Abstract
The aim of this work was to sterilize nodal explants, so as to mitigate microbial contamination in peach micropropagation. The nodal explants were treated with three concentrations levels (0.15, 0.25 and 0.5% (w/v) active ingredient of chlorine) of locally produced bleach, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for varying exposure times (10, 15 and 20 min). These treatments were carried out in randomized complete design with three replications. Data were recorded on the number of contaminated, dead and survived (clean) cultures after 10 days of culturing. The highest explant contamination (100%) and least explant survival (0%) were recorded when explants were treated with 0.15% active chlorinated local bleach for 10 min. The least culture contamination and minimum tissue death of 9.51 and 4.75%, respectively, and the highest culture survival (85.71%) were recorded when explants were disinfected with 0.25% active chlorinated local bleach for 15 min. Key words: Explants, local bleach, micropropagation, Prunus persica, surface sterilization. 
Highlights
The study was conducted at the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, National Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, Holeta Agricultural
Before explants were placed on a medium, it must be sterilized to make them free of all microorganisms
The highest explant contamination (100%) and least explant survival (0%) were recorded when explants were treated with 0.15% active chlorinated local bleach for 10 min
Summary
Batsch) belongs to the Prunoideae, a sub family of Rosaceae, with eight basic and 16 somatic chromosome numbers (2n = 16) (Hesse, 1975). Prunus include several species approximately 430 adapted primarily to the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus). China is the native home for peach and was domesticated there 4000-5000 years ago (Aranzana et al, 2010). Peach is grown for its edible fruit consumed as fresh or processed. The total world production of peaches during the year 2012 was
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