IN VITRO CONSERVATION OF PRUNUS CERASIFERA EHRH. BY ENCAPSULATION DEHYDRATION AND 'COLD STORAGE' TECHNIQUES

Protocols for in vitro conservation of cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera Ehrh.) have been developed. In vitro grown shoot tips were tested for regrowth after conservation using encapsulation dehydration (E-D) method described by Dereuddre et al. (1990) and ‘Cold storage’ (CS) techniques. For E-D osmotic dehydration in 0.75 M sucrose followed by 8-h desiccation gave the highest regrowth (60%) of explants encapsulated in 3 and 5% alginate beads. Cryopreserved shoot tips multiplied in the three subcultures had normal morphology. During CS, shoots were maintained at +5°C in cold chamber for 3, 6 and 9 months in total darkness. Three months after CS, shoots of cherry plum were viable but etiolated showing symptoms of leaf necrosis. However, after 6 and 9 months of CS shoots showed severe signs of necrosis. Our results have shown that in vitro propagated cherry plum can be preserved for a longer period by E-D technique, while only 3 months by CS.