Breeding of Cymbidium ‘Sale Bit’ with Bright Yellow Flowers and Floral Scent

Oriental Cymbidium ‘Sael Bit’ cultivar was developed as a hybrid in 2013 by the National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Suwon, Korea. This hybrid was developed from a cross between C. faberi ‘Ilgyounguhwa’ and C. 98CD05-1’ in 2002. C. ‘Ilgyounguhwa’ has a sweet floral scent, and C. 98CD05-1’ was obtained from a germplasm from Vietnam. After the cross and successful planting and acclimatization in a greenhouse, 72 seedlings were obtained. In 2007, one line was selected on the basis of flower color, leaf shape, flower stalk, and vigorous growth, and it was named ‘Wongyuo F1-37’. The line with the code ‘02-0428-33’ had consistent uniformity and excellent characteristics. The line selected after the evaluation of secondary characteristics was named ‘Sael Bit’. This hybrid has bright yellow and green colored petals (GY1B), red spot lips (R53A), and a pleasant fragrance. Flower and plant size of ‘Sael Bit’ are medium and it has approximately 9.1 flowers per stalk, which can be considered as a good spike habit. Petals and sepals are generally narrow and acute and the inflorescence is erect. Under optimal culture condition, flowers start blooming in late October. (Registration No. 5754)