Affiliation: | (1) Faculty of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo, 271-8510 Chiba, Japan;(2) Institute of Environmental Science, Kunming, 650032 Yunnan, People's Republic of China |
Abstract: | Summary Explants of sugarcane, a C4 plant, were cultured in vitro for 18d on Floridalite (a solid cube consisting of vermiculite and cellulose fibers) used as supporting material with sugar-free Murashige and Skoog liquid medium with double-strength KH2PO4, MgSO4, FeSO4, and Na2-EDTA in the vessel with enhanced natural ventilation. CO2 concentration in the culture room was kept at 1500 μmol mol−1 (four times the atmospheric CO2 concentration) during the photoperiod. A factorial experiment was designed with two levels of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) and three levels of N (number of air exchanges of the vessel). The results were compared with those in the control treatment (photomixotrophic culture using sugar-containing agar medium under low PPF and low N). PPF and N showed significant positive effects on the growth of sugarcane plantlets in vitro. In the photoautotrophic (using sugar-free medium) treatments with relatively high PPF (200–400 μmol m−2 s−1) and high N (2–10 h−1), the growth of plantlets was four to seven times greater than that in the control. Also, the culture period for multiplication and rooting was shortened from 30 d in the control to 18 d or less in the photoautotrophic, high PPF, and high N treatments. Use of porous supporting material in photoautotrophic treatments promoted rooting and plantlet growth significantly. |