Production of plantlets from encapsulated in vitro shoot buds and somatic embryos of Agave vera-cruz Mill

In vitro shoot buds and somatic embryos from organogenic and embryogenic calli respectively derived from shoot tip cultures of Agave vera-cruz were isolated and encapsulated with sodium alginate and dihydrated calcium chloride. These alginate beads were placed on nutritive medium containing MS salts and L2 vitamins with 3 sucrose and stored in a domestic refrigerator at 5±2°C and freezer at - 5±2°C for 7, 14 and 21 days. After storage, synseeds were dehydrated, thawed and placed on recovery media, containing salts of Murashige and Skoog's medium and L2 vitamins supplemented with IBA (4.92μM) + BAP(8.86μM) + GA3(4.92μM) and NAA (5.37μM) + Zeatin (0.91μM) + 40gms of sucrose for encapsulated shoot buds and somatic embryos respectively. The conversion frequency of artificial seeds to seedlings varied from 40 to 53 after storage. Thus obtained plantlets were directly transferred to pots containing sand:soil:manure in the ratio of 1:1:1 without hardening. Nearly 75 to 80 of survival was recorded. This is the first report on synthetic seed production and retrieval of viable plantlets in Agave vera-cruz. © 2006 Society for Biology and Biotechnology