Screening alfalfa accessions for regeneration capacity

Abstract

Nine cultivars of Medicago sativa and one accession of M. arborea were tested in six different media for their capacity to produce somatic embryos and plantlets from callus cultures. The effect of the interaction of genotype and culture medium on the initiation of callus from root, hypocotyl and cotyledon explants and the subsequent somatic embryogenesis was investigated. The results indicated that the number of embryos was significantly influenced by the variety and medium protocols and their interac-tion. The varieties responded differently to medium protocol with respect to number of plantlets.