PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON IN VITRO CULTURE ESTABLISHMENT OF FOUR TYPICAL OLIVE CULTIVARS FROM TUSCANY AND LIGURIA (ITALY)

Plant tissue culture is a powerful tool for clonal propagation and germplasm conservation of species.
In olive (Olea europaea L.) the application of this technique results very complex because the adaptation to the in vitro conditions strongly depends on genotype.
The response to the in vitro culture establishment of four olive cultivars, two from Tuscany (‘Frantoio’ and ‘Leccino’) and two from Liguria (‘Mortina’ and ‘Pignola’) was investigated.
The effects of culture medium composition and season of survey of plant material on in vitro growth performance were analysed.
Regarding culture medium, significant differences were found, within each cultivar, in length and multiplication coefficient of shoots.
Among the four media tested, OMM formulation showed the best results in all cultivars followed by OM medium.
The period of microcuttings collection from the mother plant also affected the in vitro shoot establishment.
Shoot length and multiplication coefficient from uninodal microcuttings collected in June were higher than those collected in December.
The adaptation to the in vitro conditions was also investigated by a micro-morphological approach.
Frozen-hydrated leaves from apical and basal nodes of in vitro shoots were examined using Cryo Scanning Electron Microscopy.
Number of stomata, trichomes and leaf tissues thickness were correlated with leaf development.
Stomata and trichomes decreased from the apical to the basal leaves, while tissues thickness increased.
Significant differences in morphological characteristics were found among cultivars, showing in ‘Mortina’ the highest level of in vitro leaf development.

VI International Symposium on Olive Growing

T. Bracci, A. Minnocci , L. Sebastiani

micropropagation, cryo scanning electron microscopy, leaf development, Olea europaea L.

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.949.6