Heuchera Rex Purple Cultivar Breeding for Mildew Resistance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Heuchera plants lack compact growth, attractive leaf colors, and resistance to Powdery Mildew, which limits their garden performance and adaptability.
Innovation Solution
A Heuchera hybrid (Heuchera hybrid × Heuchera villosa 'Rex Purple' is developed through cross-pollination, exhibiting a uniformly mounded habit, greyed purple leaves, long flowering period, and resistance to Powdery Mildew, achieved through in vitro meristem culture in a controlled environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If existing Heuchera plants are used, then they have basic growth characteristics, but they lack compact growth habit and attractive leaf colors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting and breeding plants with specific morphological parameters (compact growth habit, leaf color, leaf size) to create a new cultivar that simultaneously achieves desired shape characteristics and garden performance. The hybridization process modifies multiple parameters including plant height, leaf color intensity, and growth density.
2Reliability
If existing Heuchera plants are used, then they have basic disease susceptibility, but they lack resistance to Powdery Mildew
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials principle through hybridization, combining genetic material from two different Heuchera species (Heuchera micrantha and Heuchera villosa) to create a composite genotype that exhibits both desirable morphological traits and enhanced disease resistance. The hybrid composition provides heterosis that confers Powdery Mildew resistance.
3Length of moving object
If parent plants are compared to new hybrid, then parent plants have smaller size, but new hybrid has larger leaves and taller growth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action through in vitro meristem culture and early generation evaluation to establish and stabilize the hybrid's morphological characteristics before commercial propagation. The meristem culture process ensures genetic stability and true-to-type reproduction of the enlarged leaf and tall growth traits from an early stage.
Data Source
AI summary
A new and distinct cultivar of Heuchera plant named ‘Rex Purple’, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; densely foliated and bushy appearance; greyed purple-colored leaves; long flowering period; numerous inflorescences with sterile white and red purple-colored flowers; resistance to Powdery Mildew; and good garden performance.