Effect of a new compound on the mitotic polyploidization of lilium longiflorum and oriental hybrid lilies

Abstract

A new compound, Surflan™ (Surflan), for mitotic polyploidization in vitro in lily was tested and compared with the original compound 'oryzalin'. Surflan was effective for mitotic polyploidization of lilies. The optimal concentration of Surflan was 0.0075% for in vitro chromosome doubling. A low concentration (0.0025%) was still effective to produce polyploid plants, however, a high concentration (0.0125%) showed phytotoxicity for plant regeneration although the frequency of polyploid plants was high. In the 0.0075% Surflan treatment, the percentage of polyploids was 86, 68 and 100% in L. longiflorum 'White Fox', Oriental hybrid 'Le Rêve' and 'Sorbonne', respectively. These are similar effects to those in oryzalin treatments. Thus, in vitro chromosome doubling by using Surflan was successful in lilies, and may be considered as an alternative reagent of oryzalin.