Uso del polivinilpirrolidone nella germinazione in vitro di Testudinaria elephantipes

Testudinaria (or Dioscorea) elephantipes, belonging to Dioscoraceae family, is one of most beautiful caudiciform plants. The plant’s caudex can reach heights of 3 metres in ideal conditions. It has a deeply fissured surface, resembling an elephant’s foot: hence, its common name. Plant is propagated only by seed that has a high price and exhibits a poor germination rate. In order to minimize the effect of strong microbial and fungal contaminations, as well as the lethal browning due to phenolic compounds leached out of imbibed seeds, this study investigated the effect of a biocide compound, the Plant Preservative Mixture (at 2 ml l-1) and an antioxidant, the polyvinylpirrolidone (at 1 g l-1) in the germination medium. In comparison with the control, the use of these compounds in combination successfully enhanced seed germination rate and plant development to 45%. After two months the young plantlets, with well developed roots, were removed from culture medium and transferred in plastic pots under greenhouse conditions. Percentage of ex vitro acclimatization was very high (98%).