The very low level of ABA in SE of cucumber
recorded in this study is probably responsible for
the non desiccation and precocious germination of
somatic embryos observed in our system. Based on
the results of this work it becomes clear that, in
order to utilise this system of somatic embryos in
the technology of artificial seed production, addition
of ABA to the growing medium seems to be
necessary. It has been already shown for several
other species that ABA supplied to the growing
medium has been successfully used for synchronisation
and improving the quality of somatic embryos
[5,14,37]. Further studies on the practical
aspects of using ABA as an agent for promoting
SE maturation in our system are currently in
progress.