10.12.2012 Views

Protocols for Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits

Protocols for Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits

Protocols for Micropropagation of Woody Trees and Fruits

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

CHAPTER 18<br />

MICROPROPAGATION OF BLACK LOCUST<br />

(ROBINIA PSEUDOACACIA L.)<br />

J. ZHANG, Y. LIU AND H. WANG*<br />

College <strong>of</strong> Biological Sciences <strong>and</strong> Biotechnology, Beijing Forestry University,<br />

Beijing 100083, China, ∗ Corresponding author, E-mail: hfwang @ bjfu.edu.cn<br />

1. INTRODUCTION<br />

Robinia genus has about 10 species <strong>and</strong> 4 hybrids that are native to eastern North<br />

America <strong>and</strong> Mexico. They are Robinia boyntonii*, R. elliottii*, R. hartwegii*<br />

(R. viscosa var. hartwegii), R. hispida, R. kelseyi*, R. luxurians*, R. nana*, R.<br />

neomexicana, R. pseudoacacia, R. viscosa (*: not accepted as distinct by all<br />

authorities), R. × ambigua (R. pseudoacacia × R. viscose), R. × holdtii (R. neomexicana<br />

× R. pseudoacacia), R. × longiloba (R. hispida × R. viscose), <strong>and</strong> R. × margarettiae<br />

(R. hispida × R. pseudoacacia) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinia).<br />

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) is a commercial species. It is natively<br />

distributed in south eastern United States; on the lower slopes <strong>of</strong> the Appalachian<br />

Mountains, with separate outliers north along the slopes <strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong>est edges <strong>of</strong> southern<br />

Illinois, Indiana, <strong>and</strong> Missouri (http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/rops1.htm). Black<br />

locust is the first <strong>for</strong>est tree species introduced in Europe from North America. The<br />

Parisian Botanical Garden introduced this species already in 1601 (as reviewed by<br />

Davis & Keathley, 1987). The species was introduced to Qingdao City <strong>of</strong> China in<br />

1897 (Pan & You, 1994).<br />

Black locust is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen <strong>and</strong> enrich the soil fertility. The<br />

wood is valued <strong>for</strong> its durability <strong>and</strong> high fuel value. The tree provides good <strong>for</strong>age<br />

<strong>for</strong> bees <strong>and</strong> generally planted on reclaimed drought <strong>and</strong> barren l<strong>and</strong>s to control<br />

erosion. It is also used <strong>for</strong> ornamental purposes. Moreover, its fast growth rate <strong>and</strong><br />

great potential <strong>for</strong> environmental restoration have drawn attention to woody biomass<br />

plantation, establishment <strong>of</strong> energy plantation that would transfer existing traditional<br />

<strong>for</strong>ests into energy <strong>for</strong>ests (Rédei, 1999).<br />

The research is being carried out to improve wood properties <strong>of</strong> the species <strong>for</strong><br />

construction, furniture, <strong>and</strong> other industrial uses (Molnár & Bariska, 2006). The wider<br />

193<br />

S.M. Jain <strong>and</strong> H. Häggman (eds.), <strong>Protocols</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Micropropagation</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Woody</strong> <strong>Trees</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Fruits</strong>, 193–199.<br />

© 2007 Springer.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!