DEVELOPMENT OF CLONAL HYBRIDS IN POINSETTIA (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch)

Abstract

In Mexico, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch) cultivation depends on varieties developed in other countries, and there is a constant demand for new varieties of this species. The National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research implemented a breeding program to develop national varieties according to the environmental conditions of the production areas. The aim of thisresearch was to developed clonal hybrids and to carry out subsequent selection, as well as to evaluate their performance based on morphological characteristics. The genetic material originated in 2010 through manual crossing between one population collected in the state of Morelos and two in Oaxaca to two commercial varieties: Prestige Red and Freedom Red. Four experimental hybrids and their male parents were evaluated from 2013 to 2016 in Tetela del Monte, Morelos, Mexico. Selection was performed in each evaluation year; it consisted in eliminating tall plants, and those with long internodes, small leaves and bracts, and inflorescences with large cyathia diameter. The experimental design was completely randomized with ten replications. Eleven morphological traits related to leaf, bract, cyathium and plant height were recorded. Analysis of variance and Tukey means comparison test were performed. The experimental hybrids showed significant statistical differences (P ≤ 0.05) in plant height, number of internodes, bract canopy width, cyathium diameter, bract length, bract width, leaf petiole and bract length. There were no differences in number of branches and leaf size. The years of evaluation affected the performance of experimental hybrids. The characteristics of hybrids HEZ1 and HEZ2 are similar to those of their male commercial progenitors, so they could potentially be offered as commercial varieties in Mexico.