ISHS Acta Horticulturae 616: I International Symposium on Acclimatization and Establishment of Micropropagated Plants
HIGH SURVIVAL RATES DURING ACCLIMATIZATION OF MICROPROPAGATED FRUIT TREE ROOTSTOCKS BY INCREASING EXPOSURES TO LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY |
| Author: | J.A. Marin |
| Keywords: | Adaptation, fruit tree species, Prunus, water loss, water transport |
| Abstract:
Micropropagated plants are usually cultured in in vitro environments, with a high relative humidity and low light intensity, taking nutrients and energy from the culture medium. During acclimatization, physiological and structural changes allow micropropagated plants to adapt to the new environmental conditions, mainly to low relative humidity and high light intensity. As a result, plants become autotrophic and develop as normal plants. However, acclimatization is not easy in many species obtaining low survival percentages. In this work we present a method of acclimatization that yields high survival rates, based on the controlled exposure to low relative humidity. Micropropagated plants, exposed daily to low relative humidity, showed high survival rates during acclimatization under a plastic tunnel in the greenhouse. In contrast, only few plants survived when humidity was kept high continuously, indicating that the exposures to low relative humidity may stimulate the changes to become a functional plant. Care should be taken to keep the substrate well watered, in order to provide enough water to restore water loss from transpiration. In this way, plants soon started to adapt and new leaves were visible during the first week of acclimatization. In addition, water transport through the roots was stimulated since plants were able to recover from a moderate wilt after the exposures to low relative humidity. | |
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