biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 50:779-781, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0130-1

Response of the pear rootstock to boron and salinity in vitro

T. E. Sotiropoulos^1,*, S. Fotopoulos¹, K. N. Dimassi², V. Tsirakoglou², I. N. Therios²

¹ N.AG.RE.F., Pomology Institute, Naoussa, Greece

² Department of Horticulture, Laboratory of Pomology, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece

The effects of boron and NaCl induced salinity on growth and mineral composition of the pear (Pyrus communis L.) rootstock OH × F 333 shoots cultured in vitro were investigated. Shoots were grown in vitro for seven weeks on a Murashige and Skoog medium containing two B concentrations (0.1 and 2 mM) combined with five NaCl concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mM). The longest shoots were produced at 0.1 mM B and 80 mM NaCl, but highest number of shoots were produced at 0.1 mM B and 0-20 mM NaCl. Inclusion of 20 and 40 mM NaCl in the culture medium significantly increased fresh mass of cultures compared to 0 mM NaCl for all B concentrations tested. The concentrations of P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn and Zn of plants were affected by B and NaCl concentration of the medium.

Keywords: cell proliferation; mineral nutrition; osmotic stress; Pyrus communis

Subjects: boron; in vitro culture, cell suspension cultures; osmotic stress; Pyrus communis; rootstock

Received: February 14, 2005; Accepted: April 27, 2005; Published: December 1, 2006  Show citation