Author
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Tisserat, Brent |
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Submitted to: Intech
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 6/28/2011 Publication Date: 7/18/2012 Citation: Tisserat, B. 2012. Parameters necessary for in vitro hydroponic pea plantlet flowering and fruiting. In Asao, T., editor. Hydroponics - A Standard Methodology for Plant Biological Researchers. Intech. Available: www.intechopen.com/books/hydroponics-a-standard-methodology-for-plant-biological-researchers/parameters-necessary-for-in-vivo-hydroponic-pea-plantlet-flowering-and-fruiting. Interpretive Summary: This research determined that commercial possibilities exist for obtaining sterile food within a controlled laboratory environment. There is a great demand for nutritious sterile food in the medical field for AIDs, cancer and surgery patients; however, current methods of food sterility require exposure to high intensity radiation. In this study, we investigated the basic genetic, chemical and physical parameters associated with obtaining sterile pea fruits. As an alternative, sterile flowering and fruiting systems were developed and tested on Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plantlets. These systems allowed for rapid flowering and fruiting. The commercial application of this technology would be a new agricultural industry to provide necessary sterile fresh foods for medical patients requiring a monitored diet. Technical Abstract: To date, the development of culture systems to stimulate the reproductive and fruiting processes in vitro has not been earnestly exploited. Nonetheless, the ability to promote sterile flowering and fruiting would have commercial applications in the agricultural, food and medical industries. Non-irradiated sterile food would be of nutritional benefit to cancer and aids patients. Further, the development of sterile flowering and fruiting systems would have useful applications in genetic breeding programs by shortening generation cycles. This study was conducted to further these goals by evaluating various chemical and physical factors controlling pea plantlet reproductive activities. Various culture systems were employed with Pea (Pisum sativum L.) plantlets derived from sterile seeds in order to test their usefulness to study flowering and fruiting. Several chemical and physical parameters influencing pea reproductive activities were investigated. Necessary factors for flowering were adequate external carbohydrates and culture chamber sizes. Secondary factors that influenced flowering, but were not critical, were plant density in the culture vessels, cultivar types employed, culture medium volume, and inorganic salt concentration. Factors having marginal or no influence on pea flowering were media pH, photoperiod and growth regulators. |
