The number of flower types filed and registered in the Korea Seed & Variety Service has increased each year. Of the 7,731 crops registered to date, flowers account for 53%, with 4,123 cases. This seems to reflect the nature of flowers with their various shapes and colors, as well as rapid change in varieties. The 1980s was seen as the birth of different flower varieties, with a focus on the collection of genetic resources for each flower type, the selection of chrysanthemums and rose varieties, and culturing of trumpet lilies and carnations. The 1990s was an era of globalization and the import of agricultural products, which enabled research on new flower varieties and the mass production of seedlings to develop strategies for export. In 1995, the Seed Industry Act was implemented and the cultivation of varieties actively began with Korea joining the International Union of the Production of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV); research on breeding and producing high quality seedlings for development of flower types such as lilies, carnations, chrysanthemums, roses, hibiscus, gerberas, gladioli, herbaceous flowers, cacti, orchids, and various other novel floral crops were expanded. In particular, support measures to promote private breeding were also devised. In the 2000s, breeding technology was stabilized, which led to the development of many new varieties at national and local levels, even by common citizens. Penetration rates of chrysanthemums, roses, and orchids, whose main focus was breeding, increased from 1% in 2000 to 5.8% in 2008 and 27.3% in the 2010s. Currently, cactus dominates the world market, with domestic varieties accounting for 70% of the world’s trade, while freesias account for 60.4%, showing the high contribution of domestic small area crops. ‘Baekma’ (chrysanthemums), ‘Shiny gold’ (freesia), ‘Deep purple’ (rose), and ‘Woori tower’ (lily) are representative examples of domestic varieties bred in Korea. In the future, the development of varieties tailored to various consumers will be promoted, along with research on the production of virus-free seedlings, genome technology for enhancing breeding efficiency, and adding high value to the flower industry.
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