Propagation by In Vitro Zygotic Embryos Cultures of the Quercus myrsinifolia

Abstract

Zygotic embryo culture was performed to propagate evergreen oak, Quercus myrsinifolia, which has recalcitrant seeds and is difficult to propagate by cuttings. Zygotic embryos appeared in WPM medium after 14 days, and after 56 days, they developed into complete plants with cotyledons and roots. The medium suitable for zygotic embryo culture was 1/4 WPM medium, showing a shoot growth of 2.43 cm and root growth of 8.7 cm after 8 weeks of culture. As a result of investigating the effect of GA3 on the growth of plants germinated from zygotic embryos through GA3 treatment, the best growth was shown in 0.5 mg/l GA3 treatment. The in vitro rooting and growth of IBA-treated zygotic embryo-derived plants were good in the 0.5 mg/l IBA treatment and rooting and shoot growth were not observed at higher concentrations. And the callus induction rate also increased as the concentration of IBA increased. Plants grown in vitro were transferred to a plastic pot containing artificial soil and acclimatized in a greenhouse for about 4 weeks, resulting in more than 90% survival. As a result of this study, the zygotic embryo culture method was confirmed to be effective for mass propagation of Q. myrsinifolia. The results of this study are expected to contribute significantly to the mass propagation of elite Q. myrsinifolia.