Abstract
We studied field performance of meristem culture-derived plants of a cultivar ‘Futagoimo’ of Colocasia esculenta originated from Kitakami, Iwate of northern Japan. Four groups of planting materials were used for evaluation in the filed: plantlets directly regenerated from tissue culture (P), corms developed on plants one year after regeneration (C1), corms developed on C1 plants 2 years after regeneration (C2), corms used in local farmers practice (C). P plants tended to carry more above-ground lateral buds in September compared to those of other groups. This large number of lateral buds decreased thereafter. P plants also exhibited rapid growth of corms that tended to have a more oval shape than other groups. C1 plants tended to keep a large number of above-ground lateral buds during September-October and also maintained tall stature. Although the yield of C1 plants was high, the quality of corms was medium with oblong shape and late maturation. C2 plants showed a growth tendency and yield similar to those of C plants. These findings suggest that differences in growth habits among P, C1, C2 and C plants were not due to genetic changes that may occur during tissue culture but reflected the physiological conditions of the materials used for planting.
