Duration of meiosis in petunia anthers in vivo and in floral bud culture

A procedure for in vitro culture of floral buds of petunia is described. A relatively simple medium, agar + sucrose, supports the normal development of premeiotic cultured buds in vitro. Meiosis in vitro proceeds similarly to in vivo under different (from 20°C to 40°C) temperature regimes. Compared with other species the duration of meiosis is relatively short (12 hours from zygotene to tetrads).