Morphological and anatomical characters of diploid and tetraploid taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) cv. Bentul grown in lathhouse

Abstract

A number of tetraploid taros Bentul has been produced by in vitro polyploidization with oryzalin treatment to achieve optimal production and to overcome pests, diseases and drought stress. Planlets achieved from polyploidization had high survival rate on acclimatization process. Characterization was conducted for diploid and tetraploid Taro plants grown in Lathhouse. The aim of morphology and anatomy characterization of tetraploid taro was to compare those with diploid one. The results showed that the morphological characters of seven clones of tetraploid taro Bentul presented 56% similarity with the diploid and divided into three different subgroups with 63% similarity. The thickness of leaves tissue was not significantly different. Stomata size of tetraploid taro was larger than diploids but the stomata density was lower. Thickness of petiole epidermis of diploid taro was significantly different with tetraploid 75.2.1. Thickness of root epidermis of diploid taro was significantly different with tetraploid 7,5.12.2; 30.4.6; 60.2.6 and 75.2.3. Diameter of root stele of taro Bentul was not significantly different between diploid and tetraploid clones.