Optimized Recovery of Cryostored Dormant Buds of Mulberry Germplasm.

A two-step freezing cryoprotocol preceded by desiccation to 15 to 25% moisture content was developed and successfully applied to winter dormant buds of mulberry (different spp.) of a core set comprising 238 accessions studies in our laboratory. The survival and recovery percentage of diverse accessions cryobanked for various periods were tested under in vitro conditions, and several factors were analyzed to determine their role in optimizing the recovery of low-viability accessions.