Abstract
In Sweetpea, the tendril-less trait is very important as a labor saving trait in forced cut flower production, because unnecessary tendrils and lateral buds markedly increase the amount of labor and production management cost. Two new tendril-less cut flower cultivars, ‘Musica rose’ and ‘Musica purple’, were bred and their labor saving effects were investigated. These cultivars were derived from crosses between tendril-less and normal tendril cultivars. Because the tendril-less trait is recessive, it was selected in the F2 generation and fixed in the F3 generation. ‘Musica rose’ is a spring-flowering-type cultivar, with strong purplish pink flowers of a large diameter, whereas ‘Musica purple’ is a winter-flowering-type cultivar, with vivid reddish purple flowers of a medium diameter. Although ‘Musica purple’ is a winter-flowering-type cultivar, it is possible to cultivate it as a spring-flowering-type cultivar on forced culture. Under routine training, the operation times for the two new tendril-less cultivars were less than half that for normal tendril cultivars. Furthermore, the results of motion analysis suggest that the required angles of movement of worker’s elbows and wrists were narrower and distances of movement of elbows were shorter for tendril-less cultivars than for normal tendril cultivars. These results suggest that tendril-less cultivars reduce the burden on workers.
