The effect of cold pre-treatment period on callus formation of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) anther culture of local Aceh perintis genotype

Abstract

Plant tissue culture is effective for plant propagation or biotechnology purposes, one of which is anther tissue culture. Anther culture of pepper is difficult because of callus growth, regeneration of plant organs, and low effectiveness. Pre-treatment such as cold temperatures can increase the induction of callus growth and embryogenesis in pepper anther cultures. This study aimed to determine the effect of the cold pre-treatment period on callus formation of anther culture of local Aceh pepper plants, the Perintis genotype. The results showed that the duration of cold pre-treatment had no significant effect on the callus formation of Perintis anther culture, based on Anova analysis. The highest percentage of anther culture callus growth was found in the control, which was 8.3%. The percentage of callus growth in 48 hours and 72 hours cold pre-treated anther obtained 6.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, the lowest percentage of anther culture callus growth was obtained from the 24-hour cold pre-treatment at 5%. According to our result, for pepper anther culture, the anthers did not need to be pre-treated with cold pre-treatment and it can be propagated directly.