Summary of final report on the Australian Flora Foundation funded project:
Professor Margaret Sedgley, Dr. Graham Collins, Dr Kate Delaporte, and Pauline Glocke
Department of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology, Waite Campus, Adelaide University, Glen Osmond, Australia 5064 Grant Details Final Report
Experiments were conducted to produce plants via tissue culture of ornamental eucalypts, as clonal propagation of superior genotypes is essential to perpetuate horticultural characteristics. The plants chosen for initial study were E. erythronema, E. stricklandii, and hybrids between E. erythronema and E. stricklandii. Most work was conducted on seedling material, in order to develop suitable methods for the hybrids, of which limited material was available. Successful production of callus, buds, shoots and roots was achieved using the plant growth regulators BAP and NAA. Micropropagation was also successful. No somatic embryos were produced, but this was not seen as a problem, as successful production of plants in vitro had been achieved via organogenesis and micropropagation.