Callus induction and plant regeneration from mature zygotic embryos of a tetraploid Alstroemeria (A. pelegrina × A. psittacina).

A simple procedure was developed to induce callus growth and whole plant regeneration for a tetraploid cultivar of Alstroemeria. The callus, induced from mature zygotic embryos cultured on a medium supplemented with 20 μM kinetin with 10 or 20 μM NAA, could be maintained for one year without any loss of regeneration potential. Maximum frequency of regeneration (40%) was obtained with calli maintained on the medium containing 20 μM kinetin and 20 μM NAA. Whole plant regeneration occurred via somatic embryogenesis in the absence of growth regulators and the plantlets grew to maturity and flowered in the greenhouse conditions.