Peruvian Journal of Agronomy 2 (1): 9 - 14 (2018) ISSN: 2616-4477 (Versión electrónica) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21704/pja.v2i1.1127 © Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima - Perú Received for publication: 30 January 2018 Accepted for publication: 30 March 2018 Pre-basic seed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production using temporary immersion bioreactors Producción de semilla pre-básica de papa (Solanum tuberosum L.) mediante biorreactores de inmersión temporal Tapia, M.de L.* 1 , Arbizu, C.* 2 , Beraún, F. 3 , Lorenzo, J. 4 , Escalona, M. 5 *Corresponding author: ltapia@lamolina.edu.pe / carbizu@lamolina.edu.pe Abstract Potato is an important food and cash crop in Perú. Its production is limited due to seed quality, and other biotic and abiotic factors. Here we explore a new alternative for potato pre-basic seed production named temporary immersion bioreactor (TIB). Potato microtubers production using TIB comprises two phases: multiplication and microtuberization. During the multiplication phase, we used 50 segments of four nodes from a semi-solid medium with an immersion and frequency time of fve minutes and three hours, respectively. In addition, a photoperiod of 16 hours of light and eight hours of darkness during 28 days were employed. For the microtuberization phase and under darkness conditions during 60 days, we used 80 g/l of sucrose and 30 ml/explant as a volume for the medium. Then, it was possible to obtain fve, six, and 2.5 microtubers per explant of potato varieties “Canchan INIA”, “Capiro”, and “Papa 3”, respectively. Keywords: Microtubers, temporary immersion bioreactor, pre-basic seed, microtuberization. Resumen La papa es un alimento importante y cultivo de alta importancia económica en Perú. Su producción es limitada debido a la calidad de las semillas y otros factores bióticos y abióticos. Aquí exploramos una nueva alternativa para la producción de semilla pre-básica de papa llamada biorreactor de inmersión temporal (BIT). La producción de microtubérculos de papa utilizando BIT comprende dos fases: multiplicación y microtuberización. Durante la fase de multiplicación, se utilizaron 50 segmentos de cuatro nudos de un medio semisólido con un tiempo de inmersión y frecuencia de cinco minutos y tres horas, respectivamente. Además, se empleó un fotoperiodo de 16 horas de luz y ocho horas de oscuridad durante 28 días. Para la fase de microtuberización y en condiciones de oscuridad durante 60 días, se utilizaron 80 g/l de sacarosa y 30 ml/explante como volúmen para el medio. Luego fue posible obtener cinco, seis y 2.5 microtubérculos por explante de las variedades de papa “Canchan INIA”, “Capiro” y “Papa 3”, respectivamente. Palabras clave: Microtuberculos, biorreactor de inmersión temporal, semilla prebásica, microtuberización 1 Instituto de Biotecnología-Cultivo de Tejidos, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Av. La Molina s/n, Lima 12, Perú. 2 Instituto de Biotecnología-Genómica y Bioinformática, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Av. La Molina s/n, Lima 12, Perú. 3 Departamento de Contabilidad, Facultad de Ciencias Contables, Universidad Nacional del Callao, Av. Juan Pablo II 306, Callao 2, Perú.. 4 Laboratory for Plant Breeding, Centro de Bioplantas, Universidad de Ciego de Ávila, Carretera Morón Km 9 ½, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. 5 Laboratory for Plant Cell and Tissue Culture, Centro de Bioplantas, Universidad de Ciego de Ávila, Carretera Morón Km 9 ½, Ciego de Ávila, Cuba. Introduction Micropropagation is a widely used technique to obtain plants free of diseases that may be used for the production of minitubers and microtubers throughout the year, becoming the frst generation of pre-basic seed (Ranalli 2007). The production of potato microtubers represents a potentially novel method for seed production compared to some limitations present with the use of minitubers, which are difcult to store, delicate, difcult to handle and require an additional acclimatization process (Coleman et al. 2001). In some potato varieties, the use of nodal segments with two nodes (4 buds) as an explant produced in vitro seedlings with greater vigor compared to the use of nodal segments with a node (Venkatasalam et al. 2012). Larger microtubers are sowed directly into the feld. On the other hand, in vitro plants that are obtained from minitubers require acclimatization (Donnely et al. 2003), resulting in a not very economical method. Radouani and Lauer (2015) compared yields of tubers produced from microtubers and minitubers of two potato varieties “Nicola” and “Russet Burbank”. Microtubers had a small weight of 0.2-1.5 g, medium weight of more than 1.5 to 3 g, and large ones greater than 3 g. Small minitubers weighed 15-20 g, the medium ones more than 20 to 40 g, and the big ones greater than 40 g. Both varieties produced more tubers from microtubers than from minitubers, 1,033,333 vs