In vitro conservation of 'Florida Rough' lemon plants.

The establishment of minimum growth conditions is essential for in vitro germplasm conservation. Changes to the basic medium and carbon source concentrations are important factors for reducing plant growth in vitro. This study adjusted a protocol for the in vitro conservation of 'Florida Rough' lemon plants. Microcuttings (approximately 1 cm) from plants that were previously cultivated in vitro were inoculated into test tubes with 10 mL of woody plant medium (WPM) at different concentrations (1/1, 1/2 and 1/4) and supplemented with 0, 12.5, 25 and 50 g.L-1 of sucrose, solidified with 7 g.L-1 agar and adjusted to pH 5.8. The experiment was completely randomized in a 3 x 4 factorial design with 15 replications and was maintained under controlled conditions for 360 days. After this period the plant height in cm (PH), the plant dry mass in g (PDM) and the 21 numbers of green leaves (NGL), senescent leaves (NSL) and microcuttings (NM) were evaluated. The variables that best explained the observed behavior of the 'Florida Rough' lemon plants were NGL and PH, with values of 61.63 and 35.08%, respectively. The original concentration of the WPM with the addition of 25 g. L-1 of sucrose yielded the best 'Florida Rough' lemon plant growth reduction in vitro while maintaining the physiologically health of the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]