Cytokinin induced somatic embryogenesis from immature embryos of Abies nordmanniana Lk.

Abies nordmanniana Lk. is used in short intensive rotations for Christmas tree production. Thus there is a high demand for development of advanced propagation and breeding methods. Somatic embryogenesis was easily induced from immature (precotyledonary) embryos collected in July 1989 with cytokinin as the sole plant growth regulator. The proliferating embryogenic cell masses were characteristic of conifer somatic embryogenesis and could be maintained on a simple basal medium containing 5 μM benzylaminopurine. Auxin inhibited induction as well as proliferation. Proliferation was improved by up to 30 % by addition of L-glutamine and/or casein hydrolysate. Neither cytokinin concentration nor culture on 3 different basal media, differing markedly in their nitrogen composition, affected the proliferation rate. Embryos matured using a 4 week subculture on medium containing 10 μM abscisic acid and subsequent transfer to medium devoid of plant growth regulators.