Abstract:

Objective: The objective of this study is to breed Camellia oleifera cultivars with high yield, stable yield, strong stress resistance and suitable for mechanized cultivation, so as to provide a new generation of improved cultivars for the high-quality development of C. oleifera industry. Method: In the early and middle 1980s, 14 elite clones of C. oleifera were selected from Chaling County, Hunan Province, the central producing area of C. oleifera, and a total of 84 clonal comparison test forests were established combined with 70 selected elite clones of C. oleifera from all over the country. The experimental design was 10 plants per plot and three replicates. After 2006, the production was continuously measured and the economic traits were evaluated on each clone for 3 years. Result: In 2008, three large-fruited C. oleifera varieties, namely ‘Huaxin’, ‘Huajin’ and ‘Huashuo’, were selected from 84 elite clones, all of which originated from Chaling. Compared with other clones, these varieties had larger fruits, higher yields, stable yields, stronger adaptability, lower production cost, and were easy to identify, and suitable for mechanized harvesting, with simple and efficient variety allocation. Conclusion: In 2009, the three C. oleifera varieties of ‘Huaxin’, ‘Huajin’ and ‘Huashuo’ passed the approval of national forest cultivars committee, and in 2021, they passed the approval of planting expansion scope, and were listed as among 16 main recommended cultivars of C. oleifera by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Now they have been widely applied in Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hubei, Henan, Sichuan provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions, which has effectively promoted the upgrading of C. oleifera cultivars and the high-quality development of the industry in China.

Key words: Camellia oleifera, ‘Huaxin’, ‘Huajin’, ‘Huashuo’, breeding of elite varieties, application