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Cacti are economic ornamental plants whose value varies with market trends. Recently, cacti with new morphologies compared to the original plant have decreased in popularity. Colchicine is a tricyelic alkaloid substance, It is an inhibitor of mitosis thus preventing the formation of microtubuli and the mitotic spindle. This research investigated the effect of colchicine on inducing morphological and anatomical traits in Gymnocalycium mihanovichii using a 2-factor factorial completely randomized design (CRD) The first factor was the duration of the dipped stem at 24 and 48 h, while the second factor was the colchicine concentration at 0.25 and 0.5 %. Results indicated that G. mihanovichii treated with colchicine at different concentrations and dipping durations showed statistically significant differences in plant height, stem diameter, number of spines and root length. G. mihanovichii treated with 0.50 % colchicine for 48 h developed a new morphological trait called spineless cactus. Occurrences of larger sized stomata with lower frequency per unit area were statistically significantly different after treatment with 0.25 % colchicine for 24 h. Maximum length of stomatal guard cells was 50.33 µm. HIGHLIGHTS mihanovichii is the most valuable cactus species, both in the Thai market and trade worldwide and new characteristic would be commercially beneficial and demand high prices in the cactus market because it is rarely found in nature mihanovichii can be induced to develop new characteristics using colchicine such as variegated stem color, spineless, cristata and monstrosities. These traits may increase the market value of the cacti both domestically and abroad The epidermis of the stem of mihanovichii was observed. Both types of stomata were found distributed in the tissue GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT |
