IN VITRO DIPLOIDIZATION OF HAPLOID PLANTLET FROM ANTHER CULTURE OF EGGPLANT (Solanum melongena L.) USING PENDIMETHALIN

The availability of anther culture methods for producing pure lines in a doubled-haploid (DH) plant form makes it possible to accelerate the development of hybrid varieties in eggplant. Previous studies have developed an efficient eggplant anther culture method. However, the formation of spontaneous DH plants through this method is relatively low, ranging from 25%-30%. Recently several studies reported that pendimethalin effectively duplicates the chromosome numbers of several plant species in vitro. This study aimed to determine the pendimethalin effect on the diploidization of eggplant haploid plantlets from anther culture. The study compared three concentrations of antimitotic pendimethalin: 100 mu M, 300 mu M, and 1000 mu M in three incubation durations: two, four, and six days. The results showed the treatment with a pendimethalin concentration of 300 mu M incubated for two days gave the highest level of plantlet diploidization at 75.0%. In vitro, chromosomal duplication treatment using pendimethalin with different concentrations and duration of incubation time affected the plantlet survival and growth of eggplant haploid plantlets. The increase in pendimethalin concentration and incubation duration inhibited the physiology and growth of plantlets and affected alteration in the ploidy level of eggplant haploid plantlets.