INCREASING LEVELS OF GROWTH REGULATOR AND/OR WATER STRESS DURING EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The invention comprises methods for producingmature desiccated and desiccation-tolerant somatic embryos,particularly conifer embryos. The methods include theapplication of a growth-promoting hormone such as abscisicacid (ABA) to the immature embryos during development.The embryos are also water stressed during development.The concentration of the ABA undergoes a net increaserelative to its initial concentration to reach a peak priorto discontinuing ABA treatment when the embryos haveattained a moisture content of between 32 and 550. Thewater stressing may remain constant or may undergo a netincrease in intensity over the period of time during whichit is applied to the embryos. The method may optionallyinclude the further water stressing of the mature embryosto further reduce moisture contents of the embryospreferably to the level at which the embryos are tolerantof freezer storage.