Concentration of mineral elements in callus tissue culture of some sunflower inbred lines

Abstract

Concentration of mineral elements in calluses of six sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) inbred lines was investigated, with the aim to determine whether there are differences regarding nutrient requirements between genotypes. Calluses were induced from cotyledons of seven-day-old seedlings grown in sterile conditions. The differences between inbred lines in concentration of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) were significant, whereas differences in the concentration of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were nonsignificant. Except for N, average concentrations of nutrients in calluses were lower than average concentrations of nutrients of plants grown in vivo. The obtained results show that there are differences regarding nutrient requirements between different inbred lines of sunflower. On the basis of that, it may be assumed that change in concentration of either all or some nutrients in medium according to the needs of a given genotype may lead to its better response to culture.