Title: Cultivar and Cultural Practices Evaluation and DNA Analysis in Floral Crops

Abstract

      The overall goal of this research project is to introduce new products to the commercial floriculture industry while preserving the heritage of floriculture crops so that important traits are not lost through breeding. The focus is to provide technology to enhance the Tennessee Floriculture Industry economy by making it more efficient and productive. The research findings are directly applicable to the production and sale of floral specimens that will enable the greenhouse grower to be more efficient and profitable. This research is directly applicable to commercial practices and will provide new knowledge that can be disseminated through the Cooperative Extension Service. This research project will continue to find new plants that are adaptable to Tennessee and help to set the state's industry apart from others. Improving our understanding of the flower development of garden mums will improve the cultural recommendations for growers and allow us to develop a model to predict the flowering of garden mums grown under natural daylengths and ambient temperatures.

      The floriculture industry is involved with growing many species of plants. New cultivars have replaced old ones through breeding and selection. In our haste to move forward with improvement, we stand to lose important traits forever. As we continue to improve and introduce new traits that protect the environment and improve production efficiency, cultivars are becoming more similar morphologically and genetically. DNA fingerprints will be useful in the future to enhance the description of plants when applying for plant patents. DNA fingerprints can be used to locate unique markers for monitoring the introduction of new or lost traits, such as disease resistance, into breeding programs.