Horticultural Studies (HortiS) 2012, Vol 29, Num, 1     (Pages: 37-47)

USAGE POSSIBILITIES OF SOME GYPSOPHILA SPECIES NATURALLY GROWN IN TÜRKİYE AS ORNAMENTAL PLANTS

Ayşe Serpil KAYA 1 ,Özgül KARAGÜZEL 1 ,Köksal AYDİNŞAKİR 1 ,Soner KAZAZ 2 ,Adnan ÖZÇELİK 3

1 Batı Akdeniz Tarımsal Araştırma Enstitüsü, Antalya
2 Ankara Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Bahçe Bitkileri Bölümü, Ankara
3 Patara Tarım Ltd. Şti., Antalya
Viewed : 1567 - Downloaded : 10325 Türkiye is the homeland of many plant species as it is located in a region where three important gene centers intersect. The richness of the Turkish flora is also an important source for the utilization of plants with different purposes. Therefore, it is quite essential to cultivate the species in our flora and determine their usage possibilities in the ornamental plants sector both in terms of the ex-situ conservation of the species and their conversion into an economic value. In this study that was conducted between 2005 and 2008, the populations of Gypsophila (Gypsophila sp.) species distributed in the natural vegetation of Türkiye were studied in terms of their potential for usage as ornamental plants, and seed and herbarium specimens were collected from 118 different locations. In addition, some 11 natural Gypsophila populations obtained from the Center for Gene Sources of the Aegean Agricultural Research Institute were also evaluated in the study. The seeds were sown in the Bati Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute in Antalya, and the seedlings obtained were transferred to the collection garden and examined in terms of some phenological-morphological characteristics (plant height, branching status, petal shape, petal size, and petal color). With the data obtained in the study, suggestions were made about in which area the species under examination could be utilized in the ornamental plants sector. Furthermore, the obtained materials can be used as breeding materials in future studies. Keywords : Floriculture, Gypsophila, Genetic resources