Somaclonal variation in plant adaptation to acid soil in the tropical forage legume Stylosanthes guianensis

Abstract

Somaclonal variation offers the possibility to obtain changes in one or a few characters of an otherwise outstanding cultivar without altering the remaining, and often unique, part of the genotype. It has been shown to be heritable for some species. A check line of Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw., CIAT 2243 and 14 somaclones in the R 4 generation, selected after three generations from the original 114 plants regenerated from callus cultures, were used in a glasshouse trial. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the physiological basis of the differences in agronomic performance of certain somaclones over the check genotype when grown in a sandy loam acid soil at low or high fertility level. Measurements at the time of harvest (170 days of plant age) included dry matter distribution between shoot and roots, leaf area production, nutrient levels in soil and plant parts, and uptake of nutrients from soil. Somaclones differed with the check genotype in terms of (i) partitioning of fixed carbon between the shoot and roots; (ii) root biomass production and (iii) uptake of nitrogen and phosphorus. Positive relationships were found between total nitrogen uptake and total biomass, and total phosphorus uptake and total biomass, and total phosphorus uptake and total nitrogen uptake. The results of this study provide an insight into the potential use of somaclonal variation for the improvement of plant adaptation to acid soil conditions.

Somaclonal variation on in vitro callus culture potato cultivars

“…They found 43% variability in one Begonia hiemalis cultivar and only 7% in another. Likewise, differences in somaclonal variation incidence in three potato cultivars were observed: Russet Burbank cultivar somaclones showed higher variability than those of the Kennebec and Superior cultivars (Rietveld et al, 1993).…”

Waterlogging-induced changes in root architecture of germplasm accessions of the tropical forage grass Brachiaria humidicola

“…Before re-planting of propagules, the soil mixture was thoroughly mixed with the following nutrient application (milligrams of element per kilogram of a soil–sand mixture: N 40, P 50, K 100, Ca 101, Mg 28, S 20, Zn 2.0, Cu 2.0, B 0.1 and Mo 0.1). This level of nutrient application represented the recommended fertility level for crop–pasture establishment (Rao et al 1992). The soil mixture (4.5 kg) was packed in transparent plastic cylinders (80 cm high × 7.5 cm diameter) inserted into beige polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes.…”

Morpho‐anatomical traits of root and non‐enzymatic antioxidant system of leaf tissue contribute to waterlogging tolerance in Brachiaria grasses

“…The soil was fertilized to supply adequate nutrients for establishing tropical pasture in acid soil with crops: (kg ha −1 ) 40 N, 50 P, 100 K, 101 Ca, 28.4 Mg, 20 S, 2 Zn, 2 Cu, 0.1 B and 0.1 Mo (Rao et al . ).…”