April 2020 - 23

VARIETY INFORMATION
more muted, less captivating colors
choices. It is when we are able to
combine a great flower color or
pattern with an improved plant
characteristic that we really feel we
are moving our breeding, and the
plant class as a whole, forward.
THE FUTURE OF PETUNIA
AND CALIBRACHOA
Even with these similarities in
priorities, petunias and calibrachoa
do differ in a few ways. The most
significant, for Westhoff, is that
petunias have been actively bred
and improved for a longer time. This
longer timeframe has led to ample
opportunities to try new crosses
and discover patterns and colors
that did not exist before. It can be
seen with calibrachoa that every
time a new pattern is introduced,
usually a similar pattern has been
found in petunias before. Since they
are closely related, this is not very
surprising, but with the continued
rise in popularity of calibrachoa
over petunia, we will likely see
more of these classic petunia
patterns showing up in the newest
calibrachoa breeding.
Plant breeding companies
are currently in the midst of a
renaissance in breeding, developing
and bringing to market novel plant
varieties - and we are still only
seeing the very tip of the iceberg of
what is possible. But simply because
we are currently all benefiting from
this wave of diversity, there are some
concerning clouds on the horizon.
The continued consolidation of plant
breeding companies may in the long
run reduce the healthy competition
that helps drive innovation, and new
legal protections coming into more
common use may end up restricting
the pool of high-quality genetics that
has historically allowed for the free
exchange of beneficial traits.
The plant breeding industry has
always built upon the successes
and innovations that we individually
achieve to eventually improve the
quality of products available to the
gardening public. And although we
must always protect the breeder's
rights to be fairly compensated for
their hard work, limiting the free flow
of genetics will only lead to reduced
innovation, and eventual stagnation,
of the driving engine of the
ornamental greenhouse industry.
But despite these challenges, I
think that the outlook for the future
of ornamental plant breeding is very
bright. It is entertaining to discuss
the potential new developments
that are coming - but because
we have so much more to discover,
it is the unknown advances and
the chance for finding something
completely new, cultivating that
novelty and bringing it to market
that are the most exciting. With
every new batch of seedlings is the
chance to move forward and share
some of our passion for flowers
with growers and gardeners around
the world.
Bart Hayes is sales manager for
Westhoff. He can be reached at bart.
hayes@westflowers.de.
Drowning in
Irrigation Questions?
Let Dramm Design Your System for Free
Propagation &
Overhead Systems
Unmatched coverage.
Easy to install.
Drip Irrigation
NEW-Accurate emitter
with less clogging & easy
to use slim weight.
Polyrail
Prevents lines
from sagging.
Easy to install.
Complete Water
Treatment
Reuse, clean and
disinfect your water.
Dramm has the experience, products,
and staff to design and support your
complete irrigation system.
®
Online quote tool available.
CALL TODAY TO LEARN HOW WE CAN HELP.
Integrated Plant Health
information@dramm.com
www.dramm.com
920.684.0227
http://www.dramm.com
April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2020
