Abstract:
Local potato varieties are
kept at Suceava Genebank, Romania, in the
experimental field collection and in vitro by
slow growth method which allows limited
plantlets growth, thus prolonging the time
between two subcultures. The paper
presents some results concerning the
influence of a growth inhibitor, namely
sorbitol (as osmotic agent), in the
development of plantlets belonging to five
local varieties of potato (Solanum
tuberosum L.), after different periods of in
vitro storage, while reducing temperature
and light intensity. During the experiment
were evaluated several morphological
aspects: number, length and branching of
shoots, roots, number of viable nodes and
number of viable shoots. The observations
revealed that there has been registered a
growth retardation of inoculums, while
maintaining their viability and vitality.
Although there were differences in growth
patterns of these five potato varieties, as a
general rule, the main effects of growing
conditions has been a reduced plantlets
height (2-4 cm) by the shortening of
internodes and the contraction of leaflets
size, to 1.5-2 mm. The results obtained
during in vitro conservation for 17 months,
of five local potato varieties on MS medium
with 40 g/l sorbitol (C24 culture media),
recommend this solution for a wider use in
the preservation of potato collection from
the Suceava Genebank.
