In Vitro Germination of Immature Prunus lusitanica Seed

A tissue culture protocol was developed to germinate immature Prunus lusitanica seeds in vitro. The study was conducted by first identifying the best media for germination, followed by investigating effects of seed conditioning. In Expt. I, seeds were collected 12 weeks after pollination (WAP) ± 1 week and placed on media after removing the pericarp. Eight different MS media (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) were tested (M1–M8) containing two concentrations each of 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), gibberellic acid (GA 3 ), and sucrose. The longest shoots resulted from M4 (1.45 µ m GA 3 , 6 µ m BA, and 30 g·L −1 sucrose), followed by M1 (0 µ m GA 3 , 3 µ m BA, and 30 g·L −1 sucrose). Radicle and shoot emergence was greater than or equal to 90% for M1, M3, and M4 after a stratification treatment. In Expt. II, M1 was used to test root and shoot emergence at 6, 9, and 12 WAP, with and without cold stratification. Little success was seen 6 and 9 WAP, with only callus development in 6 WAP, nonstratified seed. Cold stratification increased shoot emergence in the 12 WAP group from 4% to 28%, appearing to be critical for shoot emergence. If the cotyledons are retained on the seed, future efforts to expedite breeding of P. lusitanica using in vitro germination should not be collected before 12 WAP and will benefit from cold stratification before germinating on M1 or M4. Chemical names: 6-benzylaminopurine (BA), gibberellic acid (GA 3 ).