Dahlia Cultivar DAATTEN Compact Growth and Stem Strength
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current Dahlia cultivars lack a compact, upright growth habit suitable for large-scale container production with attractive, fully double flowers that maintain consistency through asexual reproduction.
Innovation Solution
The development of the Dahlia cultivar 'DAATTEN' with stiff and strong lateral stems, yellow-green leaves, and white ray florets with a small yellow base, exhibiting a cylindrical shape and producing numerous composite flower heads, achieved through controlled breeding and asexual reproduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If traditional Dahlia cultivars are used for container production, then flower size and color variety are maintained, but growth habit becomes sprawling and inconsistent across generations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the breeding program into controlled cross-pollination stages followed by asexual reproduction through terminal cuttings. This segmentation allows the upright growth habit to be established in the F1 generation and then fixed through clonal propagation, ensuring consistency across generations while maintaining the desired compact shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses asexual reproduction via terminal cuttings to create exact genetic copies of the selected F1 plants. This copying process preserves the upright, compact growth habit and flower characteristics uniformly across all propagated plants, eliminating the variability seen in sexual reproduction while maintaining reliable trait transmission.
2Volume of moving object
If Dahlia cultivars are bred for compact size, then container production suitability improves, but flower head complexity and double-flower formation may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes key growth parameters through controlled breeding, selecting for compact plant size (25-30 cm height, 40-45 cm diameter) while simultaneously selecting for full double flower formation with 120-140 ray florets. The asexual reproduction then fixes these parameter combinations, achieving both compact size and complex flower structure without compromise.
3Strength
If stem strength is increased for upright growth, then growth habit stability improves, but plant flexibility and adaptability may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent selects for stems that are naturally stiff and strong, allowing the plant to self-maintain its upright, compact shape without external support structures. The strong stems inherently provide the necessary structural support for the heavy double flowers while maintaining the desired cylindrical, upright growth form through the plant's own structural capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A new distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant named ‘DAATTEN’, characterized by its compact growth with cylindrical upright to slightly spreading shape; stiff and strong lateral stems and thick single and compound leaves with up to 3 leaflets; color of mature leaves RHS 147A (upper side), RHS 191B (Underside); compound leaves 12-18 cm in length, and 12-15 cm in width and single leaves 6-13 cm in length and 6-9 cm in width; composite flower heads 11-12 cm in diameter with a large number of ray florets (about 120 to 140); and white ray florets (RHS 155B/155C) with small area of yellow near base (RHS 1B).