Impact of cultural conditions on germination of olive (Olea europaea L.) somatic embryos and plantlets development from the Algerian cultivar Chemlal

Abstract

The in vitro propagation techniques are currently a commercial alter-native for the production of plants with good quality in several plant species, including the olive tree (Olea europaea L.). Somatic embryogenesis is the process practically used for the application of several biotechnological tools of improvement and in vitro plant regeneration via the germination of somatic embryos. Our work aims to evaluate the effect of the chemical and hormonal composition of the culture medium on the germination of olive somatic embryos (cv. Chemlal) as well as the micropropagation of the obtained plantlets before their acclimatization to natural conditions. The results indicat-ed that the production of olive plants by somatic embryogenesis depends strongly on the genotype of the somatic embryos (cell line) and more on the culture conditions, particularly the presence of growth regulators. Indeed, a solid OM medium supplemented with hormones (BA and IBA) permitted an advanced root emergence and germination allowing the production of well-developed plants with several leaves. In addition, an OM medium supplemented with Zeatin and IBA allowed better reactivity of micro­cuttings producing well­developed shoots with several emitted roots which facilitates their further acclimatization to natural conditions.