FLOWERING GEOPHYTES FROM CHILE

Cooperative research projects between the University of Connecticut in the United States of America and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and the Universidad de Talca in Chile on the breeding, propagation, physiology, micropropagation and production of flowering geophytes from Chile have been ongoing for several years. During the past 15 years, various interspecific and intraspecific hybrids of Alstroemeria species including A. pelegrina, A. pelegrina alba, A. aurea, A. werdermanii, A. kingii, A. magnifica and others have been bred using a combination of traditional and biotechnological techniques. In vitro techniques that have been used include micropropagation, somaclonal variation, and embryo culture. This research has allowed the introduction of several cultivars including the world’s only fragrant Alstroemeria cultivar, ‘Sweet Lauraη’. Other species which are being bred and studied include Conanthera bifolia, Conanthera campanulata, Conanthera trimaculata, several Rhodophiala spp. , Zephyra elegans, Leontochir ovallei, Pasithea coeruela, Herbertia lahue and others. A micropropagation project evaluating genotypic differences with Leucocoryne coquimbensis, L. coquimbensis alba, L. purpurea, L. ixioides and hybrids is ongoing. These unique Chilean species, plus others, have tremendous potential and value for breeding and development. They are being studied for their potential to be utilized as fresh cut flowers, potted crops, and as garden plants. INTRODUCTION Chile is located in the southwest corner of the South American continent and borders Peru to the north, Bolivia and Argentina to the east, the South Pole to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile is a very long (4,200 km) and narrow country; it is almost as long as the USA is wide, but its widest point is only about 240 km. The climates of Chile are very diverse: the northern part of Chile has the hot, dry Atacama Desert, the central part has Mediterranean-like weather, the southern part of Chile is cool and moist similar to Oregon, and the most southern region is bitter cold. Chile’s geographical isolation with the ocean on the western and southern sides, the Andes Mountains reaching as high as 6,500 meters to the east, and a desert to the north has made it an isolated botanical wonder with tremendous genetic diversity! The potential for new plant development from native Chilean species is great (Hughes, 2000). Chile’s geographical isolation has permitted the development of a notable and unique flora; species exist in Chile that do not exist anywhere else in the world. It is not surprising to find distinctive species, genera and even complete endemic botanical families (Arriagada and Zollner, 1995). In addition to its botanical potential, Chile shows an economic scenario that makes the development of commercial products attractive. Chile is the third largest exporter of floriculture products in South America, after Colombia and Ecuador, valued at $8.5 Proc. 8th Int. Symp. on Flowerbulbs Eds. G. Littlejohn et al. Acta Hort. 570, ISHS 2002 76 million (Hughes, 2000). Much of Chilean floriculture production is consumed domestically, although there is a growing market of bulbs (Lilium, Tulipa) for export. In 1996, the estimated area dedicated to cut flower production was more than 2,800 hectares. Chile has sustained positive growth levels for the past ten years. The average per capita growth rate during those years has been 5.3%, which implies that every 13 years the income per inhabitant is doubled. This is an achievement of great significance given that during the period between 1960 and 1990, the nation required 55 years to double the income per inhabitant. This economic growth and movement toward increased global integration has formed a base for strong export growth as well. The expansion has been evenly distributed across all export sectors, from mining to newer, non-traditional products. Open trade policies and a sensitivity to market needs have developed commodity and value-added exports with trading partners in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Chile currently exports more than 3,600 products with over 5,800 Chilean companies involved in more than 151 markets (CORFO, 1997). The potential for new ornamental plant development has grown exponentially. Of the 5,000+ native flowering plant species that grow in Chile, 50% are exclusives of that country (Zizca, 1992). There are 28 families of monocotyledons with 220 genera and more than 1,000 species. The petaloid geophytes are represented by approximately 180 species, with almost 90% of them endemic (Hoffmann, 1989). These plants are found all over the country: in the northern part of Chile encompassed by the hot, dry Atacama Desert, in the temperate central part with Mediterranean-like weather, and in the cool, moist southern part of Chile. CHILEAN GEOPHYTES WITH POTENTIAL Many bulbous species lend themselves well to commercial floriculture production because the bulbs are often easy to ship, inexpensive to produce, and grow rapidly after receiving the proper environmental conditions in the correct sequence. The challenge in developing production protocols is determining the proper environmental conditions and sequence for the rapid production of high quality flowers. The storage organs of bulbous species allow the plant to survive a period of adverse environmental conditions. Bulbs often have a dormancy requirement that must be broken by a period of warm or cold, or various combinations of warm and cold storage (De Hertogh, 1996; De Hertogh and Le Nard, 1993). Many bulbous species also have specific environmental requirements for flower induction, initiation, maturation and elongation, root growth, and foliage growth. The success of research on the scheduling and production of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and other bulb species is well documented (De Hertogh, 1996). The Chilean bulb species being investigated are also spring flowering and require a temperature sequence for proper development. Of the subclass Monocotyledonae (monocots), almost all of the Chilean petaloid monocots are located in the superorder Liliflorae (Watson and Dallwitz, 1991). The orders Asparagales, Liliales and Burmanniales have 9 families, 40 genera, and 180 species of Chilean geophytes. The nine families that are represented in Chile are Alliaceae, Alstroemeriaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Anthericaceae, Corsiaceae, Hyacinthaceae, Iridaceae, Orchidaceae, and Tecophilaceae. The families within the Asparagales order that have potential for new plant development in Chile include the Alliaceae, the Amaryllidaceae, the Anthericaceae, and the Tecophilaeae. A more detailed analysis of these families and their ornamental potential is detailed below. Alstroemeriaceae Since 1987, research on the breeding and physiology of Alstroemeria, or Lily-ofthe-Incas, has been ongoing at the University of Connecticut. Since 1996, this research has been in cooperation with the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile in Santiago, Chile and the Universidad de Talca in Talca, Chile. The breeding program, which was initially funded by the American Floral Endowment and the Gloeckner Foundation, has