Abstract:

The appearance of variedness and biological characteristics of three variegated sport varieties and their mother plant of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Mizhi Meihong’ were compared with virological identification, anatomy of blade, content of pigments and photosynthetic traits. The leaf extracts from the plants were used to inoculate Glycine max, Cucumis sativus, Capsicum annuum, Solanum lycopersicum, L. chinense var. rubrum. The results showed that the inoculated plants grew well, and did not exhibit any virus symptom. No viral granule was detected by TEM. The bud sport varieties were able to maintain their trait of variegated color by cutting propagation, and they had higher resistance to plant diseases and insect pests and were suitable to growing in field in Hunan Province. There was remarkable difference in thickness of leaves, upper epidermis and lower epidermis among 4 plant specimens. The contents of carotenoid and anthocyanin of variegated sport leaves were distinct dissimilar among 3 sport varieties, and the net photosynthetic rates were higher than their mother plants. The sport varieties had significant distinct flower colors as well as leaf colors from their mother plant. The varieties were elite germ plasm resource for breeding of L. chinense var. rubrum. Especially, the No.2 sport variety could be a prospective commercial product.

Key words: Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum, bud sport, leaf variegation