Standardization of surface sterilization protocols for culture establishment in banana cv. Karpurachakkarakeli(AAB) male flower budsin vitro

Abstract

Plant tissue culture is a proven technique for producing banana seeds in large quantities, uniformly and in a short time to support good quality banana seeds. The banana flower meristem can be a potential explant. The banana flower meristem offers the opportunity to regenerate plants with agronomic characteristics. This study aimed to regenerate banana flowers in vitro with different sucrose and BA (Benzyladenine) concentrations after standardized surface sterilization protocols. The study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), two factorial designwith surface sterilents and gelling agents. The results showed that the treatmentT15 (Sodium hypochlorite (1%) + HgCl2 (0.1%)) in G1 (0.25% gelrite) recorded the lowest fungal and bacterial contamination (0.00, 0.00) & (0.73, 0.53) respectively, in in vitro cultures of male flower buds of banana cultivar KarpuraChakkarakeli (AAB). While, the combination of BA (4 mgL-1) and sucrose (30 mgL-1) concentration had directly induced organogenesis in banana male flower explants.