2008 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 11-16
Crossings between triploid and diploid in cultivated Japanese butterbur (Petasites japonicus Fr. Schmidt) were made and the agronomic traits of hybrid plants for harvesting petioles were investigated. As a result hybrid plants from the crosses of ‘Aichiwasebuki’ (triploid) × ‘Mizubuki’ (diploid, native cultivar of Gunma pref.), ‘Mizubuki’ (triploid, native cultivar of Tokushima pref.) × ‘Mizubuki’ (Gunma) and ‘Kibiji’ (triploid) × ‘Mizubuki’ (Gunma) were obtained. Some hybrid plants from ‘Aichiwasebuki’ × ‘Mizubuki’ (Gunma) grew more vigorously than their parents. Among hybrid plants, there were several hybrids that did not develop anthocyanin pigments at petioles. By flow cytometry, the hybrid plant ‘AM-35’ was estimated as diploid, and ‘AM-1’ and ‘AM-51’ as aneuploid. ‘AM-1’ showed early maturing, high petiole yield, and less anthocyanin pigments at the petioles compared with ‘Aichiwasebuki’. Therefore, there is a possibility of selecting a new cultivar for harvesting petioles from hybrid plants of ‘Aichiwasebuki’ (triploid) and ‘Mizubuki’ (diploid, Gunma).