Improvement of the maturation and germination of horse chestnut somatic embryos

Embryogenic tissues obtained from stamen filament cultures of horse chestnut (Aesculum hippocastanum L.) were cultured on maturation media supplemented with different combinations of abscisic acid, polyethylene glycol 4000, mannitol or activated charcoal. Somatic embryos were subjected to different desiccation procedures after a culture period on maturation media. After a slow desiccation, obtained by placing the somatic embryos in empty and non-sealed Petri dishes under the laminar air flow for 48 h, an increase in viability, shoot elongation and conversion was observed for the embryos previously cultured on medium enriched with ABA (80 mu M) alone or plus PEG (50 gl(-1)).