CONDUCTIVITY AND POTASSIUM LEAKAGE AS INDICATORS FOR VIABILITY OF VEGETATIVE MATERIAL OF LILY, ONION AND TULIP

The preservation of a broad genetic variation in collections of germplasm is important for breeding crops and combatting genetic erosion.
To maintain germplasm collections of bulb crops, research is started to develop methods for long time storage of vegetative material.
To develop these methods, techniques for measuring the viability are necessary.
Experiments aiming to find an early indicator for viability of vegetative material of lily, onion and tulip were executed.
The viability of the material was decreased artificially by frost, heath or drying out treatments.
After this treatments, scales of lily and bulbs of onion and tulip were cleaned and placed in distilled water for one and a half hour.
Afterwards, conductivity and potassium leakage were measured and the material was planted to observe growth and development.
In all instances of severe damage, death of the material was accompanied by high values of conductivity and potassium leakage.

VI International Symposium on Flower Bulbs

F. J.M. Bonnier, J. Keller, Jaap M. van Tuyl

Lilium, Allium, Tulipa, preservation, germplasm

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.325.91