Meristem culture of two fig cultivars in Turkey

Abstract

Meristem culture of two fig cultivars in Turkey. Abstract -- Introduction. Two Turkish fig cultivars, Alkuden and Bursa Siyahi, were propa- gated by meristem culture to eliminate the fig mosaic virus. The technique of dsRNA analysis was conducted on the in vitro propagated plants to test for virus-free status. Materials and methods. Four different Murashige and Skoog (MS) media complemented with different concentrations of growth hormones (GA3, BA and IBA) were compared to study the cultured meristems' survival rate, shoot formation and rooting. Short- and long-term thermotherapy treatments were also applied. Results. For survival rate, 0.2 mg GA3·L -1 + 0.5 mg BA·L -1 gave the most favorable results; for shoot formation, it was the medium with 0.2 mg GA3·L -1 + 2.0 mg BA·L -1 which was the best, while rooting rate was the highest for meristems cultured on MS medium with only 0.1 mg GA3·L -1 . Conclusion. Meristem culture, together with ther- motherapy treatment, is recommended to obtain virus-free fig plant material. Although cultu- red plants seemed to be very healthy, dsRNA virus tests are recommended for sensitive evaluation of the sanitary status of the plants obtained. Turkey / Ficus carica / micropropagation / meristem culture / plant growth substances / heat therapy / plant viruses