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Aseptic cultivation of sapling trees for studies of nutrient responses with particular reference to phosphate
Author(s) -
PELHAM J.,
MASON P. A.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1978.tb00733.x
Subject(s) - biology , cutting , phosphate , nutrient , phosphorus , horticulture , sucrose , botany , hydrogen peroxide , agar , charcoal , food science , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , bacteria
SUMMARY Plantlets of Betula verrucosa and B. pubescens , originally obtained from seeds surface sterilised in hydrogen peroxide, were grown on slopes of mineral nutrient agar, modified Ingestad, in plastic tubes kept at room temperatures (26 °C) with supplementary lighting. Cuttings taken from plants grown in this way rooted readily on media supplemented with 0–1 mg/1 naphthalene acetic acid and 10 g/1 sucrose. In replicated experiments to determine the optimal conditions for growth, the effects of varying salt concentrations, the addition of charcoal and changes in ventilation and amounts of phosphate were studied. It was found necessary to ‘confound’ variations attributable to the sources of seedlings/cuttings in the experimental designs. The method has facilitated the detection of clones in both B. verrucosa and B. pubescens , which, although growing equally well with large amounts of readily available phosphate, differed greatly when phosphate was in short supply. Low phosphorus ‘tolerant’ and ‘intolerant’ types were identified.