Seed germination and cryostorage of Musa acuminata subsp. burmannica from Western Ghats

• Manuscript deals with seed germination studies and zygotic embryo cryopreservation of Musa acuminata subsp. burmannica.
• The experiments were carried out on seeds at different moisture conditions.
• Seeds were subjected to chemical and physical treatments.
• Seeds with moisture content 13% exhibited higher germination in both in vivo and in vitro conditions.
• Long-term preservation of Musa zygotic embryo by cryopreservation is also demonstrated.

Musa acuminata, one of the wild progenitors contributing ‘A’ genome to the present day dessert bananas, has a long evolutionary history intervened by human activities. This underexplored species is considered to be a valuable source of both biotic and abiotic stress resistance. However habitat destruction has resulted in the decline of this genetic resource. The present work deals with the seed germination studies and zygotic embryo cryopreservation of M. acuminata subsp. burmannica collected from southern Western Ghats of Kerala. Current study was conducted to access the viability of Musa seeds both in vivo and in vitro under various conditions. The experiments were carried out on seeds at different moisture conditions. Seeds were subjected to physical treatment (removal of operculum) before sawing. Different natural (soil (100%), sand (100%) and soil: sand (50:50%) mixtures) and synthetic media (Murashige and Skoog) fortified with plant growth regulators (indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 mg/l) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 mg/l)) were tried to achieve optimum growth. Sucrose preculture (6%) for 4 h, 8 h & 12 h and air dehydration (for 1, 2, 3 & 4 h) technique was carried out for developing cryopreservation protocol for long term conservation. Under in vitro conditions, 88.5% germination was observed compared to uneven germination under in vivo conditions. Best growth was achieved in MS medium supplemented with 0.8 mg/l BAP. Seeds desiccated to moisture content 13% exhibited higher germination percentage than fresh seeds in both in vivo and in vitro conditions. Zygotic embryos with moisture content 13% could be successfully recovered after cryostorage. Better regeneration was observed among embryos precultured in 6% sucrose for 8 h.