Morphological Variation, Growth, and Yield of Tomato Plants Vegetatively Propagated by the Complete Decapitation Method

Abstract

The complete decapitation method (CDM), a new mass propagation technique in which adventitious shoots are regenerated from cut tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) stems, may induce variations similar to those observed in tissue culture. Morphological defect occurrence, growth, and fruit yield of CDM-regenerated clones were compared with those of plants produced from seed. Morphological defect frequencies of seedlings and clones were 3.5% and 6.0%, respectively. Leaf position of first fruit trusses was lower in clones than in seedlings; flower number, fruit set, and yield on first to third trusses were similar between clones and seedlings. The CDM-propagated vegetative clones are suitable for tomato nursery production.

Keywords:

• Solanum lycopersicum
• clone
• mass propagation
• physiological defect
• seedling