In vitro propagation of banana (Musa spp.) using thidiazuron and activated charcoal

Abstract

Rapid clonal propagation potential of banana was investigated by using excised shoot tips of Musa spp. Shoot tips isolated from young suckers of ‘Anamur 2’, ‘Dwarf Cavendish’, and ‘Gazipasa 6'genotypes were used. Excised shoot tips were transferred immediately to Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with different concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ) either alone or with indoleacetic acid (IAA). Rooting was achieved with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) in the presence or absence of activated charcoal (AC). The results showed that shoot proliferation rate was statistically affected by cytokinin types and their concentration. The responses to TDZ were better than to BAP. BAP or TDZ with IAA increased shoot elongation compared with BAP or TDZ alone. An increase in plant height, root numbers and average number of roots per explant was obtained using AC. Hence, for multiplication of ‘Dwarf Cavendish’, the use of MS medium with 2.5 µM TDZ with 1 µM IAA followed by rooting with AC only is recommended. For multiplication of banana genotypes ‘Anamur 2’ and ‘Gazipasa 6’, the use of MS medium with 1 µM TDZ and 1 µM IAA followed by rooting with AC only is recommended.