Daylily Cultivars Research Articles

Influence of Different Crown Manipulation Treatments on Shoot Production of Four Cultivars of Daylily

During Fall 2003, a study similar to that of Fall 2002 was conducted to determine the effect of crown manipulation on shoot production in four cultivars of daylily. Three crown manipulation treatments: (1) the shoot cut back two centimeters from crown, (2) the shoot cut back to the crown, and (3) shoot cut back to the crown and scooped out were compared to a control. Four daylily cultivars, `Bull Durham', `Amber Lamp', `Angus McLeod', and `Alvatine Taylor' were used in this study. After eight weeks of observations, the results showed that the cut back to crown treatment caused a significant increase in the number of shoots when compared to the control and other two treatments. Shoot production for the cultivar `Angus McLeod' was significantly better than the other cultivars. Results obtained for Fall 2003 study were similar to that of Fall 2002. These results imply that cutting the shoots back to the crown in some daylily cultivars could possibly be used to enhance multiplication of daylilies during propagation.

Sensory Evaluation of Edible Daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.)

Flowers are traditionally used to flavor and garnish dishes. There are many different varieties of edible flowers such as daylilies (Hemerocallis sp.). Daylilies come in many varieties and colors. Their blooms and buds are tasty and nutritious. The objective of this study was to indicate most preferred to least preferred among 15 daylily cultivars (Gentle Shepherd, Lavender Doll, Siloam Powder Pink, Aztec Gold, Rosie Meyers, Catherine Woodberry, Pink Charm, Virginia Henson, Lemon Yellow, Joan Senior, Along the Way, Border Baby, Bonanza, Pandora's Box, and Apricot Beauty). A consumer panel was conducted evaluating the taste preference of fifteen participants to an assortment of daylilies. Panelists were associated with Mississippi State Univ.. Each panelist received 15 different daylily blooms. The ranking methods and analysis of variance were used to determine the preference. The questionnaire for ranking given to each panelist stated to “Please taste each numbered sample and rank in order of preference with the first being most preferred and last being least preferred and to provide comments.” Among the 15 daylilies tested, Rosie Meyer was the most preferred, followed by a second group that consisted of Lavender Doll, Jones Senior, and Aztec Gold. The third most preferred group consisted of two, Gentle Shepherd and Along the Way. The preference for the remainder tapered off with the last two samples, Bonanza and Border Baby. These results suggest that of the 15 daylily varieties, Border Baby and Bonanza were statistically non-preferred with no daylily being statistically preferred.

Evaluation of genetic variation in the daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) using AFLP markers

The daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) is one of the most economically important ornamental plant species in commerce. Interestingly, it is also one of the most heavily bred crops during the past 60 years. Since the American Hemerocallis Society began acting as the official registry of daylily cultivars in 1947, more than 40 000 registrations have been processed. In order to determine the effects of intensive breeding on cultivar development, and to study relationships among different species, genetic variation in the daylily was estimated using AFLP markers. Nineteen primary genotypes (species and early cultivars) and 100 modern cultivars from different time periods were evaluated using 152 unambiguous bands (average 79% polymorphism rate) derived from three AFLP primer combinations. Overall, pairwise similarity estimates between entries ranged between 0.618 and 0.926 (average=0.800). When comparing cultivar groups from different time periods (1940–1998), genetic similarity was initially increased, compared to the primary diploid genotypes, remained constant from 1940 to 1980, and then steadily increased as breeding efforts intensified and hybridizers began focusing on a limited tetraploid germplasm pool derived by colchicine conversion. Among modern (1991–1998) daylily cultivars, genetic similarity has increased by approximately 10% compared to the primary genotypes. These data were also used to evaluate recent taxonomic classifications among daylily species which, with a few minor exceptions, were generally supported by the AFLP data.

Propagation of Daylilies by Tissue Culture1

Abstract Tissue culture techniques can be used to rapidly propagate tetraploid daylilies and speed the commercial release of new daylily cultivars (Hemerocallis sp.) by several years. Inflorescence slices of tetraploid daylily cultivars regenerated callus in vitro in the dark on a modified Murashige-Skoog high salt medium supplemented with 10 mg/liter naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 0.1 mg/liter kinetin. Callus pieces transferred to a similar medium with 0.5 mg/liter NAA and 0.1 mg/liter kinetin in the light produced plantlets and produced true-to-type flowering plants when transplanted to a greenhouse growing medium.