Induction of somatic embryogenesis in <i>Heliconia chartacea</i> Lane ex Barreiros cv. Sexy pink and cv. Sexy scarlet from sections of ovaries

Abstract

The aim of the present paper was to establish protocols for the induction of embryogenic callus in Heliconia chartacea Lane ex Barreiros cv. Sexy Pink and Sexy Scarlet from ovaries sections. The experiment tested combinations between IAA (0; 1 and 2 mg L^-1) and 2.4-D (0; 5; 10; 15 and 20 mg L^-1) in the cultivars Sexy Pink and Sexy Scarlet. The cultivar Sexy Pink presented a higher frequency of callus development as compared to Sexy Scarlet. In the treatments A1D10 (1mg L^-1 of IAA and 10mg L^-1 of 2.4-D) and A2D5 (2 mg L^-1 of IAA and 5mg L^-1 of 2.4-D), the callus frequency of formation of the cultivar Sexy Pink corresponded to 100% of the inoculated explants, showing that the IAA associated with the 2.4-D induced a satisfactory callus formation response in the studied cultivar.