Cynara cardunculus Propagation

The propagation in Cynara cardunculus is carried out following different procedures of both vegetative and seed propagation. In the countries of the Mediterranean basin, where the globe artichoke is grown on about 80% of the world's surface, the propagation is usually made by vegetative methods using offshoots, 'ovoli' or rhizome parts. Conversely, wild and cultivated cardoons are commonly propagated by seed. The vegetative propagation of artichoke is often cause of agronomic and pathological disadvantages; to overcome these problems, new genotypes coming from 'in vitro' multiplication or from seed propagation methods have been successfully introduced in the last twenty years in all producing countries, and now their spread is constantly increasing. Recently, in the seed propagation group, F1 hybrids are commercially used. In the present chapter, the vegetative and seed propagation methods, the techniques to obtain healthy seedlings for multiplication, the influence of environmental factors on the seed production and seed germination parameters are widely described. The genetic at the base of new varieties development and the methods applied to obtain globe artichoke F1 hybrids are also reported together with their procedures and advantages versus disadvantages.