CLONAL SELECTION OF IRIS SPECIES FOR PERF UMERY

Irones are the major essential aromatic principles extracted from the rhizomes of the iris species (mainly Iris pallida and Iris germanica) and are used in fragrances for their scent of violets. With a view to improving productivity and the quality of rhizomes, a selection work i n the field, from an established collection of iris clones, has been p erformed with 5 repetitions and in 2 locations for several of them. Fo r the evaluation of the potential irone content a microbiological trea tment has been used in order to release them from their precursors. In a first step, the intraclonal stability was studied on Iris pallida a nd Iris germanica. In a second step the possibility to select some clo nes of Iris pallida with regard to their growth, irone content and iro ne yield, was demonstrated.