a morphology with intermediate characteristics of branching, height and leaf type. The flower heads had a diameter ranging from 10 to 16 cm with a pale purple color similar to the wild type. Phenotypes with branching and unbranching stems were observed. The flowering period indicated that some plants had the recurrent habit of D. dissecta. ISSR (inter simple sequence repeat) markers were used to confirm the hybrid state of the interspecific hybrids.