Mohammad Hossein Azimi - Ornamental Plants Research Center (OPRC), Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Mahallat, Iran

Purpose: The purposes of this research were to assess important traits and heterosis and to introduce superior hybrids of Iris germanica.Research method: 28 hybrids and seven parents of Iris rhizomatous were evaluated. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications at the Ornamental Plants Research Center (OPRC) from 2014 to 2018. Findings: Hybrid of oprc37 (cross of V5×V4) had a higher positive of heterosis in flower size, leaf width, and hybrid of oprc25 (V8×V6) in the inner tepal length and outer tepal width in superior parents compared to their parents. The highest heterosis was observed for the traits of peduncle length, peduncle diameter and crown diameter, respectively, in some hybrids of oprc20 (V2×V4) and oprc16 (V2×V5). Hybrids of oprc42 and oprc43 of the cross between I. spuria and I. germanica (V7×V2) in the most traits in superior parents and self-parents had higher positive of heterosis. It can be expected that these selected F1 (oprc37, oprc25, oprc20 and oprc16) to able introduced as a variety of commercial, developed on the market ornamental plants.Limitations: No limitations were found. Originality/Value: Inter-varietal hybridization is an effective way to contribute to the phenotypic variation of Iris flowers, to produce new plant materials for breeding purposes and to release new cultivars.

Flower size, Heterosis, hybridization, inner tepal, variation