MULTIPLICATION OF POTATO PLANTLETS IN VITRO WITH SUGAR FREE MEDIUM UNDER HIGH PHOTOSYNTHETIC PHOTON FLUX

Explants excised from potato (Solanum tuberosum) plantlets in vitro were cultured on MS basal medium (agar 0.4%) with O, 15 and 30 g/l sucrose at three different levels of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) under CO₂ non-enriched and CO₂ enriched conditions.

The fresh weight of the plantlet in vitro 29 days after the start of experiments was more than 2 times greater in higher PPF and CO₂ enriched treatments than in low PPF and CO₂ non-enriched treatments at any sucrose concentration.

In the low PPF and CO₂ non-enriched treatments, the fresh weight increased with increasing sucrose concentration.
While, in the higher PPF and CO₂ enriched treatments, there were no significant differences in fresh weight among different sucrose concentration treatments.
That is, under high PPF and CO₂ enriched conditions, the plantlets cultured on the sucrose free medium developed autotrophy, and showed a similar increase in fresh weight to those cultured on the medium containing sucrose.

The plantlets cultured on sucrose free medium under higher PPF and CO₂ enriched conditions were vigorous and developed enough healthy roots so that no particular rooting and acclimatization processes were required for transfer to in vivo conditions.

Symposium on High Technology in Protected Cultivation

T. Kozai, Y. Koyama, I. Watanabe

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1988.230.12