Crossbreeding is a multi-stage process with inherent challenges and risks in developing new varieties. Success hinges on selecting highly fertile parents. In species like lisianthus, uncertainty persists regarding the optimal methods for assessing pollen quality, which is crucial for evaluating pollen parent fertility. This study seeks to identify the most reliable techniques for this purpose. Fresh and dead pollen from four lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) varieties was used. The dead pollen was obtained by thermal inactivation. Five chemical staining methods (iodine-potassium iodide, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride – TTC, lactophenol cotton blue, safranin, acetocarmine) were employed to assess pollen viability, and two biological methods (Petri dishes, hanging drops) were used to determine the germination rate. Four solid medium cultures were employed in Petri dishes, while the hanging drop utilised four liquid medium cultures. Thirteen tests were conducted for each variety, evaluating fresh and dead pollen. The study found significant variations in pollen quality among lisianthus varieties and methods. Fresh pollen showed viability rates ranging from 56.87% to 99.41% and germination rates from 0.20% to 45.11%. TTC exhibited the lowest viability rate across all varieties, while the highest germination rate was observed in the liquid culture medium with only boric acid and PEG1500. Notably, TTC was the sole viability method that did not stain dead pollen, and no germination occurred in any method for dead pollen. TTC is the most reliable staining method, and a liquid culture medium with boric acid and PEG1500 effectively determines lisianthus pollen quality. Varying boric acid and PEG1500 concentrations are advisable.

The limited knowledge about the inheritance of traits in roses makes the efficient development of rose varieties challenging. In order to achieve breeding goals, the inheritance of traits needs to be explored. Additionally, for the inheritance of a trait like scent, which remains a mystery, it is crucial to know the success of parental traits in transmitting them to the next generation. Understanding this allows for accurate parental selection, ensuring sustainability in meeting market demand and providing convenience to breeders. The aim of this study was to assess the success of cross-combinations between scented old garden roses and hybrid tea roses used in cut roses in transferring their existing traits, with the objective of achieving scented cut roses. The evaluated traits included recurrent blooming, flower stem length, flower diameter, petal number, scent, and bud length of both parents and progenies. The inheritance of these traits was evaluated through theoretical evaluations, including calculating heterosis and heterobeltiosis and determining narrow-sense heritability. The combinations and examined traits were assessed using a hierarchical clustering heat map. The results of this study indicated that flower stem length, flower diameter, petal number, and bud length traits had a moderate degree of narrow-sense heritability, suggesting the influence of non-additive genes on these traits. This study observed a low success rate in obtaining progenies with scent in cross combinations between cut roses and old garden roses, indicating the challenges in obtaining scented genotypes. The discrepancy between the observed phenotypic rates and the expected phenotypic and genotypic rates, according to Punnett squares, suggests that the examined traits could be controlled by polygenic genes. The progenies were observed to exhibit a greater resemblance to old garden roses than hybrid tea roses and did not meet the commercial quality standards for cut flowers. The significant negative heterosis observed in 65.12% (petal number) and 99.61% (flower diameter) of the progenies provides strong evidence of resemblance to old garden roses. Considering these findings, it is recommended to consider old garden roses as parents, taking into account their suitability for other breeding objectives.

In producing chrysanthemum hybrids, more seed sets per fruit are preferred. Only successful pollination and fertilization allow seeds to de-velop. High pollen viability and pollen germination rate are intimately correlated with successful fertilization. Chrysanthemum pollen and their storage duration have only been the subject of a relatively few investigations. The study aimed to determine pollen's viability and germination during the 4 days, which were kept at 24 ºC. In the present study, two different Chrysanthemum species (Chrysanthemum coronarium L. and Chrysanthemum segetum L.) and two commercial Chrysanthemum varieties (Chic and Haydar) that belong to Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat. species as spray chrysanthemum pollens were used for experimental material. The grains pollen were stored in an incubator which was 24 ºC and 60% humidity. The pollen viability was tested with TTC (2,3,5 Triphenyl Tetrazolium Chloride) staining test and pollen germination was evaluated hanging drop method with modified ME_3-m medium, daily for 4 days including day 0. The results showed that the viability and germination of all pollens used in this study decreased day by day. Depending on the species/varieties, the viability rates ranged from 12.83% to 32.04% on the first day and between 0.57-2.33% on the last day. Pollen germination rates differed between 16.76% - 3.45% on the 0th day and 0.0-0.17% on the 4th day.

2023 yılı verilerine göre, dünya süs bitkileri ihracatının (25 milyar 760 milyon 632 bin dolar) %40.91 (10 milyar 538 milyon 521 bin dolar)’ini tek başına kesme çiçekler oluşturmuştur. Günümüzde küreselleşme ve teknolojik gelişmeler birçok sektörde olduğu gibi kesme çiçek sektöründe de önemli yeniliklere neden olmuştur. Kesme çiçek sektöründe uygun iklim koşulları ve ucuz işgücüne sahip ülkeler bu avantajları ile hem pazardaki konumlarını korumaya hem de yeni pazarlara yönelmeye çalışırken, gelişmiş ülkeler ise işgücü ve üretim maliyetlerini düşürmek, pazardaki mevcut konumlarını korumak ve rekabet güçlerini artırmak için üretimden pazarlamaya kadar olan bütün süreçlerde yüksek teknoloji ve yapay zeka kullanımına yönelmişlerdir. Bu amaca yönelik olarak; ekim, dikim, söküm, hasat, taşıma, paketleme, ambalajlama, ek aydınlatma, karartma, sulama, gübreleme, hastalık ve zararlılarla mücadele vb. birçok alanda yüksek teknoloji kullanılması gerek ulusal gerekse uluslararası rekabet gücünü artırmada önemli avantajlar sağlamaktadır. Bu çalışmada, dünya kesme çiçek sektöründe Tarım 4.0 etkisinde kullanılan sera teknolojileri, akıllı tarım sistemleri, ekim-dikim-söküm-hasat-boylama ve paketlemede kullanılan robotlar, sulama, gübreleme, mobil çoğaltma ve yetiştirme masaları, hasat sonrası ve depolama teknikleri, LED teknolojisi ve lojistik sistemlerle ilgili teknolojik yenilikler hakkında bilgi verilmiştir.

The increasing demand for novel cut chrysanthemum cultivars has underscored the significance of precision breeding techniques, with particular emphasis on hybridization and molecular tools. This study aimed to assess the cross-compatibility of selected chrysanthemum cultivars and to evaluate the genetic, quantitative, and qualitative diversity among the resulting F₁ progenies. A total of six hybrid combinations were generated using five commercial parental cultivars. Ploidy levels were determined via flow cytometry and chromosome counting, confirming that all parents were allohexaploid (2n = 6x = 54). Pollen viability and germination rates varied significantly among male parents, influencing hybridization success. A total of 30,391 seeds were obtained, with germination rates ranging from 2.69% to 10.73%, depending on the cross combination. F₁ progenies showed considerable phenotypic variability in flowering time, flower stalk length, flower diameter, and branch weight. Molecular characterization using eight iPBS primers revealed a high polymorphism rate (93%) with a mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) value of 0.614, confirming substantial genetic diversity among genotypes. Cluster and principal coordinate analyses demonstrated that most F₁ genotypes grouped closely with their maternal parents, although unique genomic variations were also detected. The integration of morphological and molecular data provides valuable insights for selecting superior genotypes and optimizing breeding strategies. This study highlights the importance of evaluating hybridization potential and genetic diversity in the development of commercially viable cut chrysanthemum cultivars.

Rose breeding companies have developed new rose varieties in response to increasing demands for color, fragrance and shapes. Hybridization is one of the most important methods of creating new rose variations. Breeders focus on fertility, reproduction, and a high number of seeds per fruit. In the present study, four Rosa genotypes (‘Jumilia’, ‘Black Magic’, ‘Tineke’, ‘Black Baccara’) were crossed to assess genetic compatibility, seed formation potential and germination rate. The results showed that all genotypes were tetraploid, and pollen germination varied from 11.36% to 23.41%. The highest crossability rate (94.44%) was found in the ‘Black Baccara’ × ‘Jumilia’ combination, followed by ‘Black Magic’ × ‘Jumilia’ (60%). The highest seed yields were obtained in ‘Jumilia’ × ‘Tineke’ (60.50). ‘Tineke’ × ‘Jumilia’ (43.74) showed the second highest number of seeds per fruit, whereas limited success was determined in cross ‘Jumilia’ × ‘Black Magic (2.25). The maximum germination percentage was found in ‘Jumilia’ when crossed with ‘Tineke’. Significant variations were recorded for the weight of hips and weight of fruit. The PCA-biplot results indicated a positive correlation between crossability rate and seed production efficiency. Overall, the choice of parents was crucial for the crossability indices, which are the average crossability rate and seed production efficiency.