Use of multivariate analysis to evaluate the effect of sucrose on <i>in vitro</i> cassava conservation

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of sucrose to reduce the in vitro growth of cassava plants using multivariate statistical tests. Cassava conservation has a relevant role as an auxiliary strategy for preservation and genetic breeding. Micro-cuttings of cassava accessions BGM 264, BGM 265, BGM 1037 and BGM 1282 from the Active Germplasm Bank of the Embrapa Cassava and Fruits were tested with five different concentrations of sucrose (0, 14.6, 29.2, 43.8, 58.5 mM) and the following variables were evaluated: plant height (cm), total number of leaves, number of senescent leaves, number of micro-cuttings, size of callus, number of roots and plant vigor. The data were submitted to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). According to the criterion of Singh, the variable that contributed most to explain the behavior of cassava plants under the conditions studied was the number of leaves, with 36.52%, while the vigor of the plants showed the lowest contribution (0.66 %). The best concentration for in vitro cassava conservation was 58.45 mM of sucrose, based on the number of viable plants after incubation.

Key words: Biotechnology, germplasm conservation, tissue culture, Manihot esculenta, genetic resources