Investigation of the requirements and androgenesis in cherry (Prunus avium) and peach (Prunus persica)

• Main Author: Lane, William David
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2011
• Subjects: Haploidy; Peach; Cherry
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34138

Haploid plants are potentially valuable for the breeding of many crops particularly those with long reproductive cycles. In this investigation an attempt was made to determine the requirements of androgenesis of peach and cherry, a technique which has been used to produce large numbers of haploids in other species. A procedure used successfully with tobacco was verified. A preliminary survey of apple, cranberry and rose showed that they do not have the same requirements as tobacco. In most experiments with cherry and peach immature pollen was used. However the lack of differential responces of pollen to treatment made interpetation difficult. Hence responces of anthers and the growth of calli from somatic flower parts was used to assess different treatments instead of pollen growth. Calli emerged from cherry anthers when anthers were cultured on Nitsch's medium containing naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and coconut milk and incubated in the dark at 30°C. Because these calli contained both diploid and tetraploid cells and because of the lack of abnormal pollen development in the anthers it was concluded that the calli probably originated from anther connective tissue rather than pollen. In experiments with mature cherry pollen several different types of abnormal pollen growth were observed including multicellular pollen grains. A comparison of the requirements for species in which androgenesis has been demonstrated is discussed. In some species components making up the requirements appear to form a pattern which if verified by reports from other species will be valuable in future investigations. Suggestions are made as to the direction which further investigations of the requirements for androgenesis should take. === Land and Food Systems, Faculty of === Graduate