[Breeding of new varieties "zhongchai no. 2" and "zhongchai no. 3" of Bupleurum chinense].

Objective: To breed new varieties with better uniformity and commercial quality as well as higher saikosaponin contents.
Method: The excellent germplasm resources were selected from "zhongchai no. 1" population. Single plant method was applied to get better varieties. All the breeding material was investigated according to morphological characters, agronomic characters and the contents of saikosaponin a and saikosaponin d. The experiments of comparative test and varieties regional test were carried out.
Result: The bred new varieties of "zhongchai No. 2" and "zhongchai No. 3" had better uniformity. The dark brown roots ratios of the two varieties were 83.2%, 89.9%, respectively. The contents of saikosaponins (a + d) of the two varieties reached 1.31%, 1.02%, respectively.
Conclusion: "zhongchai No. 2" and " zhongchai No. 3" both had the advantages of better uniformity, darker brown roots and higher saikosaponin contents.