Production of healthy seed cane in Tucumán, Argentina

ALDO S. NOGUERA, NORA DEL V. PAZ, M. ELENA DÍAZ, M. FRANCISCA PERERA, M. PAULA FILIPPONE, Y ATILIO P. CASTAGNARO

REVISTA INDUSTRIAL Y AGRíCOLA DE TUCUMáN

Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres

Año: 2014

Since2001, the Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC) hasbeen working on the?Vitroplantas? Project. Ninety thousand sugarcane plantletsof commercial varieties are produced annually through in vitro meristemculture, in order to eliminate systemic diseases caused by bacteria andviruses. Sanitation of plant material is achieved through in vitroculture of apical meristems from donor plants, previously hot water treated andgrown for three years under greenhouse conditions, with anti-aphid screens.Systemic diseases are evaluated in both meristem donor plants andmicropropagated plantlets using different molecular diagnostic techniques. Itis well known that in vitro plant tissue culture can produce somaclonalvariations, which consist of genetic changes in cultured cells and tissues. Inorder to guarantee that seedlings propagated in vitro are identical tothe parental variety, molecular markers that quantify and detect somaclonalvariation are routinely applied. Thus, the aim of this project is to guaranteehealthy and genetically pure plantlets for their plantation in the field. Afterin vitro micropropagation and testing, plantlets undergo anacclimatization process in an especially adapted greenhouse at the EEAOC. Inorder to avoid dehydration of plantlets, this process takes place in agreenhouse with very high relative humidity (RH=80%-100%) and low lightintensity. After acclimatization, two other stages of conventional fieldpropagation (Basic and Registered fields) are carried out before the seed caneis finally distributed among sugarcane growers. The implementation of the?Vitroplantas? Project has greatly improved the health and yields of sugarcaneplantations in Tucumán, Argentina..