Phenotypic analysis of parents and their reciprocal F₁ hybrids in Phalaenopsis

In this study, we studied the phenotypic and breeding efficiency of Phalaenopsis reciprocal hybrids and their parents. For reciprocal hybridization, Phalaenopsis ‘KS Little Gem’ and ‘1747’ from Taiwan were used as parents. After crossing ‘KS Little Gem’ × ‘1747’ in 2010, 34 individuals from ‘KS 1059’ hybrids were developed. The crossing between ‘1747’ × ‘KS Little Gem’ resulted in the development of 63 individuals from ‘KS 1076’ hybrids. Detailed morphological characteristics of newly developed hybrids; ‘KS 1059’, ‘KS 1076’ and their parents were collected according to guidelines determined by the Korea Seed and Variety Service (KSVS). The leaf characteristics were similar in reciprocal hybrids and their parents, except in number of leaves, which as were maximal in ‘KS 1059’. In terms of flower characteristics including number of flowers, inflorescence length, pedicel length and pedicel diameter, features of the parents were combined in the hybrids. By contrast in case of flower length, both hybrids showed similarity to ‘KS Little Gem’, and a similar pattern was observed in flower width. The petal length in hybrids and parents were similar, but the petal width of hybrids was more closer to that of ‘KS Little Gem’. The length of whiskers was long in both parents, but very short whiskers were recorded in hybrids. The length and width of the apical lobe were similar in parents and hybrids, but hybrids were closer to ‘1747’. In the case of duration of of flowering, the maximum value of 123 days was recorded in ‘KS Little Gem’ similar to ‘KS 1059’, whereas ‘1747’ and ‘KS 1076’ had almost identical values. It can be concluded that to generate Phalaenopsis with a longer shelf life, ‘KS Little Gem’ might be selected as the female parent during hybridization.