Morphological and agronomical characterization of pineapple plants derived from vitro culture

Abstract

In Côte d'Ivoire, pineapple occupies a prominent place after the coffee and cocoa binomial in exports. The country has long been the leading producer of smooth Cayenne in the European market. However, this dynamism is hampered by the lack of good quality rejects. To overcome this constraint, various methods of in vitro regeneration of plantlets have been initiated. Micro propagation and somatic embryogenesis allow massive production of plants of good sanitary quality. However, acclimatization of the vitro plants is a critical phase. This study was conducted to assess the growth parameters and success rate of vitro plants during acclimatization, as well as the growth potential of vitro plants in the field. To do so, the plants resulting from micropropagation and somatic embryogenesis were evaluated in greenhouse, shade and field. Plants from the mother suckers were used as controls in the field. After acclimatization, a 98% survival rate of the vitro plants was observed. In the field, the vitro plants behaved differently. The growth parameters of plants from somatic embryogenesis were significantly higher than those from micropropagation and plants from mother suckers. In addition, controlling acclimatization is an important asset for mass disposal of pineapple plants for the renewal of the Ivorian orchard. Thus, to develop pineapple cultivation in Ivory Coast, it would be interesting to use juvenile offspring from vitro cultures, in particular from somatic embryogenesis.