An Investigation on Identification of The Ideal Age of Fruit For Extraction of Viable Embryo in Hot Pepper

Abstract

Production of interspecific and intergeneric hybrids is often attempted for transfer of desirable genes from wild species into cultivated species. However, several times, progeny from wide crosses is difficult to produce owing to several barriers. Post fertilization barriers such as endosperm abortion and, at later stages, embryo degeneration are of common occurrence, leading to low fertility; but successful hybrids could be regenerated in these crosses using embryo rescue techniques which necessitates a reproducible embryos culture protocol as well as knowledge of ideal stage and age of fruit for extraction of viable embryos. In the present investigation seeds from fruits of 3 days to 18 days old (days after pollination) were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 5 mg/l BAP and 1mg/l NAA in different seasons. It was observed that growing season has marked influence on the germination potential of seeds. In the month of March-April, when the fruits were taken from net house, germination was observed within 4 days in seeds of 7–18 days old fruits, whereas in the months of July-August when the fruits were taken from field even 20 days fruits took about two weeks to germinate in the same media.