Production and Storage of Synthetic Seeds in Coelogyne breviscapa Lindl

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out for the production of synthetic seeds from Coelogyne breviscapa Lindl. through encapsulation of Protocorm Like Bodies (PLBs). The effect of storage on the regeneration of the synthetic seeds was also studied. Sixty days old PLBs established from embryo cultures were encapsulated in 3% sodium alginate matrix and stored for 30 and 60 days and were germinated on three different substrates. Emergence of the leaf was observed within 12 days in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing growth regulators. Among the growth regulators used, 2 mg L-1 of Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) was found to be the best for seedling growth. The encapsulated PLBs when stored at 4°C for 60 days showed no reduction in viability. Non encapsulated PLBs showed no viability at 4°C when stored for 15 days. Also, the germination percentage of artificial seeds stored at RT was always much lower in comparison to those stored at 4°C. This indicated the efficiency of low temperature for storage of artificial seeds. The germination percentage of encapsulated PLBs decreased gradually with increase in storage time.