Shortening the seed-to-seed cycle in artichoke breeding by embryo culture

Globe artichoke breeders have two important problems: lengthy seed to seed cycle and seed‐borne diseases caused by fungal pathogens. Both problems can be solved by embryo rescue. The objective of this work was to determine the best moment to isolate and culture the embryos and to determine the optimal in vitro culture conditions for their development. For that purpose embryos were collected from five cultivars in different postpollination stages and transferred into two different culture media. Growth regulators present in the medium resulted in poor root induction, but did induce a better shoot per explant development. Data have shown that 20 days is the optimal time for embryo rescue and that a medium without growth regulators would be more suitable for embryo development.