DRY TYPE OF CARROT (DAUCUS-CAROTA L) ARTIFICIAL SEEDS

Somatic embryos from cell suspension cultures of carrot were singly encapsulated with alginic acid to be used as artificial seeds. Most of the freshly encapsulated embryos germinated after being stored at 4-degrees-C. A hydrated capsule retained enough water for the encapsulated embryo to germinate. However, germination was effectively blocked when hydrated capsules were subjected to air-blowing dehydration, to the level of over 80% water loss. Ninety-seven percent of the capsules dehydrated by 88% water loss were capable of germination on subsequent rehydration. Pretreatment of embryos with abscisic acid (ABA) for 10 days prior to encapsulation, enhanced the germination percentage of capsules which were dehydrated by 95% water loss following rehydration: as the concentration of ABA increased to 0.13 mg l-1, the germination percentage also increased by up to 31%. Sixty-eight percent of the capsules, dehydrated by 92%, germinated after 10 days of storage at 4-degrees-C on subsequent rehydration. These results indicate that the dehydrated capsule containing a somatic embryo has greater similarity to the natural seed in form and function than the hydrated capsule.