The mangaba tree (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) is a specie whose natural occurrence has suffered great human pressure and this is causing genetic erosion in many populations like in the Northeast Brazil. The use of techniques of plant tissue culture for conservation of plant genetic resources presents several advantages over germplasm conservation in the field decreasing cost for the maintenance of collections and decreasing sanitary risk and weather problems. The development of methods conservation of genetic resources still available it is essential. This work aimed at improving technical and scientific in vitro conservation by slow growth of mangaba tree. To evaluate the effect of sucrose and sorbitol nodal segments were inoculated in test tubes with 25 mL of MS medium supplemented with 1 mg L-1 of indol acetic acid and 1 mg L-1 of benzylaminopurine and different sorbitol concentrations (10; 20 and 40 g L-1). They were combined with 0 and 15 g L-1 of sucrose. In the recovery stage of the growth explants conserved in vitro for 120 days, in the previous experiment were inoculated on MS medium and the viability of crops evaluated at 30 and 60 days. It is feasible to maintain nodal segments in the absence of sucrose in the presence of 10 or 20 g L-1 of sorbitol tree. Explants maintained in the presence of 10 g L-1 of sorbitol and in the sucrose absence at conservation phase present higher viability in the growth recovery.
