IN VITRO GERMINATION OF STONELESS SEEDS AND ISOLATED EMBRYOS OF 14 SICILIAN CULTIVARS OF OLEA EUROPAEA L.

Abstract

Olive seeds are characterized by an orthodox behaviour and exhibit a state of dormancy caused by different factors such as the hard covering structures (sclerified endocarp) and the inhibitory germination substances contained both in the teguments and in the endosperm and within the embryo. For these reasons, olive seed germination percentages and rates are usually low. To speed up olive seedling development can be very advantageous in breeding programmes as well as in rootstock production for grafting of hard-to-root cultivars. In this study, the in vitro germination potential of stoneless seeds (seeds without the sclerified endocarp) without teguments and of excised embryos of fourteen Sicilian olive cultivars was evaluated. For the in vitro germination of excised embryos, three different media (presence/absence of plant growth regulators, different carbon source concentrations) have been evaluated. Differences in the seed and in isolated embryo germination percentages due to culture media were recorded. In vitro germination of isolated embryos can be a useful method for increasing the efficiency of germination. In fact, according to these results, embryo culture can increase the efficiency and shorten the time for starting initial progeny evaluation of olive breeding programmes.