EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROCUREMENT AND STERILIZATION TECHNIQUES FOR SEEDS OF Atriplex lampa (MOQ) D. DIETR. FOR SUBSEQUENT IN VITRO GERMINATION ASSAYS

ARCE BECERRA PAULA AGUSTINA; RODRIGUEZ RIVERA MARTÍN; VIDELA ANDREA

Mendoza

Congreso; LX Reunión científica anual Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2022

Reunión científica anual Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

The genus Atriplex in Argentina has numerous shrubby species that exhibit physiological mechanisms that allow them to survive in conditions of extreme aridity and varied edaphic and salinity conditions. Atriplex lampa is a forage shrub native to the arid and semi-arid zones of Argentina that tolerates saline soils and is a pioneer in plant succession after strong disturbances. In addition, it has been successfully used in the restoration of mining and oil exploitation liabilities. In this context, in vitro micropropagation of this species is of interest, as a technique that allows obtaining healthy plants, free of contaminants and with high levels of multiplication, which would contribute to obtaining plant material as a resource in multiple areas. In this work, different scarification and sterilization treatments were evaluated to develop in vitro germination of A. lampa seeds harvested in the area of Las Salinas del Bebedero (San Luis). Two threshing techniques were tested to obtain seeds without bracts: i) manual threshing using forceps and scalpel, ii) mechanical scarification using non-slip rubber bands. The time taken to obtain 100 bract-free seeds of good quality was recorded. Prior to the germination test, four different sterilization treatments were used for the previously scarified seeds: T1) 50% alcohol; T2) 70% alcohol; T3) 2% sodium hypochlorite; T4) 5% sodium hypochlorite and a control with distilled water. Seeds were placed to germinate in a petri dish in a culture chamber (25°±2°C). The number of germinated and infected seeds was recorded daily for two weeks; the germination percentage (GP), Germination Rate Index (GRI) and infection percentage (IP) were calculated. The results were compared by ANOVA. Regarding threshing techniques, the use of anti-slip rubbers was more effective in obtaining 100 seeds of good appearance and quality (30´) versus treatment i) (120´). No significant differences were observed between GP and GRI in the sterilization treatments with respect to the control. As for IP, fungal infection was only observed in Control and T1, whose value does not reach 1%. These results indicate that the sterilization techniques tested in this work can be optional, depending on the availability of resources, and that greater efficiency is achieved for threshing with the use of anti-slip rubber.