Table 1.

Germination and growth of mature somatic embryos from embryogenic line 27 under activated charcoal (AC) treatment in Pinus massoniana

AC/g/l	Germination rate/%	Growth of mature somatic embryos
0	0f	Serious browning and hygrophanous
2	4.9 ± 1.2e	Turned green, but stubby, and no differentiation
4	45.9 ± 3.2d	Differentiated into epicotyls and hypocotyls, but not developed root system
6	55.7 ± 2.4c	Formed new and slender shoots and short roots
8	84.4 ± 4.7b	Formed healthy shoots and robust roots
10	97.0 ± 3.6a	Formed healthy shoots and robust roots
12	84.2 ± 5.7b	Formed robust roots, but new shoots were yellow and slim

The germination rate is calculated as the percentage of germinating somatic embryos among 15 somatic embryos in 3 replicates. Meansstandard errors (SE) within a column followed by the same small letter are not significantly different according to Duncan’s multiple range tests (Duncan’s tests) at P ≤ 0.05