A modeling approach of the in vitro conversion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) somatic embryos

A mathematical model for the growth and conversion of somatic embryos was developed with the aim of monitoring the large scale production of oil palm microplants. The predicted biomass of somatic embryos obtained and subcultured (Ba), together with the number of harvested shoots (Shn) - two key parameters for production forecasts - have been modeled for seven different shoot harvesting procedures. For the four different clonal lines studied, observed differences between experimental Bn values at the end of each culture cycle and their theoretical counterpart generated by mathematical models were found to range between -30% to + 14% at the end of the first 6-weeks culture cycle, then from -50% to + 70% after the 6th subculturing operation (36 weeks). Concerning the predicted number of shoots harvested after conversion of somatic embryos (Shn), average variations between experimental and theoretical values ranged between -45% and + 41%. Predicted values for biomass (Ba) between two culture cycles were found to vary slightly (+ 6% to + 10%) indicating that the production of embryo biomass, as predicted by the model, was rather stable, for a given clonal line, from one 6-week cycle to another. The established model could thus be regarded as valid and the variations observed for Bn and Shn were found to be acceptable when compared to the those described by other models. Taken as a whole, predicted values for the two studied production parameters were in agreement with the corresponding experimental data (correlation = 0.98). (Résumé d'auteur