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Summary of full report
Speeding-up the Release
of New Hybrid Leucadendrons
By Guijun Yan & Ralph Sedgley
July 2006
RIRDC Publication No 06/059 RIRDC Project No UWA 67A
The first phase of the project resulted in a reliable protocol for the wide hybridisation of leucadendrons through interspecific hybridisation. The protocol included details of parent selection, pollen viability assessment and pollen storage, pollination, seed collection and seed germination and planting out of hybrids for evaluation. Considerable numbers of hybrid seeds were also produced.
Research objectives and
general approach
Time is of the essence,
for growers who have invested in this project and are looking for an early
return on their considerable investment, and for the industry at large,
which urgently needs new varieties to invigorate its offerings to the world
market. This second phase of the project researches into the methods for
making early selections and for techniques to rapidly multiply them and
so hasten their evaluation and distribution for planting out. To quickly
reduce the large number of hybrids into a core elite selection, both molecular
and morphological markers are needed. Also in order for the access of new
materials by the growers, a quick multiplication method either by small
cutting or tissue culture is essential.
The major objective of the project is to quicken the selection process and to deliver the new materials to the growers in a speedy way.
Outcomes and implications
The second phase of the
project was highly successful. More than 23,000 hybrid seeds were produced
by the project. Altogether, 5,319 plants representing most successful cross
combinations have been trialled on the farms of contributing growers from
which 251 selections have been made; 10 of these have been fast-tracked
among the contributing growers and three of them have been PBR’ed (See
Appendices). Our research into the development of molecular and morphological
markers and the establishment of a rapid propagation system were also successful.
So far 8 scientific papers have been published or accepted for publication
in refereed journals (See Appendices). Armed with the scientific outcome
and the bank of about 17,000 hybrid seeds and more than 200 elite selections,
the project now has the potential to deliver new Leucadendron varieties
to the industry for many years to come.
Recommendations
On the basis of the findings
of this research, the following recommendations are made:
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