Selection of Example Varieties Used in the DUS Test Guideline of Tagetes L.

[Objective] Taking the characteristic of flower diameter of Tagetes L.as an example,this study aimed to select example varieties used in the DUS Test Guideline of Tagetes L.[Method] Two continuous years of measurements of flower diameter of 25 varieties were collected and then analyzed by using the box plot to illustrate the uniformity and stability of flower diameter of each variety.[Result] According to the information of variability,distribution symmetry of measurements and outliers of flower diameter of varieties provided by box plots,variety 16,2 and 4 were selected as the example varieties for the three expression states with respective flower diameter of 3.0-4.4,6.0-7.4 and 9.0-10.4 cm.[Conclusion] The box plot is an efficient method for the general analysis of varieties,which provides information covering the actual and possible expression range,median and outliers of measurements of flower diameter of each variety.It also provides references for selecting example varieties for other quantitative characteristics and evaluating the quality of varieties.

Application of Statistic Analysis on the Selection of Quantitative Characteristics Listed in the DUS Test Guideline of Tagetes L.

[Objective] This paper researched how to use specific approach to select quantitative characteristics which would be listed in the DUS Test Guideline of Tagetes L. [Method] With the aid of statistic analysis, the uniformity, stability and correlation of 14 pre-selected characteristics were analyzed. [Result] The expression of peduncle length of terminal flower had low uniformity within a variety; the expres- sion of main stem thickness was not stable in continuous growing cycles; there were four pairs of quantitative characteristics which are （very） significantly correlated, namely, leaf length and leaf width, diameter of flower head and length of outer ligu- late floret, number of ligulate floret whorls and number of ligulate floret, leaf width and width of terminal leaflet of pinnate leaves. Based on the requirements of char- acteristic selection and the results of statistic analysis, five characteristics including peduncle length of terminal flower, thickness of the main stem, leaf width, length of outer ligulate floret and number of ligulate floret were deleted. [Conclusion] For the first time, this paper introduced the application of statistic analysis on the selection of quantitative characteristics.

Analysis on the Functions and Properties of the Preliminarily Determined Characteristics Listed in DUS Test Guideline of Tagetes L.

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the functions and properties of the preliminarily determined characteristics listed in DUS test guideline of Tagetes L., and explore the representativeness and comprehensiveness of this group of characteristics in DUS test. [Method] Based on the functions and properties of the characteristics, the described plant part （s）, observation stage, expression pattern and observation method of each characteristic were analyzed to illustrate the representativeness and comprehensiveness of the combination of this group of characteristics in above functions and properties. [Result] As for described plant part（s）, there are 5 characteristics describing plant as a whole, 3 characteristics describing stem, 6 characteristics describing leaf, 23 characteristics describing flower and 1 characteristic describing physiological feature. As for observation stage, there are 1 characteristic needing to be observed in the stage of seedling, 1 characteristic in the stage of beginning of flowering and other 36 characteristics in the stage of fully flowering. As for the expression pattern, there are 10 qualitative characteristics, 9 pseudo-qualitative characteristics and 19 quantitative characteristics. As for the observation method, there are 30 characteristics using VG as the observation method, and 8 characteristics using MS. [Conclusion] In view of the variation and morphological properties of marigold, this group of characteristics are representative and comprehensive, and ensure the accuracy and easiness of DUS test of Tagetes L., thereby achieving the reasonable combination of characteristics in described plant parts, observation stages, expression patterns and observation methods.

Statistic Analysis on Quantitative Characteristics for Developing the DUS Test Guideline of Ranunculus asiaticus L.

Selection of quantitative characteristics, division of their expression ranges, and selection of example varieties are key issues on developing DUS Test Guidelines, which are more crucial for quantitative characteristics since their expressions vary in different degrees. Taking the development of DUS Test Guideline of Ranunculus asiaticus L. as an example, this paper applied statistic-based approaches for the analyses of quantitative characteristics. We selected 9 quantitative characteristics from 18 pre-selected characteristics, based on within-variety uniformity, stability between different growing cycles, and correlation among characteristics, by the analyses of coefficient of variation, paired-samples t-test and partial correlation. The expression ranges of the 9 selected quantitative characteristics were divided into different states using descriptive statistics and distribution frequency of varieties. Eight of the 9 selected quantitative characteristics were categorized as standard characteristics as they showed one peak in distribution frequency of 120 varieties in various expressions of the characteristics, whereas, plant height can be categorized as grouping characteristic since it gave two peaks, and can group the varieties into pot and cut varieties. Finally, box-plot was applied to visually select the example varieties, and varieties 7, 12, and 28 were determined as the example varieties for plant height. The methods described in this paper are effective for the selection of quantitative characteristics, division of expression ranges, and selection of example varieties in Ranunculus asiaticus L. for DUS test, and may also be interest for other plant genera.