Plants generally respond in different ways to in vitro cultivation techniques, depending on the crop's initial response and the embryogenic capacity of its genotype, the physiological state of the plant and the explant, the age of the donor plant, physical factors, growth regulators, nutritional conditions and seasonal change. The present study was thus aimed at evaluating the influence of the time of year during which the source of explants was taken on the in vitro response of Robusta genotypes. Samples were taken during each month of the year, foliar explants were cultured in a medium containing Murashige and Skoog mineral salts (1962) and 0,5 and 2,0 mg.L-1 2,4-D and kinetine, respectively. It was observed that the time of the year when a sample was taken exercised as marked effect on the response of the explants from the genotypes evaluated. Taking foliar samples during May-June, January-February and November-December proved favourable in the conditions studied here given the low indices of peroxidase enzymatic activity, phenol oxidation and fungal contamination, as well as the high percentage of callus formation and their greater total protein content. It was determined that peroxidase enzymatic activity could constitute an important marker during the initial stage of selecting samples. Key words: time of year, callus, peroxidase activity, oxidation, contamination.