COMMENT CRÉER UNE NOUVELLE VARIÉTÉ D’IRIS, LA DÉMONSTRATION DE RICHARD CAYEUX

In the Cayeux iris trial fields in Poilly-lez-Gien (Loiret), Patrick Mioulane meets with the owner Richard Cayeux, one of the most famous iris hybridizers in the world. After demonstrating the specific characteristics of the iris flower, our two botanists explain how irises are fertilized in nature by pollinating insects. They highlight the flower's organs, then propose crossing it with another to obtain a new variety sharing the characteristics of its two parents. Richard removes the stamens with small scissors, then removes the sepals and petals from the mother flower before placing the collected pollen (male seed) on the stigma (female part). Richard then explains in detail the fertilization process, the development of the ovary, seed harvesting, and sowing to obtain young plants that will all be new hybrids with different characteristics. A botanical and technical video that shows the difficulty and specificity of the work of breeders.