Author : Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen

Summary : Anther culture in coconut (cocos nucifera L.) was studied in order to investigate the possibility of inducing haploid plantlet formation from the pollen in culture. Since stage of pollen development is a critical factor in anther culture the development of coconut pollen starting from microspore mother cells (MMC) to mature grains in inflorescences of varying ages was determined. Then a correlation between the stages of pollen development and the number of weeks before splitting (WBS) of the spadix was established. Anthers excised from inflorescence of different ages were grown on the tested basal media added with various supplements to find out the most responsive stage as well as the most suitable media for coconut anther culture. A high percentage of embryonic grains as assessed by means of aceto-carmine staining was observed in anthers obtained from 3 day-cold pre-treated flower buds at 7 deg celsius and inoculated on Y3, Blaydes (B), and Keller (K) basal media supplemented with 6% sucrose, 15% coconut water and 2 ppm NAA alone or in combination with 0.25 ppm 2,4-D, as compared with that on Murashige and Skoog (MS), Bourgin and Nitsch (H) and N6 media with similar added components. The stage just before, during or immediately after the first pollen mitosis appeared to be the most suitable stages for anther culture. Late uninnucleate microspores were shown to be inducible in one case.