Re: a little chromosome essay

Gunnar,

I will take a stab at two of the questions you ask in your recent message.

What do you think are the  most important (astounding?) and common 
thing that has been achieved by the hybridization work?

With tall bearded irises, the most important advance was probably the
elevation of garden flowers to tetraploidy.  This was possible through the
collection and use of several near eastern iris forms, i.e. I. trojana, I.
mesapotomica, I. cypriana, and the clone AMAS.  The breeders who were most
involved in this process included Sir Michael Foster, the Vilmorins (and
their breeder S. Mottet),  Louis A. F. Denis,  E. A. Williamson, Grace
Sturtevant, and Marion Shull.  There have been many, many advances in colors
and color patterns.  Perhaps three of the greatest were 1) the development of
the dominant amoena pattern through the breeding of PROGENITOR by that great
American breeder Paul Cook; 2) the development of true pink irises by Dave
Hall, Orville Faye,  Dr. Loomis, and T. Muhlestein; and 3) the development of
brown TBs by Ferdinand Cayeux, Kleinsorge, and the Sass brothers.  For those
who like ruffled flowers, the development of SNOW FLURRY by Clara Rees was
quite significant.  There really are scores of other advances one could
mention for TBs.  

For dwarf breeding, the introduction of the true I. pumilla into breeding
programs by Paul Cook and Geddes Douglas merit particular mention.  For
Siberians, the importation of I. sanguinea and its use in crosses with I.
siberica was perhaps the greatest step forward.  If one were to name two
major advances with siberians, I would suggest they might be the creation of
WHITE SWIRL which changed the form of Siberian Irises, and the introduction
of tetraploidy by Currier McEwen.  And of course, for other classes of irises
there have been many changes to color, form, growth habits, etc. that have
been achieved by breedersbut I fear to go farther on this subject is to
write an article rather than an Email letter.

Are there any projects driven or sponsored or is encouraged by the AIS?

As an organization, AIS does not approve or disapprove of iris breeding
programs.  However, by establishing standards (in the Judges Handbook) by
which seedlings and new introductions of  the various types of irises are
judged, AIS encourages such attributes as disease resistance, good growth
habits, distinctiveness, etc.  In the case of certain types of irises,
specific advantage is given to certain attributes, for example in the case of
Japanese extra points are given for "expansion of season" and "carrying
properties."  AIS judging standards require reblooming ability to be
rewarded.  (If your question relates to issues beyond breeding, AIS and the
AIS Foundation do sponsor various projects by supporting various research
projects into such matters as disease, insect pests, searching and collecting
new species, the AIS Library, etc.)  I hope this at least partially answers
some of your questions.  Clarence Mahan, Virginia, USA
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