Stomatal Density and Length for Breeding of Evergreen Azaleas (Rhododendron simsii Planch.)

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The hentability of stomatal density and stomatal length has been studied for four evergreen azalea (Rhododendron simsii Planch.) cultivars with the aim to evaluate the possibilities of stomatal characteristics of parental plants for increasing the crown diameter – hence yield – of the offspring., A nearly complete diallel cross with reciprocals has been carried out with the four parental cultivars. Highly significant general combining ability (GCA) values of the parents were found for stomatal length and density, but not for the crown diameter. GCA values of crown diameters did not correspond with GCA values of either stomatal length or stomatal density. Therefore it was concluded that utilizing stomatal characteristics as a selection tool for an increased crown diameter (yield) in azalea., may not be feasible. Differences in crown diameter could not be explained from correlations with either stomatal density or stomatal length.