Jul 9, 2016

Sakata Develops Pollen-Free Lisianthus

Sakata Seed Corp. in Japan has developed the world’s first Lisianthus type that does not produce pollen.

With no stamen to produce pollen, Sakata’s new Lisianthus varieties have excellent flower durability and the benefit of no scattered pollen that can cause staining of flowers, machines and home décor. 

With the development of this new technology (patent pending), Sakata foresees an increase in the popularity of Lisianthus in the future.

The two major benefits to pollen-free Lisianthus are: during transportation shaking will not cause pollen to scatter, thus the petals stay clean and are not smeared with pollen; and the absence of pollination can mean an ever longer vase life for the flowers.

In studies carried out by Sakata and other companies, the decorative vase life of the flowers has been found to last for about 7 days longer than conventional Lisianthus varieties, presenting an opportunity for even higher commercial value.

These combined features are beneficial during longer transportation periods, such as during import and export of Lisianthus cut flowers, compared to the current varieties on he market.

Initially, Sakata has developed three varieties: single-flowered White, single-flowered Blue Picotee and single-flowered Pink Picotee.

Seed sales of these three varieties is scheduled for test marketing in Japan in the fall of 2017.

Research of a double-flowered type is also underway and Sakata plans to announce this release in the future.