Plant Recovery from Sweetpotato Somatic Embryos

Plant formation from somatic embryos in response to BAP, NAA, and sucrose was studied in sweetpotato [ Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]. A maximum of 15% embryos at the torpedo stage of development formed plants of agar-solidified basal medium containing 3% sucrose and no growth regulators. The percentage of embryos forming shoots was increased to 53% by 4 μ m BAP, but BAP reduced whole plant formation and promoted callusing at the root axis end of embryos. The frequency of plant development was increased to 38% by adding 0.1 μ m NAA to the basal medium. Reducing sucrose concentration to 1.6% in basal medium increased the frequency of plant development to 32%. Chemical names used: 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP; α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).