Cryopreservation and synthetic seed production in ornamental flower bulbs (geophytes)

Ornamental flower bulbs (geophytes) are divided into five groups: 1) bulbs; 2) corms; 3) tubers; 4) tuberous root; and 5) rhizomes. They grow naturally in many places and ornamental geophytes are important floricultural crops in the world. However many geophytes are under extinction due to destruction of their natural habitats, unconscious usage of agricultural areas and over collection of the tubers, corms, bulbs and rhizomes for international trade. For this reason, in vitro conservation studies of geophytes are significant to improve new cultivars and produce new products in the future. In addition, ex situ, preservation of these resources is very important as they are significant part of the genetic resources of the world and are gaining relevance in the floriculture sector. In this review, conventional and the latest cryopreservation techniques and synthetic seed production for ornamental geophytes are discussed: 1) traditional methods; 2) vitrification-based methods (droplet, desiccation, vitrification, encapsulation-vitrification and their combinations); 3) synthetic seeds production; and 4) V-cryo-plate and D-cryo-plate techniques. © 2019 International Society for Horticultural Science. All Rights Reserved.