Influence of hermetic and non-hermetic culture rooms on biochemical and in vitro morphological characters of potato cultivars

In this study, effect of hermetic and non-hermetic culture rooms on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) microplantlet morphological as well as biochemical characters were evaluated in 17 cultivars belonging to different maturity groups. Significant interaction between culture room and cultivar was observed for both morphological and biochemical characters. Non-hermetic culture room was found better for vigorous plant growth without any morphological abnormalities as compared to hermetic culture room. Besides, non-hermetic culture room increased the chlorophyll a (151.7%), chlorophyll b (94.3%), total chlorophyll (133.0%), carotenoids (158.33%) and phenols (41.5%) that favoured acclimatization to ex vitro conditions. Therefore, culture room ventilation is a must for obtaining vigorous microplantlet growth without any morphological abnormalities.