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Abstract
The node position from which axillary buds were isolated from shoots of rose (Rosa hybrida L.) markedly affected their growth and development in culture. Those buds nearest to and furthest from the apex either failed to develop or took the longest time to develop in culture compared to those buds in the middle portion of the stem. Benzylamino purine (BA) at low concentrations (0.03 to 0.3 mg/liter) stimulated the development of the axillary buds of ‘Gold Glow’ but not of ‘Improved Blaze’. A photon flux density (400-700 nm) of 17μE m−2 s−1 for 12 to 24 hours daily was optimum for the stimulation of shoot multiplication, while 66 μE mm−2s−1 for 12 to 24 hr was optimum for root initiation and for subsequent successful transplantation to soil of tissue culture-derived plants. A constant temperature of 21°C resulted in the highest rate of shoot multiplication and root initiation. Plants which initiated roots at 16, 21, or 26° had the highest level of transplant survival. An alteration in the temperature of the 8-hr dark period from 21° did not increase shoot multiplication, although root initiation was enhanced by lowering the night temperature to 11 or 16°. Histological analysis indicated that shoot multiplication of rose shoots occurs through the growth and development of axillary buds. The development of axillary buds is apparently under the repressive influence of the shoot apex, because physical excision of the apex or application to the shoot apex of 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA) facilitated axillary bud development. Root initiation was affected markedly by the length of time that cultures had been maintained on shoot multiplication medium prior to transfer to rooting medium. This effect may be attributable to the BA in the shoot multiplication medium which may have accumulated in the tissue. If the endogenous cytokinin level is too high, root initiation may be inhibited and if it is too low the shoot undergoes senescence before it becomes cytokinin-autonomous, which occurs after root initiation.
Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) is a commercially and nutritionally important market vegetable in Asia cultivated mainly by smallholder farmers. Cucurbit powdery mildew (CPM) caused by Podosphaera xanthii (Px) is a nearly ubiquitous and serious fungal disease of bitter gourd. Five bitter gourd breeding lines (THMC 113, THMC 143, THMC 153, THMC 167, and THMC 170) were selected at the World Vegetable Center for resistance to a local isolate of Px in Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand. We evaluated the resistance potential of these five inbred lines against local isolates of Px at 12 locations in five Asian countries. Plants were inoculated with the respective local Px isolate 15 and 30 days after transplanting and additional Px-infected plants of the inoculated control were interplanted throughout each test. Plants were rated 60 days after transplanting for CPM reaction using a 0 (no evidence of infection) to 5 (>75% infection evident on individual leaves) disease severity scale. THMC 153 and THMC 167 were resistant to the local race of Px in all locations, whereas THMC 143 was observed resistant in all test locations except one in China. THMC 113 was resistant in each location except one in India. THMC 170 was susceptible in three locations in India. The multilocation tests revealed four unique Px races on bitter gourd in different Asian countries and sources of resistance for breeding CPM-resistant bitter gourd cultivars. Six strains of Px isolated from other cucurbits (Cucumis and Cucurbita) and representing five melon CPM races were unable to infect the susceptible M. charantia accession THMC 144 and the five resistant breeding lines, indicating pathotype differences between them and an isolate of M. charantia origin typed as race 1 on melon. THMC 143 and THMC 167, which originated from India, exhibited good yield potential in trials conducted in Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Bangladesh.