S05 - Session P3 - Breeding of new Tulipa cultivar through interspecific hybridization between tulip variety `Bolroyal Dream´ and Tulipa altaica

Authors: Guimei Xing, Yanqiu Zhang, Huihua Zhang, Tianyu Wu, Jiaojiao Lu, Lianwei Qu *

Interspecific hybridization is an important method in plant breeding for improving modern cultivars i ntroducing traits from wild species . In our study, t he interspecific hybridization was performed between tulip cultivar ( 'Bolroyal Dream' ) and wild species ( T ulipa altaica ). A total of 10 2 hybrid seed s were obtained from the interspecific hybridization cross in 2004 and 18 surviving seedlings flowered in 2009 . The best promising breeding line (Code No. 20 04 -16-08) was evaluated and named ' Zhao Xia ' in 2018. The new cultivar ' Zhao Xia ' has more attractive and smaller flowers than T. altaica and 'Bolroyal Dream' , respectively. ' Zhao Xia ' had a litt l e earlier florescence than 'Bolroyal Dream' in Shenyang city . In conclusion, ' Zhao Xia ' is a promising new tulip cultivar in Northeastern China with novel flower color and shape .