Anther-derived callus formation in bitter melon (Momordica charantia L.) as influenced by microspore development stage and medium composition

Anther culture is one of the powerful techniques to pure line production for the short time. This method can be applied to accelerate the breeding process of F1 hybrids of bitter melon ( Momordica charantia L., family Cucurbitaceae ), which is an important commercial crop in tropical and subtropical countries of South America, Asia and Africa. Although, there are several factors affecting the success of this method, the effective protocol of bitter melon anther culture has not been developed at present. The results of this study showed that the microspore developmental stage has a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on speed and rate of callus formation. It was revealed that the frequency and the rate of callus formation and the morphology of callus substantially depend on the composition and concentration of growth regulators in the nutrient medium. In addition, the dynamics of callus formation in bitter melon anther culture was first studied. The main objective of the work was to study the influence of the microspore developmental stage and the composition of nutrient medium on the ability of callus formation in bitter melon anther culture in vitro...