Comparative study of different cytokinins in the induction of morphogenesis in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik)

Abstract

This study presents the first comparative analysis of the effect of four different cytokinins, applied to different lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) explants in four different concentrations. with regard to the regeneration of shoots and roots of the pulse crop. The variables explant, phytohormone and concentration were all found to be highly significant. Mature seed explants showed the highest shoot regeneration over all the phytohormones and concentrations tested. Thidiazuron (TDZ) and benzyladenine (BA) showed a higher number of regenerated shoots than kinetin (KIN) and zeatin (ZEA); an increase from 1.25 μM to 10 μM of any cytokinin in general doubled the number of shoots regenerated. The average length of regenerated shoots was found to be inversely proportional to the number of shoots regenerated. TDZ and BA were found to inhibit root development more than KIN and ZEA. The highest root regeneration frequency was obtained from shoots regenerated on media containing 1.25 μM ZEA. The study concludes that in order to obtain whole plants it is best to regenerate shoots on media containing the cytokinins KIN or ZEA at low concentrations, in order to be able subsequently to regenerate roots.