Immature inflorescence culture in Lolium, Festuca, Phleum and Dactylis.

Immature inflorescences 1–20 mm long were cultured from forage grass species and hybrids in the genera Lolium, Festuca, Dactylis and Phleum. Many small plantlets were regenerated from all the grasses, either directly from floret primordia or via callus, and later transferred to soil. A good general culture medium contained MS basal constituents with 2 mg · l-1 2, 4-D, 0.2 mg · l-1 BAP and 100 mg · l-1 casein hydrolysate with the exception of Phleum pratense which gave rather more plantlets on MS with 0.5 mg · l-1 2,4-D without BAP and casein hydrolysate. The frequency of inflorescences with one or more albino shoots ranged from zero (Festuca arundinacea) to over 20% (Festuca pratensis). There was no evidence of genetic instability and the method may be useful for clonal propagation or for establishing aseptic plantlets for storage in vitro or experimentation.