Methods for preserving viability of plant tissues such as plant embryos are provided herein. Also included are methods for storing genomic DNA and/or molecular marker assay materials in an oil bilayer as part of a high-throughput molecular characterization system. Moreover, plant embryos may be treated while in an oil matrix. The treatment may include chromosome doubling, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, or herbicide selection as part of an embryo rescue process.

Provided are: a coating material for seeds that can be obtained by a simple treatment stage; and a coated seed that is coated with the aforesaid coating material, suffers from little physical damage and is almost free from growth inhibition. The coating material for seeds comprises as a major component a pulverized inorganic mineral powder. The coated seed is coated with the aforesaid coating material.

The present invention relates to new methods of selecting and breeding organisms, in particular organisms which exhibit symbiotic behavior with symbionts such as fungal endophytes or epiphytes or bacterial microbiome in plants, and to new organisms and symbiota developed thereby. More particularly, the present invention provides artificial seeds comprising symbiota, and methods for preparing and using such artificial seeds, as well as plants, plant seeds and other plant parts derived from artificial seeds or symbiont-containing plants of the present invention.

Methods and compositions for cultivating plants and artificial plant seeds comprising choplets derived from plantlets grown by tissue culture techniques. Methods comprise production of choplets and artificial seeds comprising choplets which are initiated by the micropropagation of plant tissue source material from plants which may be native or transgenic.

A pick-and-place system for plant embryos includes a tray for receiving a suspension of plant embryos. The tray is movable to repeatedly reposition the plant embryos. An identification system is proximate the tray for identifying a target plant embryo amongst the plant embryos in the suspension. The identification system is configured to identify the target plant embryo while the tray is moving. A robotic arm is proximate the tray and is in communication with the identification system. The robotic arm is actuatable to pick the target plant embryo out of the suspension while the tray is moving, and deposit the target plant embryo at a target location.

Methods of developing plant somatic embryos include incubating the plant somatic embryos at a first temperature for a first period of time followed by storing the plant somatic embryos at a second temperature for a second period of time. The first temperature can be in the range of about 23 C. to 30 C. and leads to rapid plant somatic embryo growth. The second temperature can be in the range of about 8 C. to 15 C. and slows plant somatic embryo development. Plant somatic embryos developed in this manner and implanted in artificial seeds show germination rates similar to zygotic embryos implanted in artificial seeds.

Provided is a method of improving plant embryo development and/or germination. The method comprises developing plant embryos in the presence of nitric oxide (NO). The method entails the step of incubating plant embryogenic suspensor mass (ESM) in, or on, a development medium containing a nitric oxide donor for a period of time to develop mature somatic embryos. The method disclosed herein improves the yield and/or the germination frequency of plant embryos as compared to plant embryos developed by conventional methods without a nitric oxide donor in the medium.

The application concerns methods for improving a plant growth feature, such as biomass, height, yield, and/or emergence, of plants using certain fungi or agricultural active compositions comprising the fungi. Plants and plant parts treated with or heterologously disposed with said fungi or compositions are also disclosed. Further, novel fungal strains, and populations and agricultural active compositions comprising the same are provided.

The present disclosure provides a method for propagating a crop using meristem excision, micropropagation, plantlet formation, plantlet singulation, plantlet transfer to artificial seeds, and planting artificial seeds. Methods are provided for producing and handling the plantlets and materials used to form artificial seeds. The artificial seeds may be used to store plantlets or may be planted to form a crop.

The present disclosure provides novel methods and compositions for the maturation and regeneration of plantlets from microspore-derived embryos. The compositions provided include a liquid maturation composition comprising a first plant hormone and about 430 mM to about 880 mM of a monosaccharide solute, a disaccharide solute, or a polysaccharide solute. The methods provided include the steps of contacting a microspore-derived embryo with a liquid maturation medium for a time period sufficient to produce a matured microspore-derived embryo, transferring the matured microspore-derived embryo to a substrate, and regenerating the plantlet from the matured microspore-derived embryo.