Abstract
Synthetic seed technology is a popular method in plant biotechnology and agricultural science because of its wide application in plant multiplication, short-term conservation, and germplasm exchange. The orchid is a precious ornamental plant that was studied in this project for encapsulation due to its medicinal and commercial value. The main objectives of this study were determining the physical properties of orchid synthetic seeds by image J platform and comparing experimentally two magnetic and air-bubble stirring methods for the production of artificial seed. Physical properties of encapsulated Phalaenopsis ' ‘Beijing’ orchid protocorms produced under three Na-alginate concentrations (3 %, 4 %, and 5 %), three CaCl2-2H2O concentrations (100, 125, and 150 mM), and two stirring methods (magnetic and air bubbling) were investigated. Image J processing platform was applied to determine the physical properties (length, width, sphericity index (SI), and concentric index (CI)) of orchid artificial seeds extracted from digital images. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that interaction terms (Na-alginate * stirring method) and (Na-alginate * CaCl2-2H2O) significantly affected all the dependent variables including weight, volume, SI, and CI (P < 0.05). Response Surface Method (RSM) was utilized for the prediction and optimization of the response variables. The optimum conditions were obtained with the air bubble stirring method having the desirability of 0.879, a weight of 0.15 g, volume of 0.14 cm3, sphericity index of 0.87, and concentric index of 0.13. This is while, the optimum conditions of the encapsulation process using the magnetic method with the desirability of 0.786 were recorded with weight, volume, SI, and CI values of 0.137 g, 0.169 cm3, 0.72, and 0.13, respectively. A comparison of the results showed that the air bubble method demonstrates better encapsulation performance in terms of sphericity index and concentricity index, while capsules produced using the magnetic method had higher weight and volume. Results of this study show the potential of the image J processing as a precision measurement tool which has been successfully applied here to determine the physical properties of orchid synthetic seeds.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
