Photoperiod improves long-term survival of in vitro-stored strawberry plantlets

Abstract

Cold storage is important for managing in vitro germplasm collections. Strawberry shoot cultures can typically be held at 4°C for 9 to 24 months before they require repropagation. Concentration of BA in the storage medium, pre-storage cold acclimatization (CA), and exposure to a photoperiod during storage were studied to determine conditions for improved strawberry culture storage. Fragaria shoot cultures stored at 4°C were rated for plantlet condition on a 0-5 scale at 9, 12, and 19 months. Four species were CA and stored on medium with 0, 1, 2.5, or 5 μM BA either in darkness or under a 12-hour photoperiod. Mean ratings over all treatments and genotypes were best at 9 and 12 months (3.4) and declined at 19 months (2.2). BA in the storage medium significantly improved ratings for two species at 9 and 12 months, but ratings were not significantly different at 19 months. At 19 months of storage, shoot cultures stored with a photoperiod were rated significantly better (P≤0.05) than those grown in darkness. Five Fragaria genotypes stored on medium without BA were used to study the effect of photoperiod and CA on ratings of stored plantlets. CA-shoot cultures stored for 9 or 12 months were rated significantly better than non-CA cultures. After 12 and 19 months storage, three of the five genotypes stored under a 12-hour photoperiod had significantly higher ratings than those stored in the dark (P ≤ 0.01), but by 19 months CA was nonsignificant. Overall, the addition of a photoperiod improved the condition of Fragaria shoot cultures stored at 4°C. Chemical name used: N6-benzyladenine (BA).