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Morphological Response of Selected Almond Species and Interspecific Hybrids to Drought Stress under In vitro Conditions
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Amir Rezaei   , Ali Gharaghani , Saeid Eshghi , Mansoureh Nazari |
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Abstract: (21 Views) |
Drought, as one of the most significant challenges of climate change, has devastating effects on fruit crops’ production. Using drought-tolerant scion and rootstock cultivars is one of the strategies to reduce the impact of this stress. This study was conducted to evaluate drought tolerance in five almond genotypes (Prunus elaeagnifolia, P. scoparia, P. eburnea, the natural hybrid P. scoparia × P. elaeagnifolia, and the commercial rootstock GN) under in vitro conditions in 2022 at the Horticulture Department Laboratory, Shiraz University. Shoot tip explants were disinfected and cultured on MS medium containing GA₃ (4 mg L-1), IBA (0.1 mg L-1), and TDZ (1 mg L-1). The regenerated plantlets were exposed to drought stress treatments (0, 3.5, and 7% polyethylene glycol (PEG)), and growth parameters including shoot length, fresh and dry weight, and the number of healthy and necrotic leaves were evaluated. Results showed that P. eburnea, with the highest shoot length (3.03 cm), fresh weight (3.87 g), and dry weight (0.44 g), was the most tolerant species, while GN exhibited the highest sensitivity. Increasing PEG concentration led to a significant reduction in growth in all genotypes. Wild species and interspecific hybrids showed a clear advantage over the commercial rootstock in drought tolerance. The findings confirm the efficiency of in vitro methods for the preliminary screening of tolerant species and their application in breeding programs.
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| Keywords: Tissue culture, Drought stress, PEG, Micropropagation, Tolerant rootstock |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Environmental stresses
Received: 2025/06/2 | Accepted: 2025/08/26 | Published: 2025/10/7
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