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Alstroemeria belongs to the family Alstromeriaceae. Alstroemeria flowers third in terms of popularity and foreign exchange earnings in Kenya after roses and statice. Alstroemeria is named after a Swedish botanist “Baron Klas von Alstroemer”. The popularity of this flower is still growing in the global perspective. It is one of the quickest growing flowers with varying colours like purple, lavender, salmon, red, pink, white, orange, yellow and bicolour. It is grown for cut flowers but is also popular as a potted plant. It is grown in the higher ranges of the Western Ghats, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Karnataka in India.

ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION

The alstroemeria, sometimes called the Peruvian Lily, is native to Tropical America particularly Chile. There are some 30 species of alstroemeria that occurs in grasslands and Pampas of South America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. In America, it flourishes in different climates from high in the Andes mountains to the deserts of Pacific coastline. Even deep into the tropics of Brazil, the plants flourish abundantly. It was introduced to Europe in 1753 when seeds were sent to Europe by Claus Alstroemeria of Sweden during his travels in South America. It was widely cultivated in England during the early 1800’s and it was John Hedgewood, the founder of the Horticultural Society who first introduced the white variety in 1832. Since then, the Alstroemeria has been hybridized extensively. It is named after a Swedish botanist, Baron Klas von Alstroemer, who brought the first seeds of A. oelegrina from South America to Europe. Columbia is the number one in the world as far as growing area of alstroemeria is concerned. The second and third positions are taken by the Netherlands and Japan respectively. Other producing countries are United Kingdom and Italy. Alstroemeria is a new introduction into the world floriculture scene.

Most commercial cultivars of alstroemeria are patented and protected through plant breeder’s rights. Because of the fact that quite a large number of new varieties and hybrids of alstroemeria are planted in various countries in each year, royalty is paid based upon their square footage under production or number of plants leased. The new Inca Collection bred by Konst Alstroemeria B.V. is a breakthrough in the presently dwarf alstroemeria assortment. The new extended range of alstroemeria cultivar offers the opportunity to grow these top quality perennials in the garden, pots and for cut flower. These dwarf type plants reaching a height from 20-50 cm, combine with the quality and colours of the long lasting flowers. New varieties have gained popularity in California (USA), New South Wales (Australia) and Spanish south east coastline, Sicily (Italy). However, for a very long time already alstroemeria has been cherished worldwide for its exotic flowers.

In India cultivation of alstroemeria has been started around Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. It has been introduced in Palampur, Solan, Srinagar and hills of Uttrakhand and Ooty, to popularize this crop among growers for domestic and export markets (Singh, 2006).

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are legal rights, which result from intellectual activity in industrial, scientific, literary and artistic fields. These rights safeguard creators and other producers of intellectual goods and services by granting them certain time-limited rights to control their use. Protected IP rights like other property can be a matter of trade, which can be owned, sold or bought. These are intangible and non exhausted consumption. The term “intellectual property” denotes the specific legal rights which authors, inventors and other IP holders may hold and exercise and not the intellectual work itself (Chadha, 2013). Intellectual property rights are essentially territorial in nature so, where registration is necessary, for patents, registered designs and trademarks, these will not exist in other countries unless registration has been sought and obtained there.

IP protection is crucial for a sustainable contribution of plant breeding and seed supply. Breeding new varieties of plants, which are developed after contributing number of years to the selective inheritance of traits which provide improved yields, higher quality and better resistance to such plant varieties requires a substantial investment in terms of skill, labour, material and economic resources. However, a new variety once released could in many cases be readily reproduced by others so as to deprive its breeder of the opportunity to benefit adequately from the investment made. Thus, an effective system of plant variety protection (PVP) is a key enabler for investment in breeding and the development of new varieties of plants or improving existing plant varieties, encourage importation of foreign varieties, promote exportation of plant varieties provide access to information of the created products and the methodology of creation for the enhancement of social welfare and generally benefit the market place. An international system of IPR protection for plant varieties expands these benefits by facilitating access to new varieties created in other states (Gautam et al., 2012).

Intellectual property is usually divided into two branches: (i) industrial property and(ii) copyright and the rights which neighbour upon copyright. The principal categories of industrial property are: patents, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and trade secrets. Industrial property according to the 1883 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is to be understood in the broadest sense and to apply not only to industry and commerce proper but also to agricultural and extractive industries and to all manufactured or natural products including wines, grain, tobacco, leaf, fruit, cattle, minerals, mineral waters, beer, flowers and flour.

INTRODUCTION

Hybrid crops are derived from an established and well-proven breeding method used in ornamental sectors. The development of hybrid crops has been one of the major factors behind a dramatic increase in global crop yields. Hybrid is produced by crossing between two genetically dissimilar parents. Pollen from male parent called pollen parent will pollinate, fertilize and set seeds in female called seed parent to produce F₁ hybrid seeds. For production of a hybrid, crossing between two parents is important, the crossing process will results in heterosis or hybrid vigour. Heterosis is defined as the increase in size or vigour of a hybrid over its parent. This boost in performance, combining the best yield, quality and agronomic characters from each parent, is the result of hybrid breeding.

F₁ hybrid seed offers to the growers a significant benefits in terms of yield improvement, agronomic performance and consistency of end-use quality. But attempting to farm-save hybrid varieties will result in segregating populations producing highly variable offspring, which can lead to reduced yield, disease resistance and quality. As this factsheet explains, it doesn’t make economic or agronomic sense to save seed of an F₁ hybrid. In self pollinated crops it is difficult to cross but in cross pollinated crops it is easier. In nature to create genetic variability and for its wider adaptation in different environmental conditions, flowering plants has adopted many mechanisms for cross pollination. Cross pollination results in genetic heterogeneity and show wider adaptations. F₁ hybrids are in immense usage throughout the world with the rapid increasing interest in flowers, however the total number of the hybrids developed in flowers is still less. In India hybrid seed production is taken up in Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh for export.

F₁ hybrids in ornamental crops were known even before Shull 1911 when he propounded the classical theory of hybrid vigour in plant breeding for the first time. In 1909 F₁ hybrid variety Prima Donna in begonia was released by Benary Seed Company in Germany. The first commercial F₁ hybrid in petunia was produced by Japan during World War II, in 1942. From 1950 onwards, F₁ hybrids were available in ornamental flowers from The Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, USA and UK besides Japan and produced in flower crops like ageratum, anemone, gerbera, primula, petunia, cyclamen, marigold, pansies, begonia, geranium, portulaca, dianthus, balsam, stock, wall flower, ornamental sunflower, gazania, hollyhock, calceolaria and zinnia. Flower breeders became familiar with the F₁ hybrid production of those crops also which were formerly propagated by vegetative parts such as pelargonium and gerbera. A few important hybrids were first released in petunia in 1940-50, geranium single in 1960, antirrhinum, marigold, pansy and zinnia in 1965, ageratum in 1966, geranium double in 1970, dianthus, impatiens, portulaca in 1976-77, gerbera in 1980 and carnation in 1981.

MOLECULAR BREEDING

Molecular breeding is the application of molecular biology tools, often in plant breeding.

Genetic markers

Genetic marker is defined as a gene whose phenotypic expression is usually easily discerned, used to identify an individual or a cell that carries it, or as a probe to mark a nucleus, chromosomes or locus (King and Stansfield, 1990). Three broad classes of genetic markers are morphological markers, biochemical markers and DNA or molecular markers.

(1) Morphological markers

Morphological markers are based on the visually assessable traits viz., morphological and agronomic traits. However, they are limited in number.

Features of morphological markers

i.They are easy to identify, there is no need of any complex analysis. Trait of interest can be identified visually.

ii.Morphological markers are inherited qualitatively or quantitatively.

iii.Frequency of availability of morphological markers is less in number i.e., morphological markers may not be available for all the traits of interest.

iv.They are influenced by environment.

v.Since they are influenced by environment, they are unstable in inheritance.

vi.They are stage specific i.e., a particular marker will be useful to identify in a particular stage of plant and not any stage of the plant.

vii.They are influenced by genotype and developmental stages of the plant.

Besides drawbacks, the morphological markers are useful to the plant breeders for the selection purpose in certain situation.

MUTATION BREEDING

Mutation refers to sudden heritable change in phenotype of an organism or permanent change in the number, kind and sequence of nucleotides in genetic material, while individuals showing these changes are known as mutants. Mutation was first discovered by Wright in 1791 in male lamb which had short legs. Hugo de vries coined the term mutation. In crop improvement the breeders are always look for wide range of variability and stabilization of desirable traits. Mutation breeding is very useful in inducing new variability, which is an essential requirement of any plant breeding programme. The modern day cultivars are the resultants of various breeding techniques like selection, hybridization, tissue culture and mutagenesis including some biotechnological tools. Novelty in commercial traits like colour, size, shape, length, post harvest life of flowers etc. are always valued and preferred by consumers. Mutation breeding by exposing planting material with irradiation has play vital role in inducing novelty in a number of flower crops.

TYPES OF MUTATION

Based on occurrence

(1)Spontaneous mutation: Occur spontaneously in nature and not present in sufficiently high frequency and spectrum.

(2)Induced mutation: Artificially produced by the treatment of various mutagenic agents and present in sufficiently high frequency and spectrum

INTRODUCTION

Various procedures which are used for genetic improvement of crop plants are known as breeding methods. The breeding approaches that are more commonly used for genetic improvement of crop plants are called conventional breeding methods. Following conventional breeding methods were followed in improvement of crops.

(A)Plant introduction

(B)Pureline selection

(C)Mass selection

(D)Progeny selection

(E)Synthetic and composite breeding

(F)Pedigree method

(G)Bulk method

(H)Backcross method

(I)Heterosis breeding

(J)Clonal selection

WORLD HISTORY

Work on ornamental crops was first initiated in Krelage Nursery founded by Ernst Heinrich Krelage for bulbs, lilium and dahlias in 1811. During 1895, Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute was established for ornamental crops. The first yellow corn Golden Bnatam was listed in Burpee’s Catalogue in 1902. In 1909 Primadonna F₁ hybrid variety of begonia was released by the Benary Seed Company in Germany and in the same year Atlee established seed farms at Floradale in California, Erfurt in Germany Anglia in UK and Kashmir valley in India for annual garden flowers. Luther Burbank did excellent breeding works on ornamental trees, flowers and fruits in 1926.

David developed the first successful hybrid in Nasturtium (1934) and Red and Gold hybrids of marigold (1937). In 1940, Burpee was successful in chromosome doubling and transformation of wild flowers and developed “Bright Scarlet” and “Super Tetra Series” in antirrhinum and “Jumbo Scarlet” in zinnia. He produced new strains of marigold, zinnia, nasturtium and snapdragon. William Houston in 1940 initiated the Ageratum breeding. Morden Research station was set up in Western Canada in 1945 for ornamental crop breeding. In 1968, Dr. Gustav A.L., Mehlquist was recognized as an international authority on breeding of ornamental plants. George J. Ball breeder of peas, asters and calendulas was a pioneer for the supply of dwarf impatiens and orange impatiens ‘Super Elfin’ in 1968. Israeli breeders during 1990 gave more attention towards the development of carnation, lily and anemone varieties. Longwood Gardens in 2008 got success in breeding of stock. The first record of chrysanthemum hybridization, germination and selection of superior seedlings occurred in 1827 by M. Bernet.

Microbial inoculants in agriculture, horticulture and forestry can be defined as preparations containing strains of microorganisms which can augment the microbiological process such as nitrogen fixation, phosphate mobilization, excretion of growth promoting substances, decomposition of organic wastes, biocontrol of insect pests and diseases etc. Thus they become an important component of sustainable agriculture. Microbial inoculants are based on renewable sources available in soil and nature and are low cost input and eco-friendly. These inoculants carrying the microorganisms when applied to soil/plant promote plant growth and productivity.

Sustainable agriculture or organic farming wherein biological inputs are maximum and chemical inputs are minimal, is drawing the attention of farmers across the world including India. For replacing chemical fertilizers, which supply plant nutrients by organic manure, the basic requirement is the availability of raw material i.e. the organic matter or biomass that can be decomposed to organic manure. The question that is often asked is what are the different sources of available biomass and how much of it is available? Different sources of biomass can be categorized as

Herbicides are the chemical substances used to kill weeds, i.e., unwanted plants that compete with crop plants for soil nutrients. Chemical herbicides are the most effective immediate solution to most weed problems. Use of chemicals, however, can be harmful to wildlife, to the environment and to humans. Chemicals are also expensive, and weeds develop resistance to the chemicals. For these reasons, there is now a move toward alternative methods of controlling the weeds. One of the most promising is biological weed control, which involves using one living organism to control the activities of another organism.

The adoption of modern agricultural technologies has culminated into serious problems of pesticide resistance in major pests, resurgence in minor pests, elimination of populations of natural parasites, predators and pollinators, environmental pollution, pesticide residues in food chain and health hazards. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates one million pesticides poisoning cases and 20,000 deaths every year globally. This is due to high pesticide residues in food chain including cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products (including mother’s milk), fishes, poultry, meat products and water. Twenty five per cent of Indian food products contain pesticide residues above tolerance level compared to only 1.2% globally.

Emphasis of present day agriculture is to produce more with lesser land, water and man power. Apart from natural calamities like drought, flood etc., biotic stresses like pests, diseases and weeds also influence the crop productivity greatly. Sixty to eighty per cent of the total crop losses are attributed to the devastations caused by pests and diseases. Farmer’s income in recent years is decreasing gradually due to increased cost of inputs particularly in plant protection. The excessive dependence on chemical pesticides leads to the development of resistance in insect pests and pathogens, out breaks of secondary pests and pathogens / biotypes and occurrence of residues in food chain. To avoid this situation the concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)/ Integrated Disease Management (IDM) approach should be considered on top priority.

The rhizosphere is the narrow zone of soil surrounding the root that is under the immediate influence of the root system. This zone is rich in nutrients when compared with the bulk soil, due to the accumulation of a variety of organic compounds released from roots by exudation, secretion and deposition. Organic compounds released by plant roots include amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides, organic acids, phenolics, plant growth regulators, putrescine, sterols, sugars and vitamins. Because these organic compounds can be used as carbon and energy source by microorganisms, microbial growth and activity is particularly intense in the rhizosphere.

Phosphorus is one of the essential nutrients for plant growth. It is an integral part of the cellular activities of the living organisms. It has a defined role in plant metabolism such as cell division, development, photosynthesis, break down of sugar, nutrient transport within the plant, transfer of genetic characteristics from one generation to another and regulation of metabolic pathways. Phosphorus is a frequently limiting macronutrient next only to nitrogen for plant growth and makes up about 0.2% of plant dry weight. The plants obtain their P requirement from the soil pool. It occurs in soil as inorganic phosphates, produced by weathering of parent rock or as organic phosphate derived from decayed plant, animal, or microorganisms.

Nitrogen is the most important element on which depends growth and productivity of plants. It is also the most abundant molecule in the atmosphere (80%), yet it cannot be utilized by plants. The plant utilizable form of nitrogen is either, its most oxidized form, the nitrates or the most reduced state, the ammonia.  The indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers amounts to depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels used in fertilizer production. Sustainable agriculture depends largely on renewable resources and on-farm nitrogen contributions are achieved largely through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), which helps in maintaining and/or improving soil fertility by using atmospheric nitrogen. Annually BNF is estimated to be around 175 million tonnes of which close to 79% is accounted for by terrestrial fixation.

The term soil refers to the outer, loose material of the earth’s surface, a layer distinctly different from the underlying parent rock. A number of features characterize this region of the earth’s crust. It is the natural medium, which supports plant growth. It provides the physical support needed for the root system and also supplies nutrients needed for plant growth. It is a perennial source of organic matter. It supports a vast population of microorganisms.

Biotechnology plays a very important role in agriculture as a result of its ability to modify microorganisms, plants, animals, and agricultural processes. The umbrella of microbial technology in agriculture covers numerous scientific activities, ranging from production of biofertilizers to that of microbial pesticides; from biological nitrogen fixation to lignocellulose degradation; from production of biomass and biofuels to transgenic plants. Terrestrial ecosystem contains an important dynamic living matrix termed soil, which is critical for agricultural production and food security. Soil forms the medium for growth and maintenance of a variety of plant species. Soil is considered a store house of microbial activity, though the space occupied by living microorganisms is estimated to be less than 5% of total space.

Zero energy cool chamber : Zero energy cool chamber storage significantly delays the rate of increase in physiological loss of weight (PLW) of the fruits stored in cool chamber 30% (mango) to 70% (banana) lower than that of the fruits stored in ambient conditions. Cool chamber storage extended the storage life of mango by 3 to 6 days and that of banana by 5 to 8 days over those in ambient conditions.

Yaw: Aircraft rotation around the vertical axis (NCRST).

Yeasts : Unicellular micro-organisms, (fungi) producing zymase (enzyme), which converts sugars into alchohol and CO₂. A single-celled ascomycete fungus, economically important in capable of fermentation and an important source of vitamins.

Yield: Plant part harvested and the quantity of it. In agriculture, necessarily related to a specified crop or crops or to a group of animals or to an area, and to a period of time. For multipurpose trees, the amount of each specified part harvested. See also Production.

Wasteland: Land not capable of producing materials or services of values.

Water available : The amount of water, plants can extract from unit volume of soil. It is mainly derived from capillary water and corresponds roughly to the water held by the soil between the limits of field moisture capacity and the wilting co-efficient.

Water balance: i) The distribution of water in space, and over time, within a system. Where plants are growing on land this means considering rainfall (and also interception loss, stemflow and throughfall), drainage, evapotranspiration, runoff and soil water storage. ii) Balance of input and output of water within a given defined hydrological area such as a basin or a lake, taking into account net changes of storage.