Somatic embryogenesis was obtained from immature cotyledon explants that were cultured on halfstrength Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts and vitamins with 5.4 lM naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 0.2 lM thidiazuron (TDZ) plus a 4 9 4 factorial combination of 0, 9.8, 24.6, or 49.2 lM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 0, 8.9, 22.2, or 44.4 lM 6-benzyladenine (BA). The addition of 44.4 lM BA improved the percentage of cotyledon explants that produced somatic embryos to [20%, if 9.8 or 24.6 lM IBA was also present. Somatic embryogenesis was [30% when seeds were harvested on 31 July or 15 August. The addition of 50 or 70 g l -1 sucrose enhanced embryogenesis. Histological examination showed that somatic embryos originated from epidermis cells of zygotic embryos. A peak germination rate (69%) was attained when somatic embryos were desiccated for 10 min before they produced green cotyledons and elongating shoot tips. Of the germinated embryos from this desiccation treatment, 65.6% also grew roots and therefore converted into plants. Chilling somatic embryos at 4°C for 15 days resulted in the highest germination rate (69.4%), which was significantly higher than those without chilling treatment (27.6%). However \10% of the chilled germinated embryos formed roots and grew into plants. Plantlets from somatic embryos were transplanted into a 2 vermiculite: 1 sphagnum peat medium, where they had a survival rate of 80.8%, and had no morphological abnormalities.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.