Field-testing of kapeti kale regenerated from agrobacterium-induced hairy roots

Abstract

A small field trial was conducted to determine the survival and performance of Kapeti kale regenerated from hairy root cultures. Leaf expiants were co-cultivated with Agrobacterium strain A4T (C58C1, pRiA4) and the resulting hairy root cultures maintained on hormone-free Linsmaier-Skoog medium. Shoots regenerated spontaneously from these cultures. Control plants were obtained from Kapeti kale seeds germinated in vitro. Shoot cultures from both sources were propagated in vitro before transfer to greenhouse conditions and subsequent transplanting to the field. The hairy-root-derived plants showed marked evidence of the hairy root phenotype as they were shorter, with smaller, more wrinkled leaves in comparison to the original cultivar. Both types of plants showed the same phenology. All plants were male- and female-fertile but seed set was considerably reduced on hairy-root-derived plants. © 1993 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.