Open Access(176) In Vitro Germination of Galax under Different Culture Medium pH Conditions
Author(s) -
Guochen Yang,
Carl E. Niedziela,
Zhongge Lu
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
hortscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.518
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2327-9834
pISSN - 0018-5345
DOI - 10.21273/hortsci.40.4.1052d
Subject(s) - germination , explant culture , sterilization (economics) , rhizome , horticulture , aseptic processing , biology , murashige and skoog medium , in vitro , botany , food science , foreign exchange , biochemistry , economics , monetary economics , foreign exchange market
The goal of this study was to expedite galax seed germination in vitro. Galax seeds were collected from Yancey County, N.C., at an elevation of about 1100 m. Aseptic cultures were established using the tiny rust-colored seeds. In vitro seed germination was achieved under different pH conditions (4.2, 5.0, and 5.8). Seeds cultured in the medium with pH 4.2 tended to germinate early with a better rate than those cultured with a higher pH of 5.0 or 5.8 at the very beginning. Gradually, seeds from media with pH 5.0 and 5.8 caught up in germination. Eventually, seeds from all pH treatments produced a very similar germination rate. Attempts to use the matted and scaly rhizomes and very tender new growth as explant materials to establish aseptic cultures were not successful, due to severe contamination. However, our observations suggested that the very tender new growth could be a good source of explants once the optimum sterilization time is established.