A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON LOTUS BREEDING METHOD

1. Systematic selection from natural mixed population.
2. Selection from progeny of terminal bud propagation.
3. Selection from progeny of natural crossing seedling.
4. Selection from progeny of artificial crossing seedling.

We can fix the haterosis of lotus hybrid by asexual propagation. So we don't need many generations for purifing the progeny by the self crossing or preparing hybrid seed by artificial cross annually. Thus, this is a effective way for lotus breeding. We listed some characteristics of hybrid(F1) in this paper and introduce the five new varieties which was bred by the above methods.

Lotus is a kind of plant with vigrous capacity of Propagation, espicially for this asexual propagation. In fact, the lotus is a rhizome, the terminal bud of lotus rhizome is a very shortened shoot. There is a bud axis inside terminal bud and a growing point on its top. The growing point can be differentiated into leaf meristem and floral meristem and axile bud meristem successfully. In keeping pace with growth of bud axis, a leaf or floral meristem will be developed into leaves or flowers. A axile bud will be growing up to a lotus rhizome. Manu lotus rhizomes are growing up parallel under earth. The terminal bud of main rhizome can be also differentiated into many branching rhizome. Every bud of branching rhizomes can be also differentiated and growed up independently, The few terminal internodes of each rhizomes can be expanded to a new lotus in an optimum circumstances. Thus the lotus can be propagated generation after generation. This is the main process of lotus by asexual propagation.

Lotus may be also propagated by sexual method. The process of sexual propagation may be achieved by the way of blooming, pollinating, fertilization and fruiting.

Due to a diversity of lotus propagation method and pecularity of its reproductive organ, we have adopted the following various methods in order to improve the lotus variety.

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