ABSTRACT:

The single remaining barrier to hybridization involves sterility in collected stock plants or in naturally and artificially produced hybrids. Knowledge of the fertility or sterility of parental plants to be used in a breeding program, as well as their subsequent hybrids, is critical to anyone interested in pursuing Dieffenbachia breeding. This paper is a summary of results obtained at the Agricultural Research Center-Apopka regarding fertility and sterility of 34 breeding lines of Dieffenbachia and their hybrids.