Production of cucumber fruits from the culture of ‘Marketmore-76’ plantlets
A procedure to produce fruits from cultured shoot tips of Cucumis sativus L. cultivar ‘Marketmore-76’ in vitro is described. Four-week-old shoot tips, derived from sterile germinated seedlings on a MS medium, were cultured in a 3.8-1 Mason jar using an automated plant culture system. Tips readily generated roots, leaves and flowers after another 4 to 8 weeks in culture. Administration of compressed air at a 300 ml/min flow rate for 30 min 10 or 15 times a day induced the development of parthenocarpic fruits from flowers. Fruits, up to 170 mm long by 35 mm diameter, were obtained within 30 to 45 d after flower opening.
Efficient flower induction from cultured buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.) node segments in vitro
Flower induction from shoot segments of buckwheat seedlings was examinedin vitro. Cytokinin, (especially kinetin at 0.1μM), short day conditions and a high concentration ofsolidifying agent improved the flower induction from node segments invitro, in up to about 50% of node segments. The use of anaeration membrane on bottle caps and a high content of sucrose in the mediumimproved flower induction in vitro considerably. In theimproved conditions, flowers were induced from 100% cultures and 10bloomed flowers per explant were induced in vitro in 8weeks. Both long and short types of stigmas, and normal set of flowers wereobserved under the microscope. When pollen produced invitro was cultured on an artificial medium, 70% of the pollengrains germinated, indicating normal viability of in vitropollen, and indicating the potential for artificial pollination invitro. All the varieties examined flowered at a similar percentage,suggesting that the process was independent of variety and that flowers couldbeproduced in vitro. Flower induction from buckwheat plantsin vitro and possible cross breeding invitro are also discussed.
In Vitro Flowering in Amaranthus

Shoot tip-derived plantlets of five species of Amaranthus, A. caudatus L. cv. Pan, A. gangeticus L., A. hypochondriacus L., A. retroflexus L., and A. viridis L. flowered in vitro following 8 to 32 weeks in culture. Shoot tips were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts and (per liter) 30 g sucrose, 100 mg myo-inositol, 0.4 mg thiamine·HCl, and 8 g agar. Additions of 0.1 mg·liter–1 NAA enhanced inflorescence production but was not necessary for flower induction. Fruits of A. gangeticus and A. retroflexus dehised and their seeds dropped on the surface of agar medium and immediately germinated. In some instances, seeds of A. gangeticus germinated while still attached to the inflorescences. Seedlings derived from sterile flowers could, in turn, give rise to inflorescences. Inflorescences could be detached from flowering plant-lets and grown successfully for several months on basal nutrient medium containing 0.1 mg·liter–1 NAA. Chemical name used: 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).