Lilien-Kipnis, H., Department of Ornamental Horticulture, Agricultural Research Organization, POB 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
Azizbekova, N., Department of Agricultural Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot, 76100, Israel, the Warburg Center for Biotechnology in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
Ziv, M., Department of Agricultural Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot, 76100, Israel, the Warburg Center for Biotechnology in Agriculture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

The ontogeny of somatic embryos was followed in liquid cultured Nerine tissue. Proliferating, nodular meristematic clusters were maintained in bubble bioreactors in a medium supplemented with 0.25 μM 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), 10 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 8.7 μM Paclobutrazol (PAC). Regeneration of plantlets from this tissue was limited. Omission of PAC from the medium induced proembryogenic clusters. Embryo development and maturation were enhanced in flask cultures by substituting N6-(isopentenyl) adenine (2iP) for BA and elevating the sucrose concentration in the medium to 6%. High rates of embryo germination occurred in a growth regulator-free, low (3%) sucrose medium. Bulblet-bearing plantlets developed on agar-solidified, auxin-supplemented media. Recurrent embryogenesis occurred in long term growth regulator-free, or high sucrose media. The potential of using the somatic embryogenesis pathway for micropropagation of Nerines is described. © 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers.