Organogenesis and Plantlet Formation In vitro in Almond

The present report deals with the dedifferentiation and formation of callus from excised plant parts of seedlings of Prunus amygdalus and the regeneration of complete plants from the callus thus obtained in vitro. The basal medium employed was that of Murashige and Skoog, supplemented with various adjuvants The different plant parts, i.e., stem, leaf, root, hypocotyl, cotyledon, and shoot tip could be stimulated to form callus. These calluses showed optimal growth on the basal medium + naphthaleneacetic acid (5 ppm) + coconut water (10%). Isolated roots, leaves, or shoots differentiated on the calluses cultured on basal medium + naphthaleneacetic acid (5 ppm) + casein hydrolysate (1 g/liter) and in a few cases also whole plants developed when this medium was supplemented with kinetin or other cytokinins. However, typical embryoids have not been observed so far. Callus cells were diploid, triploid, tetraploid, or aneuploid Regenerated plants were diploid. Isolated roots that differentiated were also invariably diploid.