This study was conducted to improve and supplement the system of cryopreservation for adventitious bulbs induced by tissue cultured bulb-scales of lily (Lilium spp.) cvs. ‘Milky way’. The explants, bulblets and bulb-scale-bulblets, were treated to low temperature (4℃) for 7 days prior to the pre-culture. The adventitious bulbs were pre-cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) liquid medium supplemented with sucrose (0.3 and 0.7M). The pre-cultured adventitious bulbs were treated to loading solution (LS1 or LS2, C4 or C6) containing 35% of PVS3 (LS1, C4) or 40% of PVS3 (LS2, C6) for 40 min and exposed to dehydration solution (PVS3, B1) containing 50% glycerol and 50% sucrose for 60 min at 25℃. The adventitious bulbs were moved onto droplets containing 3 μl PVS3 on sterilized aluminum foils, and then soaked into liquid nitrogen (LN) for 60 min. The result of highest regrowth rate as 65.7% was obtained in cold treatment (4℃), osmoprotected with LS1 solution, and cultured in PCM3 medium by using bulb-scale-bulblet for cryopreservation. This result shows that droplet-vitrification could be used as a promising method for long-term storage of lily genetic resource.

We compared the germination rate of dehisced ginseng (Panax ginseng) seeds that were dried under two different conditions, slowly at 15℃ [relative humidity (RH) 10-12%] and rapidly under a laminar airflow cabinet at 25℃ (RH 22-25%). The measurements showed that drying rate and seed moisture content (SMC) play important roles in storage ability and vigor. The seeds that were dried rapidly at 25℃ showed high GR compared with the seeds that were dried at 15℃ after 6 and 12 months of storage at -80℃ irrespective of MC. Seeds dried slowly at 15℃ with MC higher than 7.0% showed high GR maintenance after storage at -18℃ and at 4℃ in comparison with rapidly dried seeds. However, the GR of the slowly desiccated seeds decreased as mean SMC was reduced to less than 5.0%, whereas the rapidly dried seeds were distinguished by significantly high GR irrespective of the storage conditions. The ginseng seeds desiccated under different conditions showed differences in storage performance. Seeds with 7-9% MC that were dried slowly at 15℃ for 5-7 days showed high GR after 4℃ and -18℃ storage; however, longer periods of desiccation decreased the germination level remarkably compared with that of rapidly dried seeds.

This experiment was carried out to investigate the appropriate chilling requirements for breaking dormancy by treating the dormant plant of Hanabusaya asiatica with low temperature (4℃) for different time periods. The rates of sprouting and flowering were higher with longer treatment periods at low temperature. In addition, the growth and flowering of the plant were better when it was potted after treatment at a low temperature for 90 days. The abscisic acid levels and polyphenoloxidase activity of the dormant plant increased during the low temperature treatment, reached a climax 90 days and decreased thereafter. The catalase activity was the lowest after the low temperature treatment for 90 days and increased subsequently. The peroxidase activity increased and showed a sharp rise after the low temperature treatment for more than 90 days. Considering the physiological activities of the enzymes, the changes in the abscisic acid levels, and the characteristics of growth and flowering after sprouting of the plant, the appropriate cold periods required for breaking dormancy could be 90 days.