The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of carbohydrates and acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) during the in vitro storage of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), cultivar Macaca. Stems derived from in vitro cultures were cut into 1.5 to 2.0 cm segments and inoculated in a MS medium supplemented with myo-inositol (100 mg L-1) and agar (6 g L-1). Sucrose and mannitol 87.6 mM and five ASA concentrations (0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg L-1) were tested. The stems were cultured on 10 mL medium in test tubes (20 x 150 mm) and incubated in a growth chamber at 25±2ºC, 16 hour photoperiod and 19 muE m-2 s-1 radiation. The growth and the bud number formed in the stems for a period of three months were evaluated. Nine months later the survival percentage and the number of microtubers formed were also evaluated. It was observed that the mannitol, associated with 30 mg L-1 of ASA provided the smallest growth and bud formation after three months of storage. The survival and the microtubers amount were larger when the stems were maintained in the medium supplemented with sucrose, apart from the ASA concentration, after nine months of storage.
Solanum tuberosum; mannitol; sucrose; micropropagation; germplasm conservation
