Conservación ex situ mediante el establecimiento de cultivo in vitro de semillas de Prosopis limensis “Huarango” de Ica, Perú

Abstract

The “Huarango” Prosopis limensis is a woody species of the Fabaceae family that is in the dry forest of Ica, of key importance in this ecosystem and considered for different reasons in a state of danger. The in vitro cultivation of seeds of this species is presented as an adequate conservation strategy, due to high multiplication rates it promotes, the economy in time and production costs, and the future possibilities of improvement and reforestation. The objective of this study is the establishment of an effective methodology for the optimal germination of stored seeds of this species. The seeds were obtained from 4 representative experimental accessions from the department of Ica, which were subjected to a physical scarification treatment, immersing them in hot water (70 °C) and leaving it at rest until reaching a temperature of 37 °C. After conventional sterilization processes, seeds were sown in basic M&S medium with vitamins thiamine HCl (1,0 mg/l) and m-inositol (100 mg/l), sucrose 2% and agar 0,6%, and incubated at 23 °C +/- 2 h, for a photoperiod of 16 light hours. At 24 days the CPUC-117 accession the germination percentage was in the range of close to 95%. The results of this work constitute the necessary precedent to initiate larger-scale in vitro micropropagation trials of “Huarango” for conservation purposes.