ESTABLISHMENT OF IN VITRO PLANTLETS AND ACCLIMATIZATION OF GERBERA JAMESONII BOLUS EX. HOOK F.

Abstract

Adventitious shoots of Gerbera jamesonii Bolus ex. Hook f. were successfully obtained when petiole explants from aseptic seedlings were cultured on MS media supplemented with 2.0 mg/L 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.5 mg/L α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The shoots were subcultured every 2 weeks on the same culture media to obtain in vitro plantlets. Mature plantlets were achieved after 8 weeks of subculture. These plantlets were transferred to MS Basal media for further root elongation for 2 weeks. Complete plantlets were transferred to several growth media for acclimatization process. These growth substrates were garden soil, black soil, vermiculite and autoclaved garden soil. Before being transferred to the greenhouse, these plantlets were first placed in the culture room for 3 weeks to allow adaptation of plantlets to the new environment. Survival of the plantlets in the greenhouse was observed. It was found that acclimatized gerbera plantlets in garden soil (black soil: red soil, 2:1) gave best result with 86.0±0.9% survival rates, followed by vermiculite with 73.0±1.3 survival rates. Gerbera plantlets were maintained in the greenhouse for further flowering phase.