In-ovulo Embryo Culture of Vitis vinifera L. C.V. 'Thompson Seedless'

In-ovulo embryo culture of Vitis vinifera L. c.v. 'Thompson Seedless' was investigated as a method to enable the hybridization of stenospermic seedless grapes. Fertilized ovules taken 68 days after anthesis were cultured on two basal media: 1) Cain's medium; and 2) Stewart and Hsu's (1977) medium, both tested with five separate addenda (IBA, Ergostim, tartaric acid, L-glutamine and L-cysteine). Addition of 10 mm L-cysteine to C medium promoted the growth of more embryos. Three months after culture, embryos were excised and subcultured. Thirty embryos were recovered by this method but only one embryo grew into a plant.