Session
Session 3
Board Number
81
Meristem and seed culture propagation methods in Senna didymobotrya
The popcorn cassia is a plant that has been gaining traction within the green farming industry. The problem, however, is that it can be hard to source/propagate on a yearly basis. This project consisted of testing three different parts of Senna didymobotrya for propagation by tissue culture methods in three separate experiments. The objectives of these experiments were to test seed-propagated vs. vegetative propagation methods in tissue culture experiments to determine the best method(s) of propagation for this crop. The parts tested were seeds and both initiated and uninitiated lateral buds. The seed propagation protocol involved 3 separate media, one control (water and agarose), and two slightly modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) media (media 1 +BAP/NAA & media 2 +LKIN/LNAA). Two separate sterilization protocols were used, with one being focused on bleach/tween and the other focused on sulfuric acid. Along with this, seeds were tested from two separate online sources. Germination and root development occurred in all groups. Germination ranged from 25%-85%. Contamination was extremely low with only 5 out of 120 seeds (~4%) becoming contaminated. Both lateral bud type culture protocols used 3 distinct media, one control and two additional modified MS media (media 3 +NAA & media 4 +NAA/BAP). Two separate sterilization techniques were tested for the lateral buds: a slightly modified pyretherum culturing protocol and the other was a modified hazelenut sterilization protocol. A variety of different responses were seen throughout all of the groups. Callus was initiated in both media 3 and 4 but not the control. Root initiation was sparse and plantlet development over the course of the first month was slow. Throughout all 3 experiments, contamination was not a large problem; the majority of any contamination was seen within the first week of culture. Senna didymobotrya can be successfully propagated in culture with the easiest and highest quality plantlets being seen in the seed-propagated groups. Both seed sources yielded viable plants. This research also showed evidence that S. didymobotrya can be propagated from a single mature plant if there are no seeds available.