Effect of landraces on Musa micropropagation

Abstract

This work aimed at assessing the performance of two landraces of Musa spp in micropropagation. Tissues from Owom and Efol were sterilized by soaking the explants in 70 % ethanol for 30 sec, 8 % NaOCl for 5 min, 5 g/L benlate for 5 min, and in 1.2 g/L HgCl2 for 10 min before being thoroughly washed with distilled water. Tissue exposure to U. V. light for 5 min was done before they were cultured in a shooting MS-based culture medium supplemented with 5.00 mg/L concentration of 6-Benzylaminopurine, and later to a rooting MS-based culture medium supplemented with indoleacetic acid (IAA) of 2.00 mg/l concentration. Data were collected on number of shoots, shoot height, shoot’s health, days to rooting, root number, and root length. The result from shooting medium showed that the plants’ heights were highly significantly different at P ≤ 0.01, with Owom producing marginal mean heights of 3.59 cm and 5.05 cm at 3 and 5 weeks respectively, after initiation. A very high significant difference was observed with plant health at P ≤ 0.001 whereby Owom landrace reduced in health status as the week increased, unlike Efol which increased in health status across the weeks. For rooting medium, significant differences at P ≤ 0.05 for days to rooting, root length, health performance, and plant height were observed. While high significant difference was observed for the number of roots at P ≤ 0.01. Owom performed significantly better than Efol and has shown value for commercial production and breeding programs.