ORGANOGENESIS IN CULTURES OF SAINTPAULIA IONANTHA

Callus tissue was induced from floral parts and leaves of African violet cv. blue rhapsody cultured on MS medium supplemented with NAA (2 mgl^-1) and BAP (0.2 mgl^-1). The callus was creamy-brown in colour and grew as a compact globular mass showing 5- and 7- fold increase in fresh weight and cell number respectively during a six-week culture period.
When maintained on this medium under a light regime of 16 h light per day callus differentiated shoots and roots.
Precocious adventitious shoot bud production occurred directly from the surface, apparently without callusing, of ovary, sepal, petal and leaf tissues cultured on MS medium containing BAP (1 mgl^-1) and NAA (1 mgl^-1). After 55 days of culture on this medium each petal formed 118± 8 (S.D.) and 1 cm leaf discs produced 37± 7 (S.D.) shoot buds.
Culturing floral parts and leaf discs on MS medium augmented with K (1 mgl^-1) lead to the profuse development of roots.
The early stages of formation of shoot and root primordia were followed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy.
Transfer of shoots to MS medium devoid of growth hormones resulted in the formation of plantlets which at a height of 3 cm could be transferred to soil with 95% survival.

Symposium on Tissue Culture for Horticultural Purposes

A.M. Vazquez, M.R. Davey, K.C. Short

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1977.78.32