Articles
IN VITRO TECHNIQUES TO INCREASE THE OUTPUT OF CHERRY SEEDLINGS FROM EARLY-RIPENING PARENTS
Therefore, it is difficult to obtain abundant populations and breeding is inefficient.
Early varieties form viable embryos but seeds do not germinate because of poor cotyledon development during fruit ripening.
It is possible to increase the output of seedlings by applying in vitro technologies.
Isolated embryos and cotyledons of open pollinated seeds from 6 sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) and 6 sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) varieties were utilized.
Explants were rescued during different periods of fruit development.
Seeds of ripe fruits were fractionated according to the degree of sinking in water.
Isolated embryos from each fraction were measured by length and planted on White (1943) and Murashige and Skoog (1962) media.
Autonomy of rescued embryos began about the 5th week after full bloom.
Depending on the variety 0–62% developed on White medium.
The highest percentage of embryos developing in in vitro was obtained 6–9 weeks after full flowering, reaching 48–100% depending on the variety.
Germination of isolated embryos in vitro decreased when the pit was removed from the flesh and dried, in parallel with increasing embryo infestation by fungi.
Sterile conditions had to be made more severe for successful culture in vitro.
Rescued sweet and sour cherry cotyledons formed shoots at a low rate when placed on MS medium supplemented with BAP. Cotyledons with morphogenetic potential regenerated more than one shoot in all cases.
The length of shoots regenerated from a cotyledon correlated inversely with their number.
In all cases, the stage of shoot lengthening and rhizogenesis was indispensable.
Plant regeneration varied greatly in time.