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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) autotetraploids with improved processing quality produced by an in vitro colchicine treatment

M. K. Smith A D , S. D. Hamill A , B. J. Gogel B and A. A. Severn-Ellis C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, Maroochy Research Station, PO Box 5083, SCMC, Nambour, Qld 4560, Australia.

B Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, Locked Mail Bag 4, Yeerongpilly, Qld 4105, Australia.

C Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops, Private Bag X 11208, Nelspruit, South Africa.

D Corresponding author. Email: mike.smith@dpi.qld.gov.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 44(10) 1065-1072 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA03204
Submitted: 10 October 2003  Accepted: 28 January 2004   Published: 25 November 2004

Abstract

Ginger autotetraploids were produced by immersing shoot tips in a 0.5% w/v colchicine, 2% v/v dimethyl sulfoxide solution for 2 h. Stomatal measurements were used as an early indicator of ploidy differences in culture with mean stomata length of tetraploids (49.2 μm) being significantly larger than the diploid (38.8 µm). Of the 500 shoot tips treated, 2% were characterised as stable autotetraploid lines following field evaluation over several seasons. Results were confirmed with flow cytometry and, of the 7 lines evaluated for distinctness and uniformity, 6 were solid tetraploid mutants and 1 was a periclinal chimera. Significant differences were noted between individual tetraploid lines in terms of shoot length, leaf length, leaf width, size of rhizome sections (knob weight) and fibre content. The solid autotetraploid lines had significantly wider, greener leaves than the diploids, they had significantly fewer but thicker shoots and, although ‘Queensland’ (the diploid parent from which the tetraploids were derived) had a greater total rhizome mass at harvest, its knob size was significantly smaller. From the autotetraploid lines, one line was selected for commercial release as ‘Buderim Gold’. It compared the most favourably with ‘Queensland’ in terms of the aroma/flavour profile and fibre content at early harvest, and had consistently good rhizome yield. More importantly it produced large rhizome sections, resulting in a higher recovery of premium grade confectionery ginger and a more attractive fresh market product.


Acknowledgments

We thank Alan Wood (DPIF) for providing the aroma, flavour and pungency profiles of the ginger samples and Len Palmer (BGL) for his advice and technical support for field and factory trials. We appreciate the constructive comments made by Garth Sanewski (DPIF) and Gerard O’Brien (BGL) to the manuscript. The financial support of Buderim Ginger Limited and Horticulture Australia Limited is gratefully acknowledged.


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