Early Identification and SSR Molecular Marker Applied for Selection of Individual Hybrid Progeny of Oolong Tea Cultivar, Jinmudan

The new oolong tea cultivar, Jinmudan, has an elegant aroma and high-quality desirable for the making of oolong, black or green teas. The teas made from Jinmudan were exceedingly popular among the producers and consumers. However, the cultivar inherited the shortcomings of intolerance to barren soil, early senescence, low resistance to stresses, etc. Thus, this study aimed to improve those aspects by crossing Jinmudan with other outstanding male cultivars to breed natural hybrid progenies. To screen a large number of cultivars with reliable results had become a mammoth task. Eventually, by early identification, screening plant quality and agronomic traits, and application of SSR markers for genetic diversity determination, 5 potential new lines were selected for a regional cultivation trial. Hence, the selection procedures employed for this study helped, and could be used to, shorten the breeding process, reduce workload, and improve efficiency when a large number of new cultivars was present for screening.