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- Author or Editor: Mark P. Bridgen x
- HortTechnology x
The dormancy mechanism in achimenes (Achimenes hybrids) has not been thoroughly characterized. Rhizomes of five recently developed achimenes cultivars were stored for 0, 4, 8, 12, or 16 weeks at 68 °F. Cultivar A09 demonstrated a strong decrease in the time to root after 4 weeks of storage, rooting after 13 weeks postplanting. The rooting response for cultivars A16, A21, and A22 was significantly less than cultivar A09; they developed roots between 2.6 and 7.6 weeks after 4 weeks of storage. Rhizomes stored longer than 8 weeks resulted in decreased rooting responses for all cultivars. Shoot emergence was delayed in all cultivars with cultivars without any storage period; cultivars A09, A16, and A23 exhibited a stronger delay than other cultivars. After 4 weeks of storage, the number of weeks to shoot development decreased for all cultivars and after each additional 4-week storage period, the number of weeks to shoot development decreased or remained the same. After 16 weeks of storage, shoots developed in less than 4 weeks for all cultivars. Pupation occurred in four of five cultivars on rhizomes given no storage or with only 4 weeks of storage. The results obtained suggest that the dormancy period of some newer achimenes cultivars is abbreviated in comparison with older cultivars.
Procedures were developed to determine if live, adult two-spotted spidermites (Tetranychus urticae Koch) could be surface disinfested before being introduced into in vitro cultures of torenia (Torenia fournieri L.). Three time periods (5, 10, and 15 minutes) and five levels of sodium hypochlorite (0.05% to 0.25%) were evaluated. Surface disinfestation was accomplished by agitating 2 × 3 cm pieces of infested bean leaves in sodium hypochlorite solutions and then drying in a mite drier apparatus. All sodium hypochlorite concentrations disinfested the mites completely, however high concentration levels were lethal to the mites. Exposure periods of 10 and 15 minutes also significantly increased mortality. For optimum disinfestation of two-spotted spidermites with minimum mortality, a concentration of 0.05% sodium hypochlorite and 0.05% Tween-20 for 5 minutes should be used.
A laboratory exercise on direct and indirect organogenesis from leaf explants is presented for students of plant tissue culture or plant propagation. Torenia fournieri, the wishbone flower, is used for this laboratory exercise because the in vitro production of adventitious shoots from Torenia is easy to control, seeds are easy to obtain, and plants are easy to grow. Direct shoot organogenesis results from leaf explants without an intervening callus phase, and indirect shoot organogenesis is possible after 4 to 6 weeks of callus production from leaf explants. The basal medium for all forms of organogenesis contains Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts and vitamins, 30 g sucrose/liter, and 7 g agar/liter at pH 5.7. To obtain direct shoot organogenesis, leaf explants should be placed on the MS basal medium with 1.1 μM (0.25 mg·liter-1) 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.25 μM (0.05 mg·liter-1) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). If leaf explants are placed on MS medium with 2.3 μM (0.5 mg·liter-1) 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), callus formation will occur. Callus can be subcultured onto a MS medium with 8.88 μM BAP (2.0 mg·liter-1) plus 2.5 μM IBA (0.5 mg·liter-1) for indirect shoot organogenesis to occur.