Micropropagation of sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L.)

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A method for micropropagation of Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L. has been developed through bud proliferation from surface-sterilized nodal explants collected from a 9 yr old mature tree. Ninety six percent of the explants exhibited bud development on agar-gelled Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with 3.0 mg L−1 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) if incubated at 26 ± 2 °C, under 40–50 µmol m−2s−1 spectral photon flux density (SPFD) light intensity for 16/8 h light/dark photoperiod and 55–60% relative humidity. The cloned buds multiplied (12 ± 1.30 shoots per inoculum), and grew on MS medium + 1.0 mg L−1 BAP + 0.5 mg L−1 of α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and additives, 50 mg L−1 ascorbic acid, 25 mg L−1 each of adenine sulphate, citric acid and arginine. Higher concentrations of auxins in the culture medium induced callus formation. The additives improved quality of shoots as these prevented deformation of shoots. The shoots rooted (7.2 roots per shoot) on half-strength MS medium with 2.5 mg L−1 NAA. Ex vitro rooting was achieved by treating the basal parts of the in vitro shoots with 400 mg L−1 NAA (14.6 roots per shoot) and subsequent planting in pots filled with 1:1:1 mixture of soilrite® (soil conditioning mixture), cocopeat and garden soil. The cloned plantlets were acclimatized in greenhouse; 93.8% of these were survived. This tissue culture method can be applied for large scale production and sustainable conservation of C. uvifera, a vulnerable species for agroforestry of the coastal regions for windbreak and soil reclamations.