INDUCTION OF DWARF F-12/1 CHERRY ROOTSTOCKS BY IN VITRO MUTAGENESIS

Efficient sweet cherry production is dependent on the introduction of dwarf rootstocks to improve production and reduce costs. In vitro mutagenesis is an alternative strategy to reach this objective.
Our in vitro research with F-12/1 cherry rootstocks has produced dwarf plants.
Apical and axillary buds of in vitro cultures were either exposed to gamma-irradiation (30 Gy; 1 Gy/min) or treated with colchicine (0.1 % for 48 h in liquid culture medium). From 247 plants raised in the field about 10 % were significantly reduced in shoot length and trunk diameter.
Gamma-irradiation was less effective on the phenotype than colchicine treatment.
Some of the colchicine-treated plants had larger laminas (width and length) and their leaf colour was darker than that of control plants.
Of some of these plants stomata length was comparable to tetraploid sour cherries whereas others were similar to the original F-12/1 plants (diploid). In vitro cultures of selected dwarf growing F-12/1 mutants from both treatments were rooted in 1988 and 1989 and transferred to soil for further tests.

I International Symposium on In Vitro Culture and Horticultural Breeding

R. Theiler-Hedtrich

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1990.280.61