Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #247830

Title: Improved Mineral Nutrition for Pear Shoot Cultures

Author
item WADA, SUGAE - Oregon State University
item De Noma, Jeanine
item Niedz, Randall
item Evens, Terence
item Reed, Barbara

Submitted to: In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Plants
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2010
Publication Date: 6/11/2010
Citation: Wada, S., De Noma, J.S., Niedz, R.P., Evens, T.J., Reed, B.M. 2010. Improved Mineral Nutrition for Pear Shoot Cultures. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology - Plants. 46:s282.

Interpretive Summary: The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository has over 200 pear accessions in culture, encompassing 18 species. Due to the wide diversity of this collection there is also a diverse response to growth on standard tissue culture media. We employed a systematic approach to efficiently evaluate the components of a standard growth medium on pear shoot cultures with the goal of developing improved formulations for use with diverse pear species and cultivars. Five solutions used in growth medium were evaluated by testing 34 representative combinations. These formulations were then analyzed to determine which factors had the most impact on plant growth. Qualities evaluated included shoot multiplication, shoot height, overall quality, leaf size, physiological abnormalities, and chlorophyll content. Five pear types were evaluated. The solutions used have definite impacts on the growth of these 5 diverse pear genotypes. Both positive and negative influences were seen for quality factors and physiological responses. The overall quality rating given to each plant was most influenced by one stock solution. Other stocks influenced shoot length and shoot numbers. Influence of the stock solutions on most of the qualities evaluated varied with each pear type.

Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository has over 200 pear accessions in culture, encompassing 18 species. Plant growth response on standard tissue culture medium varies widely due to the wide horticultural diversity of this collection. We used a systematic response-surface approach to evaluate the components of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium on shoot cultures of five pears: P. dimorphophylla), P. ussuriensis ‘Hang Pa Li’, P. communis ‘Winter Nelis’, ‘OH x F 87’ and ‘Horner 51’ were evaluated. The goal was to develop improved formulations for use with diverse pear species and cultivars. The five MS mineral stock solutions were tested as factors at five concentrations by evaluating plant response to 34 representative combinations of the 3125 possible combinations. These points were then analyzed to determine which factors had the most impact on 16 measured responses important for micropropagated plantlets. The models explaining the effect of these stock solutions on the 16 responses were all highly significant (p values ¬< 0.0001) indicating that MS medium mineral nutrition has definite impacts on these 5 diverse pear genotypes. Both positive and negative influences were seen for quality factors and physiological responses. The overall quality rating given to each plant was most influenced by the mesos group (calcium chloride, potassium phosphate, and magnesium sulfate) for the 3 P. communis genotypes. ‘Horner 51’ had a positive response to mesos and a negative reaction to iron while ‘Winter Nelis’ was the opposite. ‘OH x F 87’ had a negative response to mesos. The minor nutrient group positively influenced ‘Hang Pa Li’ condition ratings. Mesos and iron influenced shoot length while ammonium nitrate affected shoot numbers. Influence of the stock solutions on most of the qualities evaluated varied with the genotype.