Anthocyanin pigmentation study in flower petals of Asiatic hybrid lily

Lilium is very important bulbous flower, cosmopolitan and has high demand in International flower market. Asiatic hybrid lily cultivars often have dark red spots on the interior surface of their petals. Pigments accumulated in petal spots are anthocyanins. In Lilium, the genetic basis of flower colour and spot formation are little understood because of the heterozygous genome structure. In this study 10 intravarietal Lilium hybrids along with their parents were tested and evaluated. The aim of this study was to estimate and analyse the flower colour of Asiatic Lilium hybrids. Highest value of anthocyanin was recorded in the hybrid PKLH-12 (43.48 mg/100g) and lowest in hybrid PKLH-6 (3.670 mg/100g). Anthocyanin content in the basal part was slightly higher (12.02 mg/100g) than the upper part (12.00mg/100g). Lilium petal during day of anthesis exhibits the highest amount of anthocyanin (13.96 mg/100g) than the 2 days after anthesis(10.05 mg/100g). Based on the variation in anthocyanin content in the present genotypes it may be concluded that this variability can be used for further development of indigenous hybrids with altered colours, hues, and patterns with long post harvest life. This study is important to understand the genetic basis of the traits and to apply molecular markers linked to map loci for MAS.