Pros and cons of somatic embryogenesis for mass multiplication of perennial plantation crops.

Abstract

Abstract Conventionally, horticultural plants have been produced in farmer-managed nurseries by seed propagation or using traditional vegetative propagation methods such as cutting, grafting, budding, etc. Plantation crops are perennial and must pass through a long juvenile phase of vegetative development before they are capable of seed production and propagation. In addition, it is not possible to obtain true-to-type plants by seed propagation in these crops because of cross pollination, which leads to high heterozygosity. Vegetative propagation through conventional methods cannot match the demand for elite genotypes for cultivation. However, in the recent past, propagation through biotechnological approaches has made a great contribution to large-scale production of plantation crops. Reproducible protocols of plant tissue culture that are cost effective and efficient will benefit the horticulture industry. During the last three decades, considerable evidence has accumulated to establish the embryogenic potential of somatic plant cells, and there has been an explosion in the number of species that form somatic embryos. This review gives an overview of general strategies followed in somatic embryogenesis and the progress made in important plantation crops.