Influence of mother plant on explant morphogenetic ability for some small fruits in in vitro

Abstract

Explants for initiation of in vitro culture from virus free mother plantations (super super elite class A) of black and red currants have a high morphogenetic potential. The number of viable explants in almost all cultivars of black currant was 100%, except the cultivar ‘Byelorusskaya sladkaya’ and ‘Pamyati Vavilova’ in which 4.76% of explants were infected. Percentage of regenerated plant of cultivars of red currant was also high: from 86.67% (cv. ‘Jonkheer Van Tets’) to 100% (cv. ‘Ronda’ and ‘Fertodi’). In initiation of in vitro culture of black currants from seed-trial ground of Timiryazev Moscow Agricultural Academy and in vitro culture of gooseberry from mother plantation (class B) of the Institute for Fruit Growing, the percentage of regenerated plants depended on characters of cultivars. A significant number of infected explants may be due to contamination of mother plants by fungal and bacterial infections in their habitat and the possibility of increasing the level of infection during prolonged storage before the initiation in vitro culture. The number of necrotic explants depends likely on infection of mother plant by systemic pathogens.