Lobelia Plant Breeding Combining Large Flowers and Dark Green Foliage
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a new and distinct cultivar of Lobelia erinus that combines large, violet-rose flowers with dark green foliage and good branching habits, as existing varieties lack these specific characteristics or exhibit variations under different environmental conditions.
Innovation Solution
The cultivar 'LOBZ0016' was developed through a planned breeding program, combining the traits of a proprietary Lobelia plant with smaller flowers and upright habit as the female parent and another with dark blue to violet flowers and a trailing habit as the male parent, resulting in a plant with enhanced branching and mounding to upright growth habits, fixed through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a new Lobelia cultivar is developed to combine large flowers with dark green foliage and good branching, then the aesthetic quality and ornamental value are improved, but the breeding complexity and time required increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple desirable traits (large violet-rose flowers, dark green foliage, good branching habit, mounding to upright growth) into a single new cultivar LOBZ0016 through a planned breeding program, merging characteristics from two parent plants to create a unified improved variety
Solution Approach 2:
The new cultivar is propagated through asexual reproduction (cuttings) to create identical copies that retain the fixed combination of desirable traits, ensuring consistency across generations without the variability of sexual reproduction
2Loss of time
If existing Lobelia varieties are used, then the breeding time and resources are reduced, but the flower size, foliage color depth, and branching quality are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The breeding program was planned and executed in advance with specific parental selections made to predetermined breeding goals, allowing the desired traits to be fixed before commercial propagation begins
Solution Approach 2:
Once the desired trait combination is achieved in the new cultivar, asexual reproduction through cuttings creates genetically identical copies that maintain consistent flower size, foliage color, and branching characteristics across all propagated plants
3Adaptability or versatility
If Lobelia plants are propagated through sexual reproduction, then genetic diversity is increased, but the fixed desirable traits are not reliably retained in subsequent generations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asexual reproduction through vegetative cuttings to propagate the new cultivar, creating exact genetic copies that reliably retain the fixed combination of desirable traits (large violet-rose flowers, dark green foliage, good branching) without the genetic recombination that would occur in sexual reproduction
Data Source
AI summary
A new Lobelia plant named ‘LOBZ0016’ particularly distinguished by its relatively large, violet-rose flowers, dark green foliage, very good branching and a mounding to upright plant habit.