Growth and development of young male inflorescences of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) In tissue culture system: The effect of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid

Abstract

An effort in developing a standard protocol for rapid clonal propagation of oil palm through somatic embryogenesis was established with the aim to determine the effect of various concentrations of growth regulators on the development of embryogenic callus from immature inflorescences as explants source. Immature male inflorescences were obtained from 4 – 5 years old oil palm planted in Teaching Farm, Faculty of Agriculture University of Jambi. The inflorescences were taken from leaf axils between 8th and 15th leaf from the top (the upper most exposed leaf). Following surface sterilization with 70% alcohol, the inflorescences were cut into segments of approximately 5 mm long, and cultured on solid MS medium supplemented with 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D) at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 ppm respectively. Cultures were kept in culture room with photoperiod of 16 hour per day for 8 weeks. The results indicated that the application of 2, 4-D in culture medium was proven to be crucial in accelerating callus formation as well as increasing the percentage of from young male inflorescence of oil palm forming callus. Among the treatments tested, the application of 70 ppm 2, 4-D was the best concentration in initiating callus formation on young male inflorescence explants of oil palm plants.