Temperature, photoperiod and colored shade nets on the in vitro development of Physalis peruviana L.

Abstract

Physalis peruviana L. is a native plant from the Andean regions and belongs to the Solanaceae family. Its fruits are used for consumption in natura and in jams and jellies. In addition, traditional medicine has pointed out the medicinal potential of this species. Thus, tissue culture can be used to spread largely improved cultivars, which have a higher content of compounds of interest. Beside the high importance of this species, the information on in vitro culture is still scarce. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the influence of temperature, photoperiod and colored shade nets on the in vitro culture of Physalis peruviana. Physalis peruviana seeds were inoculated on MS medium. We tested different temperatures (20, 25, 30 and 35°C), different photoperiods (8/16 h, 12/12 h and 16/8 h of light/dark, respectively) and in different colored shade nets (red, black and blue), separately. After 15 and 30 days, leaf number and length of shoot and root were evaluated. At 15 days, seedlings at 30°C showed higher leaf number, however, after 30 days, seedlings exposed to 20 and 25°C showed the same values to seedlings exposed to 30°C. For the length of shoots and roots, 25 and 30°C showed the highest values. Seeds exposed for photoperiod of 16/8 h resulted higher shoot length, however, the photoperiod of 8/16 h induced longer roots. Seedlings grown in the absence of colored shade nets showed higher leaf number, but the red and blue shade nets showed the highest shoot and root length, respectively. The results showed that Physalis peruviana presents further development at 25 and 30°C, photoperiod of 8/16 h and 16/8 h and with colored shade nets of red and blue.