Optimizing in vitro mineral nutrition and plant density increases greenhouse growth of Curcuma longa L. during acclimatization

• Published in: Plant cell, tissue and organ culture Vol. 126; no. 1; pp. 33 - 42
• Main Authors: El-Hawaz, Rabia, Park, Dara, Bridges, William C., Adelberg, Jeffrey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.07.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: acclimation; Acclimatization; Ammonium; biomass; Biomedical and Life Sciences; buds; Calcium; Calcium ions; Culture media; Curcuma longa; Elongation; genotype; Genotypes; greenhouse production; Hardening; In vitro methods and tests; in vitro studies; ions; Leaf area; Leaf area index; Life Sciences; Nutrition; Original Article; phosphates; plant density; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant nutrition; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Planting density; Plantlets; potassium nitrate; Response surface methodology; Shoots; Tissue culture; Turmeric; Acclimatization; Mineral nutrition; Response surface design; D-optimal criteria; Murashige and Skoog medium
• ISSN: 0167-6857; 1573-5044
• DOI: 10.1007/s11240-016-0974-9

The growth of plantlets during hardening is affected by the tissue culture media in which they were grown. A multi-factor approach to optimizing nutrient ions in media for subsequent ex vitro growth has not been studied. A response surface method was designed to test in vitro plant density (50–250 buds/L), [Formula: see text] (6.25–10.25 mM), Ca²⁺ (2–10 mM), and KNO₃ (18–100 mM) in low [Formula: see text] on medium as it affected subsequent growth in a 21 days acclimatization period with Curcuma longa genotypes (L35-1 and L22-5). The treatment media were compared with the MS medium. Plants grown on treatment media had higher relative fresh biomass (3.3 ± 0.5 fold from high-density with 42 mM KNO₃; 3.7 ± 0.5 fold from low-density with 18 mM KNO₃) than MS plants (2.6 ± 0.5 fold) regardless of plant density. Leaf area index from the treatments (67.0 ± 16.4 cm²/bud from high-density with 70.4 mM KNO₃; 78.4 ± 16.4 cm²/bud from low-density with 50.7 mM KNO₃) was higher than MS plants (22.0 ± 8 cm²/bud from high-density and 36.0 ± 8 cm²/bud from low-density). Shoots from treatment plants receiving 64 mM KNO₃, elongated to 8.6 ± 0.9 cm from high-density and 10.9 ± 0.9 cm from low-density. Genotype L22-5 elongated to 6.0 ± 0.6 cm regardless of density, and L35-1 elongated to 6.0 ± 0.6 cm from low-density and to 4.0 ± 0.6 cm from high-density. Raising phosphate 5× to 10× the MS concentration in the pre-hardening media did not influence ex vitro responses. Plants grown on modified low ammonium media can grow faster and larger during acclimatization with increased KNO₃, especially from high-density culture that would be preferred in commercial applications.