Ornamental plant breeding in a changing competitive environment

Abstract

The ornamental plant breeders operate in a global market and are required to develop varieties that can be
produced and commercialized worldwide. The entire ornamental plant sector is currently in a phase of consolidation. Both in breeding as well as in production and trade a steady concentration on less but larger companies can be observed. With regard to the consumer, the ornamental plant consumption in developed markets such as Germany is currently stagnating or even declining for many products. However, in other regions of Europe, Asia and South America new markets for ornamental plants are emerging.
In its objective, ornamental plant breeding must take into account the requirements and the interests of all
actors in the value chain from the producer via the retail market to the consumer. The targets are primarily efficiency in production as well as quality assurance on the way from the producer to the consumer. Sustainability in terms of resource-conserving production and reduced use of chemicals is becoming an increasingly important breeding target. Particularly with regard to the consumer, novelties have always been very important for the ornamental plant business, and they can make a significant contribution to the currently intensively discussed valorisation of ornamental plants. Along with the breeding of varieties with new traits in established ornamental plant species, over the past two decades there has been an enormous expansion of genera and species which are used in breeding.
Until now, new ornamental plant varieties are almost exclusively produced by conventional cross-breeding. In maddition, mutation breeding is an important breeding method. ... see full text for more