In Vitro Preservation of Yam ( Dioscorea cayenensis-D.rotundata complex) for a Better Use of Genetic Resources

Among the food crops, yam takes up quantitatively the first place in the gabonese diet. Unfortunately, it can stay available only 6 to 7 months in the year because of difficulties of harvest and post- harvest. This problem is little studied in the case of Dioscorea cayenensis-D. rotundata complex. In order to optimize the use of micro tubers for the growing in green house or field, it is important to control the duration of storage before the germination. The present study concerns microtubers obtained by in vitro culture. When microtubers were harvested (after 9 months of culture) and directly transferred on a new medium without hormone, the tubers rapidly sprouted in in vitro conditions. Harvested microtubers were also stored dry in jars in sterile conditions during 2 to 18 weeks before in vitro sprouting. In this case, microtubers stored during 18 weeks sprouted more rapidly than those stored 8 weeks. The size of the tubers used for the storage had great influence on further sprouting. The upper microtubers in 25 mm can be kept to the darkness, under 50% of relative humidity, in 25°C during at least 18 weeks. Sprouting is 100% whatever the substrate of culture. The plant tissue culture technique constitutes a serious alternative for the preservation of plant kinds and for the production of planting material. These techniques allow multiplying in a short time of thousands of copies of new varieties of newly created plants. These in vitro plants can be used on one hand, for the production planting material, and on the other hand for ex vitro storage of breeding grounds with decelerated growth, to struggle against genetic erosion. These results should allow improving in practice the multiplication of yam, while guaranteeing phytosanitary qualities.