Inheritance of flower color in Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev. (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) using cultivars and inbreds. II: Vacuole pigmentation

Dendranthema grandiflora Tzvelev (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) garden cultivars Vulcan, with deep red ray florets, and Superior, with orange ray petals, were crossed as female with 16 inbred clones and the progeny assessed visually for flower color in 3 environments. Intensity of vacuole pigmentation in ray florets appeared to vary continuously. Evaluation was facilitated by placing plants in 7 color classes ranging from red, the most intense, through orange, an intermediate intensity, to yellow, the apparent lack of vacuole pigmentation. A simple hexaploid model with additive gene action, suggested by the 7 color classes, was inappropriate, as more than 50% of the plants in 'Vulcan' families were red and more than 60% of the plants in 'Superior' families were orange.