Effect of Developmental Stage and Medium on Embryo Culture of Low Chill Peach Hybrids

The main objective of the present programme was to widen the varietal range of early ripening peach cultivars. Crosses were made between Shan-i-Punjab x Florda Prince, Shan-i-Punjab x Flordaglo and Shan-i- Punjab x Prabhat. The embryos of these crosses were rescued after 65, 75 and 85 days of crossing and cultured in MS basal medium supplemented with varying concentration of BAP (0 to 2 mg/l) and IBA (0 to 1 mg/l). After stratification at 4°C, the embryo cultured tubes were transferred to a growth chamber at 24 ± 2°C for germination. Seeds harvested at 85 days after crossing showed maximum embryo germination (75.26%). Among these crosses, hybrid-3 (Shan-i-Punjab x Prabhat) showed maximum germination (81.66%) in M2 medium (MS medium + BAP 0.25 mg/l + IBA 0.05 mg/l) when rescued after 85 days of pollination. Embryos harvested at fully matured stage (85 days after pollination) took minimum days to germinate.