Results of breeding work with Callistephus chinensis in the Stavropol Botanical Garden

Relevance . Due to the versatility of its use, the annual astra has become widespread in many countries of the world and in Russia. The range of plants is expanding annually due to the introduction of wild species into the culture and the creation of new varieties. Methods. To obtain economically valuable mutations, the methods of chemical and radiomutagenesis were used in the work. In 2010, experience was established to study the effects of an aqueous solution of colchicine in concentrations 0,05%, 0,1%, 0,5%, 1,0% for seeds of 14 varieties of aster (repeated in 2021). The first experiments on irradiation of callistephus seeds were carried out in 2002–2005. Dry seeds of annual aster (10–15 varieties) were irradiated with the radioisotope 60Со in the GUR-120 installation at the Kurchatov Institute Research Center — All-Russian Research Institute of Radiology and Agroecology. Results . During the years of research, plants with late flowering periods, high double inflorescence, and low bush habit were obtained. Such a high diversity of variability confirms the assumption that it is possible to obtain varieties with new characteristics. As a result of the work, families were selected that have high decorative qualities and resistance to fusarium and jaundice. The optimal irradiation power of 0.9 Gy/s with a total radiation dose of 20–90 Gy/s has been established. In 2023, patents were obtained for new varieties of universal purpose Star of Stavropol, Sapphire, Raspberry, Gentle, Ladnaya, Silvery, they were entered into the State Register of Breeding Achievements. About 1,000 plants are selected annually to consolidate homozygosity of traits. Plants that have significant differences in many respects continue to stand out. This is how the new variety type Delight was identified. Work in this direction continues.