ISHS Acta Horticulturae 78: Symposium on Tissue Culture for Horticultural Purposes
IN VITRO STUDIES ON ORGANOGENESIS AND GROWTH IN ALLIUM CEPA TISSUE CULTURES |
| Authors: | D.I. Dunstan, K.C. Short |
| Abstract:
Various tissue culture techniques have been used in an attempt to develop 'in vitro' propagation and breeding of the Common Onion, Allium cepa. Callus cultures had previously been found to be slow-growing; but a study of comparative growth rates on several standard media, and the addition of nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate ions, resulted in the derivation of a medium producing a forty-fold increase in tissue fresh weight after eight week culture periods. Organogenesis from onion callus cultures has not been well documented, and in an attempt to study organogenic capacity from onion callus, several sources of callus were used. Callus originating from seedling radicles produced the largest numbers of shoots per callus explant (up to 6 shoots per 30 mg inoculum). Results using callus of bulb and set origin were more variable. A further source of shoot production has been found to occur from the onion capitulum in vitro. When plated onto agar media the capitulum responds by producing shoots of diverse origin. The hormone supplement of the culture medium, treatment method and age of inoculum have been studied, and results indicate the requirement for young flower-head material for optimal shoot production (about 10 shoots per flower-head). | |
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