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The somatic embryogenesis response is close linked with the development phase of the explant donor plant. Therefore, the objective of this work was to determine the effect of male flower position in the plant on the embryogenic responses in plantain cv. 'FHIA-21' (Musa AAAB). In this study male flower were collected at 0, 10, 20 and 30 cm from the last female flower. After 20 weeks on culture, the number of callus with somatic structures was evaluated. Thereafter, the effect of the callus morphology in the establishment of embryogenic cell suspensions was assessed. The results showed that the development phase of immature male flower (measured by the distance to the last female flower) was an important factor on the embryogenic callus induction. The best response on embryogenic callus formation (8.77%) was obtained with explants collected just after the last female flower (0 cm). Although, it was possible to assess that 85.0% of the callus composed by pro-embryogenic masses and somatic embryos in the early stage of its ontogeny development, resulted in embryogenic cell suspensions with the major volume of settled cell aggregated. As a result, it was possible to conclude that the age of the male flower play an important role on the somatic embryogenic process in plantain cv. 'FHIA-21'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of bananas (Musa spp.) has increased worldwide and demand for many inputs, so it is necessary to introduce productive and disease-tolerant cultivars. An investigation was carried out with the objective of evaluating the agronomic response of banana plants 'FHIA- 17' (Musa AAAA) obtained by tissue culture and agamic propagation. 'FHIA-17' plants from micropropagation and agamic propagation were evaluated in the field under production conditions. Plants of cv. 'Grande naine' (Musa AAA) obtained by micropropagation were use as reference. Plant materials were compared in terms of the duration of the planting-flowering and planting-harvest cycle. At flowering, plant height (cm), pseudostem circumference (cm), number of total and functional leaves, and response to black Sigatoka were evaluated. As yield indicators, the net weight of the bunch, number of hands and fruits per bunch were determined. The 'FHIA-17' plants showed the phenotypic characteristics according to the descriptors of the cultivar and the micropropagated plants were superior to those from agamic propagation in all the indicators evaluated, except in the number of leaves, which was similar. Both the plants from micropropagation and those from agamic propagation had a superior response compared to the cultivar 'Grande naine' and could be an alternative for banana production in Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Cuba, banana production is destined for the national market as fresh fruit and plays an essential role in food security. The objective of this work was to evaluate in field conditions the morpho-agronomic and organoleptic characteristics of five banana cultivars 'Williams' (Musa AAA), 'Parecido al Rey' (Musa AAA), 'Formosana' (Musa AAA), 'FHIA-17' (Musa AAAA) and 'Grande naine' (Musa AAA) in Quemado de Güines. For this study, 300 plants of each cultivar were planted at a distance of 3 x 2 x 2 m in a red ferralitic soil. The evaluations were carried out at the time of flowering and at harvest, during the first growing cycle. The results showed that the height of the plant and the circumference of the pseudostem had the lowest average values in the cultivar 'Grande naine'. The greatest number of functional leaves at the time of flowering occurred in the cultivars 'Parecido al Rey' and 'Williams', with values of 9.6 and 10, respectively. The 'FHIA-17' cultivar showed the highest values in the yield components. The total soluble solids content in the organoleptic maturity was 15.60% for the 'Grande naine' and 'Parecido al Rey'. The banana pulp was characterized by presenting an acid pH in all cultivars. The results of this work provide important information for the design of strategies, for the use of these cultivars in banana production for the national market and tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The obtaining of original seed of national potato varieties (Solanum tuberosum L.) is of great importance. The objective of the present work was to obtain minitubers from four national potato varieties in a greenhouse with zeolite as substrate. The plants in vitro propagated of the varieties 'Grettel', 'Yuya', 'Ibis' and 'Marinca' were planted and received cultural and phytosanitary attention according to the protocol existing at IBP. Harvest was performed at 75 days of culture and the total number of minitubers and the number of minitubers with a diameter greater than 15 mm were quantified for each plant. Plants and tubers showed the typical characteristics of each variety under zeolite substrate culture conditions. The highest number of minitubers per plant was achieved in the 'Yuya' and 'Ibis' varieties with 3.84 and 3.52 respectively. For the number of minitubers available as original seed (> 15 mm), the 'Yuya' variety was superior with 82.3%. The culture conditions with zeolite substrate allow to obtain minitubers of potatoes of the four varieties from plants in vitro cultured. 'Yuya' and 'Ibis' showed the best results and potentially could be incorporated into the national seed production program in Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) has been developed in several species of plants with different objectives. Even though, the mass production of plants and the evaluation of field behaviour in big populations been achieved in few cases. Somatic embryogenesis has been developed in some cultivars of Musa spp. to facilitate protocols of genetic transformation. Though, this technique can be an alternative to increase the efficiency for mass production of in vitro plants to commercially scale for cultivation in productive areas. The aim of this paper was to determine the field behaviour of dwarf Cavendish plants obtained by somatic embryogenesis. The evaluations were carried out about the stability of the some morphological and quantitative characters of the plants related to the yield components were evaluated. The agricultural yield, under production conditions, of this plants compared to plants derived from suckers, conventionally cultured, was also determined. Results indicated that plants obtained by SE presented very few indexes of morphological variation in both productive cycles. The agricultural yield was superior with regard to the plants obtained by suckers in both cycles. Results of a population evaluated of more than 5 000 plants, obtained by SE in the cultivar 'Dwarf Cavendish', constituted a reliable evidence to recommend this method as a viable alternative for the in vitro mass propagation of plants in this cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a number of reports and references on quality, which broadly covered the concepts, bases, importance, techniques and methods, but only theoretically. This issue enables the existence of quality systems limited to certain conditions. Together with this situation appears the fact that not even specialized literature in quality shows how to design quality systems from integral and scientifically formulated tools. Biofactories are acquainted with this problem. Therefore, there are no reports showing bibliographic quality control systems for these entities, adjusted to the characteristics of biological processes and the requirements of their technologies. This paper shows a methodological tool, scientifically tested for the design of a quality system in biofactories to facilitate its implementation according to current trends in quality and the technological specificities and biological processes that sustain them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to develop somatic embryo (Es) formation of cv. 'FHIA-21' (Musa AAAB) in a liquid culture medium, based on embryogenic cell suspensions. Four inoculation densities (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0g of fresh mass (GMF) of embryogenic cell aggregates) in 250 ml Erlenmeyer capacity, which contained 30 ml of culture medium, were studied. Evaluations were made within 30 days of culture. The following variables were identified: number of Es, length (mm), and morphological and histological features. Results showed the regulatory effect of inoculation density on the formation and morphological development of Es. In this sense, the low density (0.5 and 1.0 GMF) brought about a lower amount of ES, which was larger and with more advanced ontogenetic development. However, the high density of inoculation (1.5 and 2.0 GMF) produced a larger number of uniform size Es and in the globular stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue culture techniques have a huge potential to produce high genetic and sanitary quality seeds. A broad program for the micropropagation of several plants species has been developed in Cuba. It is applied in 16 commercial tissue culture labs distributed throughout the country. The production of in vitro plantlets in commercial tissue culture labs demands closely related processes and operations. The application of methods to plan production is one of them. Planning allows defining, in a timely manner, the human and material necessities to fulfil production. The main methods to plan in vitro production in these labs are presented in the current paper. Experience achieved in Cuba and in other countries of the Latin American area were taken into account. The indispensable elements and variables used to plan production, the types of planning to consider, as well as the responsibilities for their design and development are indicated. The detailed programming of the in vitro production in a commercial tissue culture lab is shown by phase and process. This is used as a reference for suitable planning of the productive process in each of the working areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]