Studies on Seed Germination, Seedling Growth, and in Vitro Shoot
HORTSCIENCE 44(3):751–756. 2009. plantlets are detached from the mother plant that are dried and planted. However, seed propagation is more feasible and recommen- Studies on Seed Germination, Seedling ded for survival of rare species (Van Wyk and Smith, 1996). If this species has to be Growth, and In Vitro Shoot Induction propagated on a large scale by means of seed or tissue culture methods, then currently there of Aloe ferox Mill., a Commercially is no basic information available on these aspects. Aloes are succulent and warm-cli- mate plants, where both temperature and Important Species water play an important role in establishing Michael W. Bairu, Manoj G. Kulkarni, Rene´e A. Street, Rofhiwa them. This study was therefore conducted to B. Mulaudzi, and Johannes Van Staden1 examine 1) the effects of different temper- atures, growth-promoting substances, and Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Biological watering frequencies on seed germination and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, and seedling growth of A. ferox; and 2) to Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa assess the applicability of an in vitro propa- gation protocol developed for other Aloe spp. Additional index words. cytokinins, growth regulators, multiplication rate, smoke solutions, temperature, tissue culture Materials and Methods Abstract. A study was done to investigate the effects of some physical and chemical factors on growth and development of Aloe ferox ex vitro and in vitro. The effects of light, Seed collection. Dried seeds of A. ferox temperature, and smoke–water on seed germination, ex vitro seedling growth require- were collected between the middle to the end ments, and effect of germination medium and cytokinins on shoot induction and of August from the Botanical Garden, Uni- multiplication in vitro were investigated.
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