EN
Conservation of important plant germplasm is often difficult due to the specific growth requirements of genetically diverse species including in vitro culture collections. Recently the mesos components (CaCl2, MgSO4, KH2PO4) of Murashige and Skoog medium were identified as one of the most influential groups of nutrients for five pear genotypes. To determine if this requirement also applied to a larger germplasm collection, 18 genotypes in six species were screened. Shoot quality, shoot length, leaf spots and leaf color were the most affected responses. Seven of nine Pyrus communis cultivars had improved shoot quality, five had significantly longer shoots, better leaf color and fewer leaf spots while two had more shoots. Two of the four Pyrus pyrifolia cultivars had improved shoot quality while three had better leaf color and fewer leaf spots. Pyrus calleryana ‘Capital’, Pyrus cordata and Pyrus ussuriensis ‘Harbin’ had longer shoots while Pyrus koehnei had less callus. P. ussuriensis ‘Hang Pa Li’ was the only genotype where shoot quality declined at high mesos concentrations. Quantitative ion analysis detected substantially higher concentrations of Ca, Mg and K, but significantly less Fe, in the shoots cultured on increased mesos compared to controls. This study confirms that increased mesos improved growth of P. communis and P. pyrifolia cultivars, but produced fewer significantly improved responses for four other species.