ISHS Acta Horticulturae 570: VIII International Symposium on Flowerbulbs
POTENTIAL OF SOUTH AFRICAN MEMBERS OF THE AMARYLLIDACEAE FOR NEW CROP DEVELOPMENT |
| Authors: | J.G. Niederwieser, M. Terblanche, M.H. Spreeth |
| Keywords: | cyrtanthus, flower bulb crop, genebank |
| Abstract:
The results of a scoping study on the potential of the South African Amaryllidaceae for commercialisation are reported. An extensive project to collect as many as possible species of the family in the wild and from other collectors were undertaken. A total of 85 species of 13 genera were obtained, established and maintained in the genebank and observed for a number of years. Plants were evaluated according to appearance of flowers, flowering, vase life of flowers, size of bulbs, multiplication, ease of cultivation, etc. Intra- and inter genera crosses were made to determine the potential for breeding of improved varieties. Although many species of this family have spectacular flowers, characteristics such as the size of the flowering bulb, difficulty of cultivation, difficulty to induce flowering in cultivation, limited flower colours within a genus, multiplication rate and vase life present challenging problems with regard to commercialisation. Specific challenges and advantages for some of these genera are discussed briefly. We came to the conclusion that few genera have the potential for further development. Preliminary work on Cyrtanthus indicated that flowering needs to be studied in depth and work at the institute has been suspended until more information is available. | |
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