New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Comparison of the growth of in vitro produced pathogen-tested
Colocasia taro and field-collected planting material
G. V. H. JACKSON
24 Alt Street, Queens Park
NSW 2022, Australia
F. VILSONI
J. KUMAR
Koronivia Research Station
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests
Suva, Fiji
M. N. PEARSON+
School of Biological Sciences
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92 019
Auckland, New Zealand
email: m.pearson@auckland.ac.nz
J. R. MORTON
P. O. Box 3754
Samabula, Fiji
Abstract In Fiji, taro (
Colocasia esculenta Schott.)
varieties grown
in vitro from shoot tips, and pathogen-tested
(PT) to meet guidelines for international transfer, were compared with
field-collected (FC) plants over 3 years. For three varieties, 'Toakula',
`Samoa' hybrid, and `Tausala ni Samoa', there were no significant differences
between heights and corm yields of PT and FC plants. For a fourth variety,
`Samoa', PT plants outgrew FC plants and yields were more than double. This
variety, considered best adapted to hill slopes, grew well in alluvial coastal
soils after
in vitro culture. A major change appeared to be in
response to
Dasheen mosaic virus infection. By the third trial, an
average 13.2 of 18 FC plants per plot showed virus symptoms compared to 2.6 in
PT plots; and whereas FC plants were stunted (0.75 m) and low yielding
(5.4 t/ha) PT plants were similar in height and yield to the other varieties
(1.11 m and 11.8 t/ha). The results could not be explained by the
elimination of a second virus, Taro vein chlorosis virus
from PT plants.
Keywords Colocasia esculenta; Dasheen mosaic
virus; in vitro culture; pathogen tested; taro
+Author to whom correspondence is to be addressed.
H01008
Received 26 February 2001; accepted 23 July 2001
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2001, Vol. 29:
171-176
0014-0671/01/2903-0171 $7.00 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 2001
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (895K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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