OPTIMIZATION OF CRYOPRESERVATION PROTOCOL FOR <em>STERCULIA</em> <em>CORDATA</em> ZYGOTIC EMBRYOS USING TAGUCHI EXPERIMENTS

Abstract

NADARAJAN, J., STAINES, H. J., BENSON, E. E., MARZALINA, M., KRISHNAPILLAY, B. & HARDING,
K. 2006. Optimization of cryopreservation protocol for Sterculia cordata zygotic embryos using Taguchi
experiments. Sterculia cordata is a tropical forest tree species bearing intermediate to recalcitrant seeds.
This study investigated the effects of seed developmental stage, desiccation time and 6-benzyl aminopurine
hormone level in recovery media for cryopreservation of S. cordata embryos using Taguchi designed
experiments. Taguchi experiments, which use Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) as variables, allowed investigation of all main effects in smaller (1/3) replication of the original experiment. Seed developmental stage was the most important factor for S. cordata embryo cryopreservation protocol optimization. Taguchi optimization techniques are recommended when germplasm is scarce and the experiment needs to be conducted rapidly.