Articles
SIMULATION OF THE EFFECTS OF PHOTOPERIOD AND LIGHT INTENSITY ON THE GROWTH OF POTATO PLANTLETS CULTURED PHOTOAUTOTROPHICALLY IN VITRO
Benimaru) plantlets, and dry weight of the plantlet was made for different photoperiods and photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) using a previously reported model developed by Niu et al. (1996) for in vitro plantlets.
To compare the simulated results with experimental ones, the potato plantlets were cultured photoautotrophically (no sugar in the medium) in vitro under PPF of 100, 120, or 150 μmol m-2 s-1 and photoperiods of 16, 20 or 24 h per day.
According to the simulated results, the steady-state Ci during the photoperiod decreased during the 15-day culture period.
Higher PPF led to lower steady-state Ci during the photoperiod.
At the same PPF, longer photoperiod led to higher dry weight of the plantlet.
Also, at the same daily integrated PPF, longer photoperiod with lower PPF led to higher dry weight of the plantlet.
The simulated dry weight of the plantlet on day 15 increased with the increases in photoperiod and daily integrated PPF.
The simulated dry weight of the plantlet generally agreed with the experimental ones, although 10–20% overestimation was observed in the treatments with photoperiods of 20 and 24 h per day.
The simulated results also indicated the usefulness of computer simulation in predicting the effect of environment on the growth of in vitro plantlets for commercial micropropagation.