Embryo Culture of Champagne Palm (Mascarena Lagenicaulis L)

News sources: The University of the Philippines at Los Banos; The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development
For Further Information: The Philippine Agriculturist, Vol. 73 (nos. 3&4):349-357,1990.
Fax: (63) (49) 536-2478, 2001-02-01

Floral Morphology

Floral Morphology. With perfect flowers, the first flowering occurs from the 8th to the 10th year of growth. The flower buds are small, circular and turn green upon exposure to light, but become yellow when ready to open. Only one or two flower buds in a cluster become pollinated and develop into fruits or nuts. The majority of the flowers open on bright sunny days. After two days they fall off. Anthesis is at a maximum from 6:00-7:00 am. Insects are needed to pollinate the stigma. During the dry season, there is a higher fruit yield because there are more insect pollinators. When mature, the ovate fruits are about 2.5-3.0 cm long and 2.0-2.5 cm in diameter with a rough surface.

Embryo Culture

Embryo culture shortens the length of time from flowering or fruit set to harvesting and germination. Fruits with a firm, jelly-like endosperm are best for embryo culture because dissection is easy. The shell is not too hard, and the endosperm is soft enough to easily remove the whitish embryo. Younger fruits have a watery endosperm and embryos are not discernible. Mature fruits have a hard, white endosperm and a harder shell. To ensure healthy and vigorous seedlings from embryo culture, embryos from immature fruits should be put into modified Murashige and Skoog's medium with 5% activated charcoal. In two days, they will enlarge and grow roots. After three weeks, shoots will appear. After six weeks, the first leaf will emerge. The seedlings should be transferred into pots.

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