CALIDAD FLORAL DE CULTIVARES SOBRESALIENTES DE GLADIOLO VARIEDAD BLANCA BORREGA OBTENIDO DE IRRADIACIÓN DE 60CO

Abstract

The gladiolus is one of the most commercially important cut flowers in Mexico. It was traditionally considered a funeral flower, but its uses have now diversified to many other decorative floral arrangements due to its variety of colors and forms. All the new varieties on the market in Mexico are of foreign origin, such that the generation of new genotypes is needed. In a previous study, flowers originating from irradiated blanca borrega variety corms expressed different floral characteristics, shape and size; however, it is unknown whether these characters are fixed in subsequent generations. The objective of the current work was therefore to evaluate the fixed characteristics in the ornamental quality of outstanding cultivars of blanca borrega variety gladiolus descended from irradiation with 60Co. During the fall-winter (2020 and 2021) period, corms of outstanding cultivars generated by distinct irradiation doses were planted in sterilized substrate to evaluate corm germination (%), plant height, number of leaves per stem, spike length (cm), combined stem and spike length (cm), number of flowers per spike, flower size (cm), number of leaves, and survival, post-harvest life, floral opening stage, and number of corm, and to categorize cut flower quality under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) criteria. The results showed that in the outstanding cultivar derived from 80 Gy was observed presence of descriptive characteristics according to what was evaluated to obtain a class I classification (Second quality) in the evaluation of the third generation according to the quality parameters described by UN/ECE, as well as the largest number of days in vase; treatments 10, 30 and 50 Gy and the control were placed in class II (Third quality).