July 18, 2023 • 51 mins
In this episode of Plants, People, Science, Sam and Lara talk with Dr. Teresita D. Amore, Associate Researcher in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She discusses her orchid and anthurium breeding program, the traits that growers and designers are looking for, the rewarding aspects of her job, and what led to her career.
To see Dr. Amore's work on the cover of HortScience go to https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/56/8/hortsci.56.issue-8.xml.
Read the HortScience article "Anthurium 'Kopho Welo' and 'Honi-honi'" at https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI15901-21.
Learn more about the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) at https://ashs.org/.
HortTechnology, HortScience and the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science are all open-access and peer-reviewed journals, published by the American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS). Find them at journals.ashs.org.
Consider becoming an ASHS member at https://ashs.org/page/Becomeamember!
You can also find the official webpage for Plants, People, Science at ashs.org/plantspeoplesciencepodcast, and we encourage you to send us feedback or suggestions at https://ashs.org/webinarpodcastsuggestion.
Podcast transcripts are available at https://plantspeoplescience.buzzsprout.com.
On LinkedIn find Sam Humphrey at linkedin.com/in/samson-humphrey. Curt Rom is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/curt-rom-611085134/. Lena Wilson is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-wilson-2531a5141/.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode Transcript
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Sam Humphrey (00:00):
Welcome to Plants, people Science a podcast by the
American Society forHorticultural Science where we
talk about all thingshorticulture.
Lara Brindisi (00:09):
Good morning, I am doing great.
It is my first full day backfrom Ecuador, actually, so I'm
feeling refreshed and ready toget into our podcast.
How are you doing?
Sam Humphrey (00:25):
I'm all right.
Probably not as good as you,though.
I am in the middle of a verylike grueling strawberry harvest
, and it's not grueling becauseit's hard, it's just grueling
because there are so many likehundreds of plants that we have
to harvest, so it's a lot todeal with, but it's really
exciting to see the datadeveloping.
(00:46):
You know, what did you findrewarding about Ecuador?
I'm so excited to hear aboutwhat your experience was.
Lara Brindisi (00:54):
Yeah, I loved working with the farmers.
It was a really wonderfulvolunteer opportunity where I
could share some of my knowledgeand they were able to share so
much of their knowledge andtheir culture.
I was specifically working on acacao farm and looking at
microbiology and potential usesfor biocontrol.
(01:14):
And, yeah, just such a richcountry with wonderful cultures
and loved it.
Sam Humphrey (01:23):
How long was this trip again it?
Lara Brindisi (01:24):
was only two weeks actually, but you know it
was very full days.
I definitely worked a lot andit's at the equator, so it was
pretty hot, though not maybethat much different than a
summer in New Jersey.
Yeah, or maybe in NorthCarolina when you're doing your
field seasons.
Sam Humphrey (01:45):
I don't know, I miss it.
I miss the like hot, like humid, sunny field days.
There's just something about itthat makes it more rewarding, I
think, at the end of the day.
Speaking of which, our guesttoday has a lot of experience in
hot environments working onthese tropical sort of plants.
Lara Brindisi (02:06):
Oh yeah, perfect timing to be talking about the
hot, humid climates.
Sam Humphrey (02:13):
All right.
Today we'd like to welcome DrTeresita D.
Amore, who's a researcher atthe University of Hawaii at
Minoa, focusing on the breedingand genetics of dendrobium,
orchids and antheriums in theDepartment of Tropical Plant and
Soil Sciences.
She also earned her MS inhorticulture from the University
of Hawaii and her BS inagriculture from the University
(02:36):
of the Philippines.
Lara Brindisi (02:40):
For those of you who are not familiar, antheriums
are common houseplants knownfor their unique flower sphatic,
which is a spike of very tinyflowers, and also the brightly
colored heart-shaped sphath.
Antheriums look a bit like apiece lily, but are usually more
brightly colored, like pink orred, and are leathery and
(03:03):
heart-shaped Antheriums are alsoused as cut flowers and are
known for their long vase life.
Dendrobium, on the other hand,is a large, diverse genus of
orchids known for their large,plentiful blooms, and both of
these plants are part of DrAmore's breeding program, and
I'll be posting pictures on myInstagram for reference, which
(03:25):
you could find in the show notesand a little more at the end.
Sam Humphrey (03:34):
All right, Dr Amore, could you tell us a bit
about your plant breedingprogram?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (03:38):
So I have a very great plant breeding
program.
In my opinion.
I enjoy working with flowers,so I am breeding tropical
flowers here at the Universityof Hawaii at Manoa.
I'm focusing on dendrobiums andantheriums, which are two of
(03:59):
the major cut flowers exportedby the state of Hawaii, and our
program started in 1950, startedby my advisor who Dr Haruyuki
Kame-Moto, who is considered bymany as the father of Hawaii
(04:20):
floriculture.
So we have long history, so tospeak, and we develop flowers
for our local growers, primarilybecause we are a land-grant
college, so we try our best toaddress the needs of our local
stakeholders.
Lara Brindisi (04:41):
Okay, and this is different than, let's say, the
potted flower industry.
Right, this is for cut flowersmainly.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (04:49):
Yes, this is primarily for cut flowers
and because one of the reasonswe're focusing on cut flowers
too is that potted plantssometimes have restrictions in
as to exporting in medium.
So, although many times themedium for potted plants is
(05:11):
artificial so we know aboutrestrictions for soil we do have
nematode problems in the stateso, and there are certified
nurseries, but our primary focusis on cut flower production,
because cut flower antheriumsare produced in greater
quantities than pottedantheriums.
Lara Brindisi (05:34):
What are some of the differences with breeding
for cut flowers versus pottedflowers?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (05:42):
So for breeding for cut flowers, vase
life and handling is quiteimportant because the cut
flowers are detached from themain plant so they're not
getting extra food.
So definitely how the postharvest life is very critical or
(06:03):
one of the traits we look atand evaluate versus if you have
a potted plant, as long as it'sattached to the, as long as the
stem or the flower is attachedto the plant, they can keep on
producing.
So that's one big difference.
For potted plant we also lookat the plant size, the plant
(06:25):
size.
So the smaller it is, thebetter it is for packing and
transport.
So that's one of the otherdifference.
I think.
In my opinion, when we breed,the differences between breeding
for cut flowers and pottedplants is more marked for the
(06:47):
orchids, for the dropium, sodefinitely, for when we were
actively breeding for potted anddropium it was critical that
the flowers develop faster,about 18 months to two years
from the time of pollination,and we look at two flowers per
(07:12):
stem at least, because it's sohard to sell something with only
one stem.
So multiple flowering is verycritical and you want shorter
stems so that you can pack iteasier, because you're packing
the plant and the flower,whereas if we're breeding for
cut flowers, we want longerstems, because longer stems mean
(07:35):
more flowers per stem fororchids or, in the case of
antherium, that's more stemlength that the designers can
work with, so they can use iteither for long, tall
arrangements.
Sam Humphrey (07:49):
So that's so interesting to hear how many
things you're looking at withthese plants.
It sounds like overwhelming,honestly, from someone who, like
I, have never done this workbefore.
It's a lot of traits to lookafter.
I'm curious.
What are your top breedingobjectives?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (08:10):
Okay.
So we look at growing qualities, of course, because we're
looking at traits important forthe growers and also lately
we've been looking at traitsimportant for the designers.
For the longest time we werefocusing on traits wanted by the
(08:32):
growers.
So that means high yield.
Of course More yield means morestems to market.
We also look for diseaseresistance In antherium.
We were looking for tolerance,field tolerance at least to
bacterial blight, as well asexamining how well the plants
(08:58):
can stay in the ground and notget affected by the burrowing
nematode, which affectsprimarily the roots.
And once the roots get infectedthen there's rapid decline.
So plants that are affected byburrowing nematode the disease
is sometimes called antheriumdecline because the plants lose
(09:20):
vigor because they're notfeeding through the roots.
There's also another diseasethat has been making a comeback
and it's called blacknose oranthraxnose In antheriums.
This is manifested by brownspots on the spadex and usually
(09:45):
it may look good in the field,but during times when the
weather is very hot and withhigh humidity, then the
coletotricum that's the causalorganism spores are the disease.
Development isn't there.
(10:06):
So there are times it looksgood in the field and then after
three-day packing, when it getsto the end source surprise,
there are dots on the spadex.
So we know there's a geneticbasis to that.
There are some varieties thatwon't exhibit it and are very
(10:27):
strong against the disease.
So that's one of the breedinggoals and if we know there are
some desirable cultivars, wewill try and cross them, make
hybrids with the more tolerantones or resistant ones, just to
breed it out and hopefully getvarieties without that blacknose
(10:52):
.
So I've been to the supermarketand I'm thinking oh no, this is
our variety.
Lara Brindisi (10:59):
Oh, because it has all of the dots on the
spadex.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (11:02):
So I see that and I'm thinking, oh, it's
showing, so yeah.
So it happens that I'm thinking, oh, and I sometimes visit the
wholesalers and I'm like, oh no,it's anthrax, no season.
But we know that.
But sometimes it might be justa tiny band, maybe some people
(11:24):
don't notice it, but because wedo screen for resistance, it
bothers me.
Lara Brindisi (11:32):
Yeah, it's hard to be a perfectionist and a
plant breeder.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (11:37):
Yeah, and we also look at flower shape,
the stem length oh, this is afunny story for an anthrax, we
used to think stem length wouldbe adequate and then the
designers were telling us no, weneed a longer stem, because if
you're going to make hand-tightbookcase, then a longer stem is
needed.
You can always make it shorter.
(11:57):
It's time to consuming toextend the stem length.
And I didn't realize this untilI had a workshop with the
designers.
This was when I think it was 20, either 2016 or 2017.
The growers decided because thegrowers were working with
floral designers and theythought, oh, it would be good to
(12:20):
collect as all, so the breederknows what the designer wants.
In this workshop.
So one of the projects we hadtwo projects One was to make a
vase arrangement for events andthe other one was to make a
bouquet.
And so we had to make a bouquetand it was a hand-tight and the
flower I had was one of ourreleases and I said, oh, it's
(12:43):
too short.
It's difficult to make ahand-tight bouquet the stem
length long enough.
And that's when the designertold us and that's why we want
longer stems.
As a breeder, if you're notdesigning, it's like I'm
focusing on our yield, diseaseresistance and stem length, of
(13:05):
course, but realizing howimportant it was when it wasn't
high up our list Now it means wereally try and see how long the
stems are.
Lara Brindisi (13:16):
Wow, yeah, so that's a really unique part, I
guess, of working with cutflowers.
Who is your consumer?
Is it the person buying it atthe grocery store, or is it the
designer who's going to bebuying it and incorporating it
into their floral arrangements?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (13:33):
Exactly yes, and before we, until now,
we do a lot of our field testing, our advanced selection testing
at commercial growers' fields.
So ever since I started theprogram, our focus was okay, we
need that Disease resistance.
(13:54):
We need healthy, virallygrowing plants, yield of six
flowers per plant per year, andthis is for anthermium.
And so we were focusingprimarily on what the growers'
needs were, not realizingthere's a thing called flower
conformation or like how theanthermium flower appears.
(14:18):
So in anthermium breeding wemake the seedlings, so we
hybridize.
It takes about six months forthe fruits to mature and then it
takes about 18 months to getthe seedling to first flower if
we're lucky, 18 months to twoyears and then we'll look at it,
(14:41):
for at first we'll look at thecolor and then there are changes
in flower shape as the flowersmature, so there's like a
juvenility period, and then, ifit looks interesting, maybe at
the third flower or so, I'lltake a look and I'll take a
photo and then I'll send it toour advisory team of growers and
(15:08):
designers and I'll say this iswhat I'm looking at, clone or
not.
To clone Is cloning.
To multiply enough plantmaterials for testing will take
about three years.
So I don't want to waste mythree years on something they
don't want.
We've had experiences in thepast where we released a variety
(15:33):
and then we're thinking, oh,there's no market acceptance for
this, I don't see it in themarket.
So that was mainly because wewere thinking of what we wanted.
So I'm just realizing who isthe one, like Lara mentioned,
who is the one actually buyingand who drives the market.
(15:54):
That I thought was interestingbecause we did account maybe a
few years ago and we said, okay,these are all the varieties we
released.
How many of them were made animpact commercially?
Not everything did, and wefound out one of them.
(16:17):
One of our releases in the 90swas this white and therm with a
red nose and it was playfullycalled Rudolph Rudolph the Red
Nose and Thorium.
But it's not in commercial useand from the designer's
viewpoint, they don't likecontrasting colors the spade and
(16:37):
the spadex.
If there's too much contrast,it's hard to work with.
So they are telling us yeah.
So they're telling us, oh, nottoo much contrast.
So I had one selection a fewyears ago.
I thought, oh, this is so cool.
And then they go oh, there'stoo much contrast, so that
(16:59):
didn't get cloned, but it on theside, I'll use it.
Maybe I'll use it as a breedingparent, but saving us that time
by knowing what is acceptablereally makes a difference.
So we have this advisory team ofdesigners and just last week I
(17:20):
took a picture of something Ithought was interesting and I
post the question clone or notto clone?
I give them the flowermeasurements, I take a picture
of the plant to show how longthe stem is, because space
length and width and the stemlength.
I sent it to the group and thenthey said oh, the color looks
nice, the spadex or the nosedoes not contrast with the space
(17:45):
, so it's easier to work with.
And so now the question we gotfrom the grower is what's the
yield?
He said we'll monitor that, butin the meantime we will keep an
eye for when the leaf is readyand we can start cloning and
testing.
So to me it makes it a loteasier knowing what we're going
(18:09):
to put into.
Advanced selection is alreadydesirable by the market.
Lara Brindisi (18:16):
That's great, that you have a team of
consultants that you could askis this a go or not?
Especially because when you'rebreeding plants and you're
looking at I don't knowthousands and thousands of
plants, you look for the thingsthat are different, right,
Because that's exciting to youas someone who's been literally
seeing it all.
But then to have someone tellyou actually is really valuable
(18:40):
information, Because I think youhad said this to us in the
pre-interview session, but thatyou are looking for flowers that
are the star of the show andthey don't necessarily have to
be.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (18:54):
Yes, that's right, lara.
At first we were thinking interms of, oh, it has to be this
perfect flower that will winawards at the plant shows, have
awards, right?
So we were thinking in terms ofthat instead of the utility and
how well the flowers cancombine with other cut flowers,
(19:15):
for instance.
One instance that the advisoryteam was very helpful was we had
this.
It was like a muddy color, andusually, when you like, we've
been trained to look for cleancolors, not muddy colors.
And then they said to me oh no,this is really good, we like
(19:37):
these brownish, grayish tonesbecause you can go either way.
And so that made me open myeyes and look at trade magazines
and other flower catalogs andsee what are the other colors
that we have to be working with.
So now I realize and like youmentioned, that we don't have to
(20:02):
be the star, we have to play.
Well, it's an all-star game.
So it made me realize belatedly, and it made me realize when
you go to a flower shop, forinstance, it's not just one
flower in an arrangement.
Many times, even thesupermarket bouquets are a
(20:24):
combination.
Lara Brindisi (20:25):
And that's hard too, because you have to predict
trends right Like if next yeareveryone's going to be buying
blush tones for their weddingyou want to be prepared for that
and because it's a very longbreeding cycle we're talking
about 14 years to develop anEthereum variety.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (20:43):
We try to have every color we can have
possible.
That's in testing and try torealize what are really the main
colors.
We had a breeding.
We had a project on trying togenetically engineer a blue and
cerium.
One of my graduate students didthat but when you really think
(21:04):
about it, there's not really ahuge demand.
So it's good for science, it'sdefinitely good for science, but
it's not going to be the topseller.
It has a specific market and Iwas thinking about that because
(21:25):
I was at the wholesalers thispast weekend and I saw the blue
carnations they called fancycarnations and that those are
the genetically engineeredcarnations Quite expensive, but
there was only one bucket of it,whereas the whites, pinks and
greens have buckets and bucketsof that.
So we have to temper what themarket needs, what the demands
(21:51):
are and our quest for scienceand realizing that sometimes the
challenging blue flower it'sgreat science, but it's not
going to be the top seller.
Sam Humphrey (22:06):
That's amazing.
I didn't realize.
14 years, really, that's like Ican't even fathom this, because
I've been in science for whatlike seven, six, seven years,
because I'm still a relativelyyoung student.
That's incredible dedication aswell.
Do you have any recentcultivars that you're really
(22:29):
excited about?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (22:30):
Yes, we just had two red varieties that
we released.
I haven't done the officialFort Science publication, but we
released it to the floraldesigners, the American
Institute for Floral Design, sothey are heart-shaped.
The Cathie Ruloda is a niceheart-shaped antherium.
(22:52):
Like red, doesn't get too big,and the namesake, a designer
herself, cathie Ruloda, saidthat oh, this is an everyday
type of arrangement, I can sellthis.
So that was pretty good to hearthat that size is what they're
(23:13):
looking for.
It doesn't get really large,but it's really a pretty red one
.
And then we have Phil Ruloda,which is what we call an obaque.
An obaque antherium has greenwith another color, so it's a
dark red with green.
(23:34):
It can get large over,sometimes over 12 inches in
length.
So we have some antheriums thatare called exhibition size, so
they can be about 12, 14 inchesin length.
Wow.
Lara Brindisi (23:52):
Are those the ones that you enter for awards
and trade shows?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (23:57):
Well, I think if it were to enter a
plant show, that would besomething that would be worth
looking at.
But for the Society of AmericanCut Flower competition, I think
it's not just a size but otherattributes glossiness, stem
(24:19):
length and so on, and how wellit's grown too.
Metropolitan Museum of ModernArt, moma, had vase and in that
vase was an antherium.
They were like three stamps andI'm thinking, oh my gosh,
that's tropic line, one of ourreleases.
So it's just, it's like you seeyour products in non floral,
(24:42):
not in the trade magazine, butin everyday or artworks, art
museums and whatnot and you seeit being used and it's really
amazing to see that and thenmakes me humbled and think what
else can we do?
What will be the next one?
Lara Brindisi (25:04):
Yeah, Well, and you have another recently
released, or it was released in2015,.
Right, you won an award in 2021, maui.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (25:14):
Oh, yes, that's Maui, the red obaque.
I've seen it when I saw it ondisplay at the Society of
American Florist I think it wasin the magazine for first at
Delft in floral management andthen I was at the AIFT Symposium
(25:34):
in Las Vegas and they have theCut Flower competition.
There is this on display to seethe flowers that I was part of
the breeding team.
I mean, breeding is always ateam effort, right, it's,
there's the hybridizer, but theneven selection takes a whole
team, and then you have yourgrowers who test it out for you,
(25:59):
yeah, and then you have theplant pathologist who tell you
what's wrong with it.
Lara Brindisi (26:04):
Yeah, it's definitely a strong team of
people.
You also mentioned that this isan obaque flower.
Can you clarify what that is orwhat that means?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (26:16):
Yes, obaque means it's green with
some other color, so Maui is redwith green and that won an
award in 2015.
And what's really nice is I goto the market whether it's
supermarket or the wholesalerand then I see Maui in the
(26:40):
buckets and I'm thinking I knowthat we also have another pink
obaque that also won an award.
It's called Kapoho Velo and itwas awarded.
We released it in 2021.
As a breeder, to see yourproduct on the cover of Hort
(27:03):
Science was really, reallysatisfying.
I was just so shocked when Ireceived the email from the
editorial board asking if theycould use those end theorems for
the cover of Hort Science.
And what was interesting was Iwas going up for tenure and the
(27:32):
Hort Science issue came.
I think it was either August orSeptember and our dosiers were
submitted in October, so I hadlook a variety, made it to the
front page Perfect timing.
That was perfect timing.
(27:54):
It was just an incredibleexperience and I thought that
was very touching to see thosevarieties on the cover and those
were taken from pictures of, Ithink, when we were still
(28:17):
testing.
So to see those pictures in, Imean, those plants in the field.
And many times I tell ourgrowers you know, you do a much
better job growing in the fieldthan we do in our greenhouses.
What are we looking at?
A few pots.
We're not testing a whole scale, because we're looking at new
seedlings, we're looking at newselections and they're growing
(28:42):
at least 200.
Now it's initially we send out200 plants for them to test in
tissue culture, so they'll growit out and flower it and then,
if there's something interesting, we are informed that they want
to test it on a larger scale.
So we'll scale up to 500 or1,000 because that's the best
(29:06):
way to check for marketability.
I had a grower telling me oh,with 200 plants I can't even
make a full box because theydon't mature all at the same
time.
So that was another educational.
You know, learning as you go,and I think, as a breeder, we
always yeah, I'm sure you canrelate to this You're always
(29:27):
tweaking as you go along, and soto have that flexibility I
think is really important thatas we go along we realize, oh,
we can't always look at 200,because then they can't test how
well it ships, because I can'teven make a full box and I'm
(29:47):
thinking, oh okay, then we won'tget our data right away.
So yeah, it's been.
I learned from the breeders, Ilearned from the designers, I
learned from my it's lifelonglearning and things that I
thought worked before.
I realized, uh-oh, we have totweak things a little bit.
(30:07):
So course correction is alwaysgreat.
Sam Humphrey (30:11):
A lot of learning, but it sounds so rewarding,
like when you describe thosemoments of even just seeing it
in a magazine like I.
That sounds just so beautifuland I'm sure you haven't always
like anticipated that you wouldbe this amazing breeder who's
(30:36):
publishing and like has thecover of Hort Science and
everything.
I would like to get a littlebit into your background.
When did you first becomeinterested in tropical flowers?
Were you always interested inorchids and antheriums?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (30:52):
Well, yes , I grew up in the Philippines
and my mom was on a hobbyist, soshe had orchids, so we had
orchids at home and we also hadantheriums at home, but she had
more orchids than antheriumswhen I was growing up.
So I have a picture when I wasreally young and I'm trying to
(31:14):
touch a Phalaenopsis orchid andI think she's holding me back.
So when I do my talks about howI got into flowers, it's
because I was exposed at a veryyoung age to flowers and then
(31:34):
during summer my mom would helpme.
Help.
It's like help, can you washpots?
I started by washing pots, thenit became helping her
propagating some dendrobiums andother orchids, and then it
became and the other thing thatshe my mom also was an officer
(31:59):
in the Orchid Society in ourhometown and so she was the
secretary and she'd make meaddress all the meeting
announcements, because ourpenmanship looked very similar.
This was before email.
Lara Brindisi (32:18):
So you had a hand write all of the letters.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (32:21):
I had to hand write it and sometimes I'd
sign for her.
So she gives me a pile ofletters.
So I got to know the members byname and then when she would
bring me to the Orchid Societymeetings I could match the name
and the face because I'vewritten their names and
addresses on a monthly basispretty much, and so that was
(32:46):
really great.
So she, even though I was notan official member of the Orchid
Society, she made me tag along,which I appreciate.
It really exposed me to othertropical plants because I would
go with her when the OrchidSociety had field trips so I'd
look into people's gardens,other nurseries, and that was
(33:09):
just fascinating.
I also had my parents had afriend I think I was in first
grade or I was really young, andour friend of ours was do, our
family friend, was doing herdissertation on orchids.
So one Sunday after church she,my dad dropped her off at the
(33:32):
lab and she invited us in and Isaw the lab.
It was nice, sterile, becauseit was tissue culture, and then
bottles and bottles of littlethings and I thought, oh,
they're growing in bottles andthat stuck with me.
I just thought that was sofascinating.
(33:54):
So I thought, oh, I think Iwant to do orchids.
And then, coupled with my mom'sinterest in orchids and fast
forward, by the time I was incollege oh actually in high
school I knew already I wantedto major in horticulture.
Breeding was still.
I wasn't quite sure if I wantedto go breeding but I knew I was
(34:15):
interested in genetics becausein high school biology, the
segregation and it was justfascinating.
And I remember I told mybiology teacher that Hardy
Weinberg population and howphenotypes are, that was just
very fascinating.
So I think that was early on.
(34:37):
I was interested but not quitesure if I really wanted to
become a breeder.
But I knew I wanted to doorchids.
So I ended up in that same labwhere I saw those tiny plants in
flask when I was what?
Seven, eight years old.
I ended up doing my undergradpieces under the same advice.
Lara Brindisi (34:59):
So then how did you take that interest and
travel to Hawaii and get yourmaster's and PhD?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (35:08):
So my advisor undergraduate advisor
was writing a book on Philippineorchids.
Her name was Dr Helen Valmayorand she did her doctorate at the
University of Florida.
Her graduate advisor was at theUniversity of Hawaii and there
(35:29):
was Dr Yoneo Sagawa and therewas another orchid breeder by
the name of Dr Haruyuki KameMotel, so there were two orchid
breeders at the university atthe time.
And so I told my advisor Ithink I want to apply at the
University of Hawaii to dograduate work, because at the
(35:53):
orchid shows many of the orchidhybrids that were coming in were
brought in from Hawaii.
So I'm thinking maybe Hawaii isthe place to be, so that's
where I should be going.
And she goes oh yeah, and soshe was writing a book and this
was in 1983, 84.
Actually she was writing itwhile I was doing my thesis, and
(36:16):
so the book was published, Ibelieve in 1983.
And 1984, she was going toOrchid Conferences to talk about
her book and promote her book.
So she went to Japan where shethis was October of 1984, I
believe.
I had already applied to theUniversity of Hawaii but I
(36:39):
didn't have an assistantship atthat time.
But I said no matter what, I'llgo and then figure my way out
after a semester or two and seemaybe I can get a teaching
assistantship, maybe I can get aGPA graduate research
assistantship.
At the conference in Japan shemet Dr Kame Moro who said that
he had an assistantshipavailable.
(37:01):
And so she came back and shesaid I spoke to Dr Kame Moro, he
has an assistantship available.
He will write to you.
I want you to respond rightaway Because he already had an
excellent reputation as anorchid breeder and a theorem
breeder and his focus was oncytogenetics and polyploidy
(37:25):
breeding.
So by January 1985, I found myway to Hawaii with an
assistantship offer from Dr KameMoro and I've stayed there
since and I learned so much fromhim I'm his last PhD student,
(37:46):
so that was so meaningful.
We co-wrote a book on breedingorchids in Hawaii and that was,
I remember, what he said.
I helped him also with breedingand serums in Hawaii book and
he said maybe I should have madeyou co-author.
But I said that's OK, I learnedso much.
(38:07):
And he said that by writing thebook and helping him with a
book that's his way of teachingwithout actually spoon feeding
me, because I had to help himtype, help him do that.
I think I did the indexing forbreeding and serums in Hawaii.
I did the indexing so I had toread everything, not only help
(38:31):
him with a manuscript, but alsoindex that.
So I've read it multiple timesand then be part of the editing
process.
So I learned so much of thehistory just by working on the
books on the answer and theendropium books so I thought
that was the greatest giftbecause he made me work to get
(38:54):
the information and it stuck.
So when there's items that Ineed to look back on, I know
exactly I think it's in thisbook, it's this chapter and this
is where I look back and getthat information.
So that was pretty cool.
Lara Brindisi (39:11):
Yeah, there's nothing like writing content
that makes you have to learn itbetter than just reading it.
Yeah, and so your passion justemanates from you about orchids.
Do you have any advice forhelping others find out their
passions?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (39:30):
I had an interesting conversation with my
daughter how to find yourpassion.
What can you do without?
Basically, is there anythingthat if we take it away from you
, it would absolutely bedevastating?
She says it would kill you ifyou don't have this and I said I
(39:54):
can't imagine my life withoutplants.
It doesn't matter if it'sorchids and thorium, african
violets, ferns, vegetables.
If I had a life devoid ofplants I would die.
I would.
It would be so, you think, interms of what if something was
(40:15):
taken away from you?
What is that thing that youcan't live without?
I think that would be the bestway to find your passion.
And yes, when she told me that,she said oh, I can see it in
your face.
When she told me, what if Itook away your plants?
I didn't realize she could readmy face that well and I was
(40:38):
FaceTiming with her last weekand I was in the greenhouse and
she goes mama, you look so happywith your plants and I thought
this is my normal face.
She said, no, you're differentwhen you're with and I guess,
because I don't see myself, shesees it.
She goes because I was tellingher oh, this is the one we're
(40:59):
looking at right now, yeah, shehad helped me before, so for
orchids you can save the polinja.
So she had helped me before andshe said so I'd give her and we
save the polinja for futurehybridization work.
(41:21):
And she knows how to take thepollen out, the polinja, which
is a mass of pollen in orchidsNormally there's two for
dendrobium.
And then I've instructed her OK, you flip, remove that pollen
cap, take out all the polinja,stick it into a gel cap and
label it with this.
(41:41):
So she knew the parents.
She goes oh mom, when are youbringing K404-2?
And I told her you have to putthe parent, without the name,
where it came from.
It's useless.
And you have to put the date soI know when to.
So she helped me.
I think she was like, and shehad small hands, she was like
second grade, she'd hang outwith me in the lab, so she'd be
(42:04):
doing that.
And she said, oh, I'mdepolynizing.
And the graduate assistant inour lab thought that was a real
word.
I said, no, she made it updepolynizing and I'm thinking
it's more like emasculation, butnot really.
She's doing pollen storagebasically.
But she enjoyed that.
(42:26):
So that was the daughter whohelped me define how to find my
passion.
Sam Humphrey (42:30):
That's so sweet.
So you had a second grade plantbreeder alongside you.
That's amazing.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (42:39):
She enjoyed it, though.
I used to drag her to plantshows with me and she thought
those were cool and fascinating.
And now, by the time I couldteach her how to count for
viable embryos, she decided todo other things.
I was thinking, OK, afterremoving the pollen, maybe I can
(43:01):
have her count viable embryos,but it's gratifying that my
family appreciates the work I doand enjoys flowers, also enjoys
plants.
Very supportive.
Lara Brindisi (43:16):
OK, I have a question for the audience,
especially because I get askedso many times how to keep
orchids and plants in generalalive.
So do you have any tips for theaudience about how they could
keep their orchids andantheriums alive?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (43:31):
OK, To keep plants alive, one of the
let me backtrack here.
Keeping plants alive can bechallenging.
We know that and I've done onething I've done more than one
thing actually to keep killingthem.
(43:52):
But one thing I realized isthat overwatering is easy to do
and we think by giving morewater it's like giving more love
.
Right.
Overwatering or controlling theamount of water can kill your
plant or will kill your plant ifyou overdo it.
(44:14):
I've purchased becausedepending on the plant medium.
So definitely lifting that potto see how heavy it is will help
determine how much water theplant needs or whether it needs
it.
At the time I killed manyorchids by overwatering.
(44:36):
I said that's it.
I'm not keeping it in my house,I'll bring it to the greenhouse
where we have automaticsprinklers, because sometimes I
forget to water and then I'dovercompensate.
I've killed roses.
That way too, I go.
I forgot.
Lara Brindisi (44:53):
I'm sure this is very reassuring for people to be
hearing that we have an expertin orchids and Anthorium that's
accidentally killing theirplants.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (45:00):
Yes, I've killed my plants.
I bought a potted Anthorium andthen I brought it home.
I didn't control the thrips ina timely manner.
I didn't scout enough.
I'm thinking, wait, this lookslike thrips damage.
I started snipping away theleaves and then I snip, snip,
(45:21):
snip, and then there's notenough leaves.
I'm thinking this is exactlywhat I tell my students we leave
X number of leaves on the plantso the plant can continue to
grow.
But then I didn't control thethrips.
I ended up killing my Anthorium.
Sam Humphrey (45:38):
Wait.
How many leaves is that?
I need to know.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (45:41):
Three leaves usually is what we leave.
At least it should have one.
But for potted Anthorium youwant to keep the leaves, but
don't as much as possible.
We had a colleague of mine didsome work where they cut
Anthorium.
They said if you go less thanthree leaves then there's not
(46:04):
enough photosynthesis happeningand you'll get decreased yield
or decreased quality.
Even with my potted AnthoriumsI tried to keep three but I
tried to keep as much aspossible, just because it's a
potted plant and you need thatfoliage to make it look
attractive.
Sam Humphrey (46:23):
Okay, this is really useful because after
seeing these pictures of theseAnthoriums you've bred at home
gorgeous they are I'm just onlygoing to have Anthoriums from
now on.
So, thank you, I will make sureto keep them in the video.
They last really long.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (46:38):
That's another thing.
Anthoriums last really long, solong that you might have to
dust it.
Yes, the tropical plants ingeneral, most of them will last
way over a week.
Anthoriums, when we do ourevaluations, at least 21 days.
(47:00):
So with the ones that have thepink and green, the oboque on
the Anthoriums, it can be amonth or more.
When we were doing someevaluations it was like 57 days.
I'm thinking 57 days, that'sreally long.
(47:25):
And that's without the cytokineand treatment, because our
commercial cut flower growers doa benzene adenine dip as a
packing house operation.
So they'll dip.
Because early on one of ourcolleagues, one of our
(47:47):
professors and his grad studentsfigured out by doing cytokine
and dip you can prolong the lifeof Anthorium because the quote,
unquote flower is actually amodified leaf and so the
cytokine and treatment prolongsthe life.
Not every.
(48:07):
There's obviously there's agenetic component to this, not
every.
There won't always be adifference, significant
difference, between the cytokineand dip and the untreated, but
for instances or for lines thatrespond, it could be doubling
(48:27):
the vase life.
So you pretty much you canextend the vase.
The vase life is pretty long.
Sam Humphrey (48:38):
It's amazing.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (48:41):
Three weeks two to three weeks, I
would say would be acceptable,and if you get me on that,
that's really a plus.
Lara Brindisi (48:51):
Great.
So if anyone is interested inyour research and wants to get
in touch with you about yourprogram, how is the best way to
do that?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (48:59):
Oh, so you can email me.
My email address is amore.
At hawaiiedu, I have anInstagram which I period.
I don't post as much, but youcan contact me on Instagram.
It's tessie underscore amore.
I don't post as much.
I should be posting, but I alsohave linked in and it's under
(49:20):
Teresita Amore.
Lara Brindisi (49:21):
Okay, great.
Thank you so much for awonderful interview, oh thank
you.
Sam Humphrey (49:29):
This was fantastic .
You're also like so colorful inyour descriptions and stories.
It's perfect.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (49:36):
That passion oh thank you so much.
Sam Humphrey (49:45):
To find some of Dr Teresita Amore's research,
check out Court Science, whichis one of the open source
peer-reviewed journals publishedby the American Society for
Horticultural Science.
These papers include somegorgeous antherian photos too.
Links to these articles will beprovided in the show notes.
Lara Brindisi (50:02):
She also has several videos on YouTube
through the Hawaii FloridaCulture and Nursery Association,
and I'll be posting pictures ofthe flowers we discussed in
this episode on my Instagram,which you can find using the
handle at the plant PhD Sam.
If people want to follow yourwork, what's the best way?
Sam Humphrey (50:20):
You can find me on LinkedIn at Samson Humphrey,
and if you'd like moreinformation about the American
Society for HorticulturalScience in general, you can go
to ashhsorg forward slash.
Lara Brindisi (50:30):
Thanks for joining us.
Stay tuned for the next episode.
Ashs podcasts are made possibleby member dues and volunteerism
.
Please go to ashhsorg to learnmore.
If you are not already a memberof ASHS, we invite you to join
us.
Ashs is a not-for-profit andyour donations are tax
deductible.
This episode was hosted by SamHumphrey and Laura Bernese.
(50:53):
Special thanks to our audioengineer, alex Fraser, our
research team, lena Wilson andAndrew Komatz, our ASHS support
team, sarah Powell and SallyMurphy, and our musician, john
Clark.
Welcome to Plants, people Science a podcast by the
American Society forHorticultural Science where we
talk about all thingshorticulture.
Lara Brindisi (00:09):
Good morning, I am doing great.
It is my first full day backfrom Ecuador, actually, so I'm
feeling refreshed and ready toget into our podcast.
How are you doing?
Sam Humphrey (00:25):
I'm all right.
Probably not as good as you,though.
I am in the middle of a verylike grueling strawberry harvest
, and it's not grueling becauseit's hard, it's just grueling
because there are so many likehundreds of plants that we have
to harvest, so it's a lot todeal with, but it's really
exciting to see the datadeveloping.
(00:46):
You know, what did you findrewarding about Ecuador?
I'm so excited to hear aboutwhat your experience was.
Lara Brindisi (00:54):
Yeah, I loved working with the farmers.
It was a really wonderfulvolunteer opportunity where I
could share some of my knowledgeand they were able to share so
much of their knowledge andtheir culture.
I was specifically working on acacao farm and looking at
microbiology and potential usesfor biocontrol.
(01:14):
And, yeah, just such a richcountry with wonderful cultures
and loved it.
Sam Humphrey (01:23):
How long was this trip again it?
Lara Brindisi (01:24):
was only two weeks actually, but you know it
was very full days.
I definitely worked a lot andit's at the equator, so it was
pretty hot, though not maybethat much different than a
summer in New Jersey.
Yeah, or maybe in NorthCarolina when you're doing your
field seasons.
Sam Humphrey (01:45):
I don't know, I miss it.
I miss the like hot, like humid, sunny field days.
There's just something about itthat makes it more rewarding, I
think, at the end of the day.
Speaking of which, our guesttoday has a lot of experience in
hot environments working onthese tropical sort of plants.
Lara Brindisi (02:06):
Oh yeah, perfect timing to be talking about the
hot, humid climates.
Sam Humphrey (02:13):
All right.
Today we'd like to welcome DrTeresita D.
Amore, who's a researcher atthe University of Hawaii at
Minoa, focusing on the breedingand genetics of dendrobium,
orchids and antheriums in theDepartment of Tropical Plant and
Soil Sciences.
She also earned her MS inhorticulture from the University
of Hawaii and her BS inagriculture from the University
(02:36):
of the Philippines.
Lara Brindisi (02:40):
For those of you who are not familiar, antheriums
are common houseplants knownfor their unique flower sphatic,
which is a spike of very tinyflowers, and also the brightly
colored heart-shaped sphath.
Antheriums look a bit like apiece lily, but are usually more
brightly colored, like pink orred, and are leathery and
(03:03):
heart-shaped Antheriums are alsoused as cut flowers and are
known for their long vase life.
Dendrobium, on the other hand,is a large, diverse genus of
orchids known for their large,plentiful blooms, and both of
these plants are part of DrAmore's breeding program, and
I'll be posting pictures on myInstagram for reference, which
(03:25):
you could find in the show notesand a little more at the end.
Sam Humphrey (03:34):
All right, Dr Amore, could you tell us a bit
about your plant breedingprogram?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (03:38):
So I have a very great plant breeding
program.
In my opinion.
I enjoy working with flowers,so I am breeding tropical
flowers here at the Universityof Hawaii at Manoa.
I'm focusing on dendrobiums andantheriums, which are two of
(03:59):
the major cut flowers exportedby the state of Hawaii, and our
program started in 1950, startedby my advisor who Dr Haruyuki
Kame-Moto, who is considered bymany as the father of Hawaii
(04:20):
floriculture.
So we have long history, so tospeak, and we develop flowers
for our local growers, primarilybecause we are a land-grant
college, so we try our best toaddress the needs of our local
stakeholders.
Lara Brindisi (04:41):
Okay, and this is different than, let's say, the
potted flower industry.
Right, this is for cut flowersmainly.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (04:49):
Yes, this is primarily for cut flowers
and because one of the reasonswe're focusing on cut flowers
too is that potted plantssometimes have restrictions in
as to exporting in medium.
So, although many times themedium for potted plants is
(05:11):
artificial so we know aboutrestrictions for soil we do have
nematode problems in the stateso, and there are certified
nurseries, but our primary focusis on cut flower production,
because cut flower antheriumsare produced in greater
quantities than pottedantheriums.
Lara Brindisi (05:34):
What are some of the differences with breeding
for cut flowers versus pottedflowers?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (05:42):
So for breeding for cut flowers, vase
life and handling is quiteimportant because the cut
flowers are detached from themain plant so they're not
getting extra food.
So definitely how the postharvest life is very critical or
(06:03):
one of the traits we look atand evaluate versus if you have
a potted plant, as long as it'sattached to the, as long as the
stem or the flower is attachedto the plant, they can keep on
producing.
So that's one big difference.
For potted plant we also lookat the plant size, the plant
(06:25):
size.
So the smaller it is, thebetter it is for packing and
transport.
So that's one of the otherdifference.
I think.
In my opinion, when we breed,the differences between breeding
for cut flowers and pottedplants is more marked for the
(06:47):
orchids, for the dropium, sodefinitely, for when we were
actively breeding for potted anddropium it was critical that
the flowers develop faster,about 18 months to two years
from the time of pollination,and we look at two flowers per
(07:12):
stem at least, because it's sohard to sell something with only
one stem.
So multiple flowering is verycritical and you want shorter
stems so that you can pack iteasier, because you're packing
the plant and the flower,whereas if we're breeding for
cut flowers, we want longerstems, because longer stems mean
(07:35):
more flowers per stem fororchids or, in the case of
antherium, that's more stemlength that the designers can
work with, so they can use iteither for long, tall
arrangements.
Sam Humphrey (07:49):
So that's so interesting to hear how many
things you're looking at withthese plants.
It sounds like overwhelming,honestly, from someone who, like
I, have never done this workbefore.
It's a lot of traits to lookafter.
I'm curious.
What are your top breedingobjectives?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (08:10):
Okay.
So we look at growing qualities, of course, because we're
looking at traits important forthe growers and also lately
we've been looking at traitsimportant for the designers.
For the longest time we werefocusing on traits wanted by the
(08:32):
growers.
So that means high yield.
Of course More yield means morestems to market.
We also look for diseaseresistance In antherium.
We were looking for tolerance,field tolerance at least to
bacterial blight, as well asexamining how well the plants
(08:58):
can stay in the ground and notget affected by the burrowing
nematode, which affectsprimarily the roots.
And once the roots get infectedthen there's rapid decline.
So plants that are affected byburrowing nematode the disease
is sometimes called antheriumdecline because the plants lose
(09:20):
vigor because they're notfeeding through the roots.
There's also another diseasethat has been making a comeback
and it's called blacknose oranthraxnose In antheriums.
This is manifested by brownspots on the spadex and usually
(09:45):
it may look good in the field,but during times when the
weather is very hot and withhigh humidity, then the
coletotricum that's the causalorganism spores are the disease.
Development isn't there.
(10:06):
So there are times it looksgood in the field and then after
three-day packing, when it getsto the end source surprise,
there are dots on the spadex.
So we know there's a geneticbasis to that.
There are some varieties thatwon't exhibit it and are very
(10:27):
strong against the disease.
So that's one of the breedinggoals and if we know there are
some desirable cultivars, wewill try and cross them, make
hybrids with the more tolerantones or resistant ones, just to
breed it out and hopefully getvarieties without that blacknose
(10:52):
.
So I've been to the supermarketand I'm thinking oh no, this is
our variety.
Lara Brindisi (10:59):
Oh, because it has all of the dots on the
spadex.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (11:02):
So I see that and I'm thinking, oh, it's
showing, so yeah.
So it happens that I'm thinking, oh, and I sometimes visit the
wholesalers and I'm like, oh no,it's anthrax, no season.
But we know that.
But sometimes it might be justa tiny band, maybe some people
(11:24):
don't notice it, but because wedo screen for resistance, it
bothers me.
Lara Brindisi (11:32):
Yeah, it's hard to be a perfectionist and a
plant breeder.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (11:37):
Yeah, and we also look at flower shape,
the stem length oh, this is afunny story for an anthrax, we
used to think stem length wouldbe adequate and then the
designers were telling us no, weneed a longer stem, because if
you're going to make hand-tightbookcase, then a longer stem is
needed.
You can always make it shorter.
(11:57):
It's time to consuming toextend the stem length.
And I didn't realize this untilI had a workshop with the
designers.
This was when I think it was 20, either 2016 or 2017.
The growers decided because thegrowers were working with
floral designers and theythought, oh, it would be good to
(12:20):
collect as all, so the breederknows what the designer wants.
In this workshop.
So one of the projects we hadtwo projects One was to make a
vase arrangement for events andthe other one was to make a
bouquet.
And so we had to make a bouquetand it was a hand-tight and the
flower I had was one of ourreleases and I said, oh, it's
(12:43):
too short.
It's difficult to make ahand-tight bouquet the stem
length long enough.
And that's when the designertold us and that's why we want
longer stems.
As a breeder, if you're notdesigning, it's like I'm
focusing on our yield, diseaseresistance and stem length, of
(13:05):
course, but realizing howimportant it was when it wasn't
high up our list Now it means wereally try and see how long the
stems are.
Lara Brindisi (13:16):
Wow, yeah, so that's a really unique part, I
guess, of working with cutflowers.
Who is your consumer?
Is it the person buying it atthe grocery store, or is it the
designer who's going to bebuying it and incorporating it
into their floral arrangements?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (13:33):
Exactly yes, and before we, until now,
we do a lot of our field testing, our advanced selection testing
at commercial growers' fields.
So ever since I started theprogram, our focus was okay, we
need that Disease resistance.
(13:54):
We need healthy, virallygrowing plants, yield of six
flowers per plant per year, andthis is for anthermium.
And so we were focusingprimarily on what the growers'
needs were, not realizingthere's a thing called flower
conformation or like how theanthermium flower appears.
(14:18):
So in anthermium breeding wemake the seedlings, so we
hybridize.
It takes about six months forthe fruits to mature and then it
takes about 18 months to getthe seedling to first flower if
we're lucky, 18 months to twoyears and then we'll look at it,
(14:41):
for at first we'll look at thecolor and then there are changes
in flower shape as the flowersmature, so there's like a
juvenility period, and then, ifit looks interesting, maybe at
the third flower or so, I'lltake a look and I'll take a
photo and then I'll send it toour advisory team of growers and
(15:08):
designers and I'll say this iswhat I'm looking at, clone or
not.
To clone Is cloning.
To multiply enough plantmaterials for testing will take
about three years.
So I don't want to waste mythree years on something they
don't want.
We've had experiences in thepast where we released a variety
(15:33):
and then we're thinking, oh,there's no market acceptance for
this, I don't see it in themarket.
So that was mainly because wewere thinking of what we wanted.
So I'm just realizing who isthe one, like Lara mentioned,
who is the one actually buyingand who drives the market.
(15:54):
That I thought was interestingbecause we did account maybe a
few years ago and we said, okay,these are all the varieties we
released.
How many of them were made animpact commercially?
Not everything did, and wefound out one of them.
(16:17):
One of our releases in the 90swas this white and therm with a
red nose and it was playfullycalled Rudolph Rudolph the Red
Nose and Thorium.
But it's not in commercial useand from the designer's
viewpoint, they don't likecontrasting colors the spade and
(16:37):
the spadex.
If there's too much contrast,it's hard to work with.
So they are telling us yeah.
So they're telling us, oh, nottoo much contrast.
So I had one selection a fewyears ago.
I thought, oh, this is so cool.
And then they go oh, there'stoo much contrast, so that
(16:59):
didn't get cloned, but it on theside, I'll use it.
Maybe I'll use it as a breedingparent, but saving us that time
by knowing what is acceptablereally makes a difference.
So we have this advisory team ofdesigners and just last week I
(17:20):
took a picture of something Ithought was interesting and I
post the question clone or notto clone?
I give them the flowermeasurements, I take a picture
of the plant to show how longthe stem is, because space
length and width and the stemlength.
I sent it to the group and thenthey said oh, the color looks
nice, the spadex or the nosedoes not contrast with the space
(17:45):
, so it's easier to work with.
And so now the question we gotfrom the grower is what's the
yield?
He said we'll monitor that, butin the meantime we will keep an
eye for when the leaf is readyand we can start cloning and
testing.
So to me it makes it a loteasier knowing what we're going
(18:09):
to put into.
Advanced selection is alreadydesirable by the market.
Lara Brindisi (18:16):
That's great, that you have a team of
consultants that you could askis this a go or not?
Especially because when you'rebreeding plants and you're
looking at I don't knowthousands and thousands of
plants, you look for the thingsthat are different, right,
Because that's exciting to youas someone who's been literally
seeing it all.
But then to have someone tellyou actually is really valuable
(18:40):
information, Because I think youhad said this to us in the
pre-interview session, but thatyou are looking for flowers that
are the star of the show andthey don't necessarily have to
be.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (18:54):
Yes, that's right, lara.
At first we were thinking interms of, oh, it has to be this
perfect flower that will winawards at the plant shows, have
awards, right?
So we were thinking in terms ofthat instead of the utility and
how well the flowers cancombine with other cut flowers,
(19:15):
for instance.
One instance that the advisoryteam was very helpful was we had
this.
It was like a muddy color, andusually, when you like, we've
been trained to look for cleancolors, not muddy colors.
And then they said to me oh no,this is really good, we like
(19:37):
these brownish, grayish tonesbecause you can go either way.
And so that made me open myeyes and look at trade magazines
and other flower catalogs andsee what are the other colors
that we have to be working with.
So now I realize and like youmentioned, that we don't have to
(20:02):
be the star, we have to play.
Well, it's an all-star game.
So it made me realize belatedly, and it made me realize when
you go to a flower shop, forinstance, it's not just one
flower in an arrangement.
Many times, even thesupermarket bouquets are a
(20:24):
combination.
Lara Brindisi (20:25):
And that's hard too, because you have to predict
trends right Like if next yeareveryone's going to be buying
blush tones for their weddingyou want to be prepared for that
and because it's a very longbreeding cycle we're talking
about 14 years to develop anEthereum variety.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (20:43):
We try to have every color we can have
possible.
That's in testing and try torealize what are really the main
colors.
We had a breeding.
We had a project on trying togenetically engineer a blue and
cerium.
One of my graduate students didthat but when you really think
(21:04):
about it, there's not really ahuge demand.
So it's good for science, it'sdefinitely good for science, but
it's not going to be the topseller.
It has a specific market and Iwas thinking about that because
(21:25):
I was at the wholesalers thispast weekend and I saw the blue
carnations they called fancycarnations and that those are
the genetically engineeredcarnations Quite expensive, but
there was only one bucket of it,whereas the whites, pinks and
greens have buckets and bucketsof that.
So we have to temper what themarket needs, what the demands
(21:51):
are and our quest for scienceand realizing that sometimes the
challenging blue flower it'sgreat science, but it's not
going to be the top seller.
Sam Humphrey (22:06):
That's amazing.
I didn't realize.
14 years, really, that's like Ican't even fathom this, because
I've been in science for whatlike seven, six, seven years,
because I'm still a relativelyyoung student.
That's incredible dedication aswell.
Do you have any recentcultivars that you're really
(22:29):
excited about?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (22:30):
Yes, we just had two red varieties that
we released.
I haven't done the officialFort Science publication, but we
released it to the floraldesigners, the American
Institute for Floral Design, sothey are heart-shaped.
The Cathie Ruloda is a niceheart-shaped antherium.
(22:52):
Like red, doesn't get too big,and the namesake, a designer
herself, cathie Ruloda, saidthat oh, this is an everyday
type of arrangement, I can sellthis.
So that was pretty good to hearthat that size is what they're
(23:13):
looking for.
It doesn't get really large,but it's really a pretty red one
.
And then we have Phil Ruloda,which is what we call an obaque.
An obaque antherium has greenwith another color, so it's a
dark red with green.
(23:34):
It can get large over,sometimes over 12 inches in
length.
So we have some antheriums thatare called exhibition size, so
they can be about 12, 14 inchesin length.
Wow.
Lara Brindisi (23:52):
Are those the ones that you enter for awards
and trade shows?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (23:57):
Well, I think if it were to enter a
plant show, that would besomething that would be worth
looking at.
But for the Society of AmericanCut Flower competition, I think
it's not just a size but otherattributes glossiness, stem
(24:19):
length and so on, and how wellit's grown too.
Metropolitan Museum of ModernArt, moma, had vase and in that
vase was an antherium.
They were like three stamps andI'm thinking, oh my gosh,
that's tropic line, one of ourreleases.
So it's just, it's like you seeyour products in non floral,
(24:42):
not in the trade magazine, butin everyday or artworks, art
museums and whatnot and you seeit being used and it's really
amazing to see that and thenmakes me humbled and think what
else can we do?
What will be the next one?
Lara Brindisi (25:04):
Yeah, Well, and you have another recently
released, or it was released in2015,.
Right, you won an award in 2021, maui.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (25:14):
Oh, yes, that's Maui, the red obaque.
I've seen it when I saw it ondisplay at the Society of
American Florist I think it wasin the magazine for first at
Delft in floral management andthen I was at the AIFT Symposium
(25:34):
in Las Vegas and they have theCut Flower competition.
There is this on display to seethe flowers that I was part of
the breeding team.
I mean, breeding is always ateam effort, right, it's,
there's the hybridizer, but theneven selection takes a whole
team, and then you have yourgrowers who test it out for you,
(25:59):
yeah, and then you have theplant pathologist who tell you
what's wrong with it.
Lara Brindisi (26:04):
Yeah, it's definitely a strong team of
people.
You also mentioned that this isan obaque flower.
Can you clarify what that is orwhat that means?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (26:16):
Yes, obaque means it's green with
some other color, so Maui is redwith green and that won an
award in 2015.
And what's really nice is I goto the market whether it's
supermarket or the wholesalerand then I see Maui in the
(26:40):
buckets and I'm thinking I knowthat we also have another pink
obaque that also won an award.
It's called Kapoho Velo and itwas awarded.
We released it in 2021.
As a breeder, to see yourproduct on the cover of Hort
(27:03):
Science was really, reallysatisfying.
I was just so shocked when Ireceived the email from the
editorial board asking if theycould use those end theorems for
the cover of Hort Science.
And what was interesting was Iwas going up for tenure and the
(27:32):
Hort Science issue came.
I think it was either August orSeptember and our dosiers were
submitted in October, so I hadlook a variety, made it to the
front page Perfect timing.
That was perfect timing.
(27:54):
It was just an incredibleexperience and I thought that
was very touching to see thosevarieties on the cover and those
were taken from pictures of, Ithink, when we were still
(28:17):
testing.
So to see those pictures in, Imean, those plants in the field.
And many times I tell ourgrowers you know, you do a much
better job growing in the fieldthan we do in our greenhouses.
What are we looking at?
A few pots.
We're not testing a whole scale, because we're looking at new
seedlings, we're looking at newselections and they're growing
(28:42):
at least 200.
Now it's initially we send out200 plants for them to test in
tissue culture, so they'll growit out and flower it and then,
if there's something interesting, we are informed that they want
to test it on a larger scale.
So we'll scale up to 500 or1,000 because that's the best
(29:06):
way to check for marketability.
I had a grower telling me oh,with 200 plants I can't even
make a full box because theydon't mature all at the same
time.
So that was another educational.
You know, learning as you go,and I think, as a breeder, we
always yeah, I'm sure you canrelate to this You're always
(29:27):
tweaking as you go along, and soto have that flexibility I
think is really important thatas we go along we realize, oh,
we can't always look at 200,because then they can't test how
well it ships, because I can'teven make a full box and I'm
(29:47):
thinking, oh okay, then we won'tget our data right away.
So yeah, it's been.
I learned from the breeders, Ilearned from the designers, I
learned from my it's lifelonglearning and things that I
thought worked before.
I realized, uh-oh, we have totweak things a little bit.
(30:07):
So course correction is alwaysgreat.
Sam Humphrey (30:11):
A lot of learning, but it sounds so rewarding,
like when you describe thosemoments of even just seeing it
in a magazine like I.
That sounds just so beautifuland I'm sure you haven't always
like anticipated that you wouldbe this amazing breeder who's
(30:36):
publishing and like has thecover of Hort Science and
everything.
I would like to get a littlebit into your background.
When did you first becomeinterested in tropical flowers?
Were you always interested inorchids and antheriums?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (30:52):
Well, yes , I grew up in the Philippines
and my mom was on a hobbyist, soshe had orchids, so we had
orchids at home and we also hadantheriums at home, but she had
more orchids than antheriumswhen I was growing up.
So I have a picture when I wasreally young and I'm trying to
(31:14):
touch a Phalaenopsis orchid andI think she's holding me back.
So when I do my talks about howI got into flowers, it's
because I was exposed at a veryyoung age to flowers and then
(31:34):
during summer my mom would helpme.
Help.
It's like help, can you washpots?
I started by washing pots, thenit became helping her
propagating some dendrobiums andother orchids, and then it
became and the other thing thatshe my mom also was an officer
(31:59):
in the Orchid Society in ourhometown and so she was the
secretary and she'd make meaddress all the meeting
announcements, because ourpenmanship looked very similar.
This was before email.
Lara Brindisi (32:18):
So you had a hand write all of the letters.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (32:21):
I had to hand write it and sometimes I'd
sign for her.
So she gives me a pile ofletters.
So I got to know the members byname and then when she would
bring me to the Orchid Societymeetings I could match the name
and the face because I'vewritten their names and
addresses on a monthly basispretty much, and so that was
(32:46):
really great.
So she, even though I was notan official member of the Orchid
Society, she made me tag along,which I appreciate.
It really exposed me to othertropical plants because I would
go with her when the OrchidSociety had field trips so I'd
look into people's gardens,other nurseries, and that was
(33:09):
just fascinating.
I also had my parents had afriend I think I was in first
grade or I was really young, andour friend of ours was do, our
family friend, was doing herdissertation on orchids.
So one Sunday after church she,my dad dropped her off at the
(33:32):
lab and she invited us in and Isaw the lab.
It was nice, sterile, becauseit was tissue culture, and then
bottles and bottles of littlethings and I thought, oh,
they're growing in bottles andthat stuck with me.
I just thought that was sofascinating.
(33:54):
So I thought, oh, I think Iwant to do orchids.
And then, coupled with my mom'sinterest in orchids and fast
forward, by the time I was incollege oh actually in high
school I knew already I wantedto major in horticulture.
Breeding was still.
I wasn't quite sure if I wantedto go breeding but I knew I was
(34:15):
interested in genetics becausein high school biology, the
segregation and it was justfascinating.
And I remember I told mybiology teacher that Hardy
Weinberg population and howphenotypes are, that was just
very fascinating.
So I think that was early on.
(34:37):
I was interested but not quitesure if I really wanted to
become a breeder.
But I knew I wanted to doorchids.
So I ended up in that same labwhere I saw those tiny plants in
flask when I was what?
Seven, eight years old.
I ended up doing my undergradpieces under the same advice.
Lara Brindisi (34:59):
So then how did you take that interest and
travel to Hawaii and get yourmaster's and PhD?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (35:08):
So my advisor undergraduate advisor
was writing a book on Philippineorchids.
Her name was Dr Helen Valmayorand she did her doctorate at the
University of Florida.
Her graduate advisor was at theUniversity of Hawaii and there
(35:29):
was Dr Yoneo Sagawa and therewas another orchid breeder by
the name of Dr Haruyuki KameMotel, so there were two orchid
breeders at the university atthe time.
And so I told my advisor Ithink I want to apply at the
University of Hawaii to dograduate work, because at the
(35:53):
orchid shows many of the orchidhybrids that were coming in were
brought in from Hawaii.
So I'm thinking maybe Hawaii isthe place to be, so that's
where I should be going.
And she goes oh yeah, and soshe was writing a book and this
was in 1983, 84.
Actually she was writing itwhile I was doing my thesis, and
(36:16):
so the book was published, Ibelieve in 1983.
And 1984, she was going toOrchid Conferences to talk about
her book and promote her book.
So she went to Japan where shethis was October of 1984, I
believe.
I had already applied to theUniversity of Hawaii but I
(36:39):
didn't have an assistantship atthat time.
But I said no matter what, I'llgo and then figure my way out
after a semester or two and seemaybe I can get a teaching
assistantship, maybe I can get aGPA graduate research
assistantship.
At the conference in Japan shemet Dr Kame Moro who said that
he had an assistantshipavailable.
(37:01):
And so she came back and shesaid I spoke to Dr Kame Moro, he
has an assistantship available.
He will write to you.
I want you to respond rightaway Because he already had an
excellent reputation as anorchid breeder and a theorem
breeder and his focus was oncytogenetics and polyploidy
(37:25):
breeding.
So by January 1985, I found myway to Hawaii with an
assistantship offer from Dr KameMoro and I've stayed there
since and I learned so much fromhim I'm his last PhD student,
(37:46):
so that was so meaningful.
We co-wrote a book on breedingorchids in Hawaii and that was,
I remember, what he said.
I helped him also with breedingand serums in Hawaii book and
he said maybe I should have madeyou co-author.
But I said that's OK, I learnedso much.
(38:07):
And he said that by writing thebook and helping him with a
book that's his way of teachingwithout actually spoon feeding
me, because I had to help himtype, help him do that.
I think I did the indexing forbreeding and serums in Hawaii.
I did the indexing so I had toread everything, not only help
(38:31):
him with a manuscript, but alsoindex that.
So I've read it multiple timesand then be part of the editing
process.
So I learned so much of thehistory just by working on the
books on the answer and theendropium books so I thought
that was the greatest giftbecause he made me work to get
(38:54):
the information and it stuck.
So when there's items that Ineed to look back on, I know
exactly I think it's in thisbook, it's this chapter and this
is where I look back and getthat information.
So that was pretty cool.
Lara Brindisi (39:11):
Yeah, there's nothing like writing content
that makes you have to learn itbetter than just reading it.
Yeah, and so your passion justemanates from you about orchids.
Do you have any advice forhelping others find out their
passions?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (39:30):
I had an interesting conversation with my
daughter how to find yourpassion.
What can you do without?
Basically, is there anythingthat if we take it away from you
, it would absolutely bedevastating?
She says it would kill you ifyou don't have this and I said I
(39:54):
can't imagine my life withoutplants.
It doesn't matter if it'sorchids and thorium, african
violets, ferns, vegetables.
If I had a life devoid ofplants I would die.
I would.
It would be so, you think, interms of what if something was
(40:15):
taken away from you?
What is that thing that youcan't live without?
I think that would be the bestway to find your passion.
And yes, when she told me that,she said oh, I can see it in
your face.
When she told me, what if Itook away your plants?
I didn't realize she could readmy face that well and I was
(40:38):
FaceTiming with her last weekand I was in the greenhouse and
she goes mama, you look so happywith your plants and I thought
this is my normal face.
She said, no, you're differentwhen you're with and I guess,
because I don't see myself, shesees it.
She goes because I was tellingher oh, this is the one we're
(40:59):
looking at right now, yeah, shehad helped me before, so for
orchids you can save the polinja.
So she had helped me before andshe said so I'd give her and we
save the polinja for futurehybridization work.
(41:21):
And she knows how to take thepollen out, the polinja, which
is a mass of pollen in orchidsNormally there's two for
dendrobium.
And then I've instructed her OK, you flip, remove that pollen
cap, take out all the polinja,stick it into a gel cap and
label it with this.
(41:41):
So she knew the parents.
She goes oh mom, when are youbringing K404-2?
And I told her you have to putthe parent, without the name,
where it came from.
It's useless.
And you have to put the date soI know when to.
So she helped me.
I think she was like, and shehad small hands, she was like
second grade, she'd hang outwith me in the lab, so she'd be
(42:04):
doing that.
And she said, oh, I'mdepolynizing.
And the graduate assistant inour lab thought that was a real
word.
I said, no, she made it updepolynizing and I'm thinking
it's more like emasculation, butnot really.
She's doing pollen storagebasically.
But she enjoyed that.
(42:26):
So that was the daughter whohelped me define how to find my
passion.
Sam Humphrey (42:30):
That's so sweet.
So you had a second grade plantbreeder alongside you.
That's amazing.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (42:39):
She enjoyed it, though.
I used to drag her to plantshows with me and she thought
those were cool and fascinating.
And now, by the time I couldteach her how to count for
viable embryos, she decided todo other things.
I was thinking, OK, afterremoving the pollen, maybe I can
(43:01):
have her count viable embryos,but it's gratifying that my
family appreciates the work I doand enjoys flowers, also enjoys
plants.
Very supportive.
Lara Brindisi (43:16):
OK, I have a question for the audience,
especially because I get askedso many times how to keep
orchids and plants in generalalive.
So do you have any tips for theaudience about how they could
keep their orchids andantheriums alive?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (43:31):
OK, To keep plants alive, one of the
let me backtrack here.
Keeping plants alive can bechallenging.
We know that and I've done onething I've done more than one
thing actually to keep killingthem.
(43:52):
But one thing I realized isthat overwatering is easy to do
and we think by giving morewater it's like giving more love
.
Right.
Overwatering or controlling theamount of water can kill your
plant or will kill your plant ifyou overdo it.
(44:14):
I've purchased becausedepending on the plant medium.
So definitely lifting that potto see how heavy it is will help
determine how much water theplant needs or whether it needs
it.
At the time I killed manyorchids by overwatering.
(44:36):
I said that's it.
I'm not keeping it in my house,I'll bring it to the greenhouse
where we have automaticsprinklers, because sometimes I
forget to water and then I'dovercompensate.
I've killed roses.
That way too, I go.
I forgot.
Lara Brindisi (44:53):
I'm sure this is very reassuring for people to be
hearing that we have an expertin orchids and Anthorium that's
accidentally killing theirplants.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (45:00):
Yes, I've killed my plants.
I bought a potted Anthorium andthen I brought it home.
I didn't control the thrips ina timely manner.
I didn't scout enough.
I'm thinking, wait, this lookslike thrips damage.
I started snipping away theleaves and then I snip, snip,
(45:21):
snip, and then there's notenough leaves.
I'm thinking this is exactlywhat I tell my students we leave
X number of leaves on the plantso the plant can continue to
grow.
But then I didn't control thethrips.
I ended up killing my Anthorium.
Sam Humphrey (45:38):
Wait.
How many leaves is that?
I need to know.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (45:41):
Three leaves usually is what we leave.
At least it should have one.
But for potted Anthorium youwant to keep the leaves, but
don't as much as possible.
We had a colleague of mine didsome work where they cut
Anthorium.
They said if you go less thanthree leaves then there's not
(46:04):
enough photosynthesis happeningand you'll get decreased yield
or decreased quality.
Even with my potted AnthoriumsI tried to keep three but I
tried to keep as much aspossible, just because it's a
potted plant and you need thatfoliage to make it look
attractive.
Sam Humphrey (46:23):
Okay, this is really useful because after
seeing these pictures of theseAnthoriums you've bred at home
gorgeous they are I'm just onlygoing to have Anthoriums from
now on.
So, thank you, I will make sureto keep them in the video.
They last really long.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (46:38):
That's another thing.
Anthoriums last really long, solong that you might have to
dust it.
Yes, the tropical plants ingeneral, most of them will last
way over a week.
Anthoriums, when we do ourevaluations, at least 21 days.
(47:00):
So with the ones that have thepink and green, the oboque on
the Anthoriums, it can be amonth or more.
When we were doing someevaluations it was like 57 days.
I'm thinking 57 days, that'sreally long.
(47:25):
And that's without the cytokineand treatment, because our
commercial cut flower growers doa benzene adenine dip as a
packing house operation.
So they'll dip.
Because early on one of ourcolleagues, one of our
(47:47):
professors and his grad studentsfigured out by doing cytokine
and dip you can prolong the lifeof Anthorium because the quote,
unquote flower is actually amodified leaf and so the
cytokine and treatment prolongsthe life.
Not every.
(48:07):
There's obviously there's agenetic component to this, not
every.
There won't always be adifference, significant
difference, between the cytokineand dip and the untreated, but
for instances or for lines thatrespond, it could be doubling
(48:27):
the vase life.
So you pretty much you canextend the vase.
The vase life is pretty long.
Sam Humphrey (48:38):
It's amazing.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (48:41):
Three weeks two to three weeks, I
would say would be acceptable,and if you get me on that,
that's really a plus.
Lara Brindisi (48:51):
Great.
So if anyone is interested inyour research and wants to get
in touch with you about yourprogram, how is the best way to
do that?
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (48:59):
Oh, so you can email me.
My email address is amore.
At hawaiiedu, I have anInstagram which I period.
I don't post as much, but youcan contact me on Instagram.
It's tessie underscore amore.
I don't post as much.
I should be posting, but I alsohave linked in and it's under
(49:20):
Teresita Amore.
Lara Brindisi (49:21):
Okay, great.
Thank you so much for awonderful interview, oh thank
you.
Sam Humphrey (49:29):
This was fantastic .
You're also like so colorful inyour descriptions and stories.
It's perfect.
Dr. Teresita D. Amore (49:36):
That passion oh thank you so much.
Sam Humphrey (49:45):
To find some of Dr Teresita Amore's research,
check out Court Science, whichis one of the open source
peer-reviewed journals publishedby the American Society for
Horticultural Science.
These papers include somegorgeous antherian photos too.
Links to these articles will beprovided in the show notes.
Lara Brindisi (50:02):
She also has several videos on YouTube
through the Hawaii FloridaCulture and Nursery Association,
and I'll be posting pictures ofthe flowers we discussed in
this episode on my Instagram,which you can find using the
handle at the plant PhD Sam.
If people want to follow yourwork, what's the best way?
Sam Humphrey (50:20):
You can find me on LinkedIn at Samson Humphrey,
and if you'd like moreinformation about the American
Society for HorticulturalScience in general, you can go
to ashhsorg forward slash.
Lara Brindisi (50:30):
Thanks for joining us.
Stay tuned for the next episode.
Ashs podcasts are made possibleby member dues and volunteerism
.
Please go to ashhsorg to learnmore.
If you are not already a memberof ASHS, we invite you to join
us.
Ashs is a not-for-profit andyour donations are tax
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This episode was hosted by SamHumphrey and Laura Bernese.
(50:53):
Special thanks to our audioengineer, alex Fraser, our
research team, lena Wilson andAndrew Komatz, our ASHS support
team, sarah Powell and SallyMurphy, and our musician, john
Clark.
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