Acclimatization of <em>Carica papaya</em> plants var. Maradol roja obtained by somatic embryogenesis

Abstract

Acclimatization stage of in vitro cultured papaya (Carica papaya L.) remains one of the main problems. This study evaluated the influence of the type of cover and length of in vitro plants for their survival in the acclimatization phase. Plants of papaya, variety red Maradol, obtained by somatic embryogenesis were used. An 80% of survival was reached using a nylon and mesh coverter. Results demonstrated that in vitro plants should be transferred to greenhouse conditions larger than 3 cm and with taproot present. This is a decisive influence on the development of plants in ex vitro conditions. Key words: greenhouse, papaya, rooting, survival