Establishment of a Rapid and Efficient Micropropagation System for Succulent Plant Haworthia turgida Haw.

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of plant growth regulators (PGRs) on callus regeneration, adventitious shoot differentiation, and root formation of Haworthia turgida Haw. was investigated. The greatest callus induction percentage (95.6%) was achieved with leaf explants inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 1.0 mg·L−1 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg·L−1 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and this callus induction medium supplemented with 2.5 mg·L−1 thidiazuron (TDZ) was optimal for callus proliferation. The maximum number of shoots (25.7) was obtained when the callus was cultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg·L−1 BA and 0.2 mg·L−1 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). The highest number of roots per shoot (6.2) and highest rooting frequency (82.0%) were obtained when adventitious shoots were inoculated on MS medium with 0.05 mg·L−1 NAA. Regenerated plantlets were transferred to a mixture of vermiculite and soil and acclimated in a greenhouse. The survival rate of the transplanted plantlets was about 91.6%. The rate of ex vitro rooting was 83.3%, indicating that this technique is effective for root induction in H. turgida. This study has established a rapid and efficient micropropagation system that can be beneficial for commercial cultivation and germplasm conservation of H. turgida.