Micropropagation and acclimatization of Aloe polyphylla and Platycerium bifurcatum.

TLDR: In this paper, different cytokinins, singly or in combination with auxins (IBA and NAA), were tested for shoot proliferation activity, and the optimal combinations were kinetin/NAA (2.0/0.1 mgl-1), zeatinllBA (1.5/1.0 mgl − 1), BA/IBA ( 1.0 /1.

Abstract: Shoot cultures of Aloe polyphylla were initiated from young shoot explants of in vitro grown plants. The basal medium was MS medium (MURASHIGE and SKOOG, 1962), supplemented with 100 mgl-1myo-inositol, and 30 gl-1 sucrose. Agar (0.8 %) was used as the gelling agent. Different cytokinins, singly or in combination with auxins (IBA and NAA), were tested for shoot proliferation activity. All the cytokinins tested (kinetin, zeatin, iP, and BA) gave a good shoot proliferation response. The optimal concentrations for shoot proliferation of each of the cytokinins tested were: zeatin (0.5 mgl-1), kinetin (1.5 mgl-1), iP (1.0 mgl-1) and BA (1.5 mgl-1). In combination with auxins, the optimal combinations were kinetin/NAA (2.0/0.1 mgl-1), kinetinllBA (1.5/1.0 mgl-1), zeatinllBA (1.0/0.5 mgl-1), zeatin/NAA (1.0/1.0 mgl-1), BA/IBA (1.0/1.0 mgl-1), BA/NAA (1.5/0.1 mgl-1). Although it gave the highest number of shoots per explant, BA was responsible for hyperhydricity. Temperature and sucrose also influenced shoot proliferation. The optimal temperature was 25°C, while 30 gl-1 was the optimal concentration of sucrose for shoot proliferation. Plants rooted well in plant growth regulator-free MS medium. Amongst the potting mixtures tested, soil: sand: vermiculite (1:1:1 v/v) was the best with 98 % plantlet survival. In the second part of this project, Platycerium bifurcatum cultures were established using leaf explants. The basal medium was MS medium (MURASHIGE and SKOOG, 1962), supplemented with 100 mgl-1 myo-inositol and 30 gl-1 sucrose. For bud initiation, 1.0 mgl-1BA was used, while 0.8 % agar was used as the gelling agent. Three different strengths of MS medium (full, half, and one-quarter strength) without plant growth regulators were tested for further bud growth and development. Half-strength MS proved to be the best for further