Studying the effects of media and micro-explants on optimization of Alhagi camelorum F. culture

Camel thorn (Alhagi camelorum F.), a plant from Fabaceae family, has a great adaptation in arid conditions. Due to high digestible proteins, possibility of extracting manna from its stems for medicinal purposes and its high tolerance to harsh arid environments, it is considered as an important forage and medicinal plant. It grows via seed and rhizome, but its seed germination rate is very low. Aim of the research was to investigation possible effects of different sucrose concentration levels in micro- propagation of the species via ovary and seed embryo culture to improve its propagation. Seed germination of the species was tested by two explant treatments of ovary and seed embryo in 5 sucrose levels of 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 gr/l concentrations in MS medium in 5 replications. Germination rate was recorded during four weeks. Results of comparison of germination rates between the two explant treatments in different sucrose concentrations showed that the percentage of embryo germination and seedling height was significantly higher than that of ovary culture. The highest significant embryo germination rate (93/3%) was recorded on 15 gr/l sucrose concentration. By increment of sucrose concentration to 15 gr/l, embryo attributes such as radicle length, plumule length, seedling length, and seed germination index also increased. By increasing sucrose concentration over 15 gr/l, reverse effect was observed on all of the studied attributes.