The results of different methods used in breeding of perennial flower cultivars in the Nikita Botanical Gardens

Introductive selective breeding research of perennial flower decorative plants has been done in the Nikita Botanical Gardens for more than 200 years. Genepool collections have been created, and selective breeding of garden rose, chrysanthemum, clematis, iris, day-lily, cane, tulip, pelargonium and lilac is currently being done. To obtain the domestic cultivars classic selective breeding methods (a mass and individual selection, different kinds of hybridization, a clone selection) and modified to concrete crops experimental mutagenesis methods (radiation and chemical) are used. Out of the selective fund of more than 700,000 seedlings, 4,925 perspective seedlings were selected for further research. More than 300 tolerant and highly decorative cultivars, with long-term abundant blossoming, were prepared and delivered to the State for cultivar testing. For 127 the patents have been received, the others are in different stages of research. The analysis of the selective breeding methods' use effectiveness has shown a promising use of an intersorting and remote hybridization for most of the cultures. For the isolated cultures it has shown a promising use of a seedling selection from a free pollination inside the collections, a spontaneous and induced mutagenesis. The method of remote hybridization is the most effective method for obtaining tolerant cultivars.