Fertilization In Vitro and Culture of Fertilized Ovules of Higher Plants

Sexual reproduction in higher plants consists of a series of complex processes, including pollination, double fertilization, embryo differentiation, and seed formation. Development of methods for pollination and fertilization under controlled conditions in vitro has greatly facilitated the study of these processes (1 ). In addition, manipulation of reproductive processes is possible by these methods. Thus, plants have been obtained following self-pollination in vitro with self-incompatible species, and hybrid plants have been obtained from interspecific and intergeneric crosses (2 ,3 ). Utilization of in vitro methods for wide hybridization has also provided a method for induction of parthenogenesis and development of haploid plants.