The Effects of Different Concentrations and Combinations of Plant Growth Regulators on Micropropagation Potential of Pomegranates (Punica granatum L.)

Abstract

A pomegranate fruit with rich nutrient content has a great importance in terms of human health. As a result, the increase in pomegranate consumption necessitated the establishment of new gardens. For this reason, to obtain new clonal pomegranate plants in a short time, in vitro micropropagation based on tissue culture techniques is gaining importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of plant growth regulators at different concentrations and combinations on the micropropagation potential of pomegranates. In this study, the different combinations of BAP (1.5-2.0-2.5 mg L 1), NAA (0.5-1.0-1.5 mg L 1) and AC (activated charcoal) (0-0.02%) concentrations were applied in both full-solid and semi-solid MS basal medium. According to the general evaluation in terms of the content of the culture medium, the best results were obtained from Medium-4 (MS+4 mg L 1 Agar + 0% AC) and Medium-3 (MS+8 mg L 1 Agar + 0% AC) that the activated charcoal was not used. In medium-4 prepared as activated charcoal-free and semi-solid, the average callus rate, the average callus size and the average number of shoots were recorded as 86.00%, 87.40 mm2 and 10.30, respectively. In medium-3 prepared as activated charcoal-free and full-solid, the average callus rate, the average callus size and the average number of shoots were recorded as 83.67%, 86.37 mm2 and 18.43, respectively. In our study, shoot regeneration occurred through indirect organogenesis. The highest shoot regeneration of pomegranate cotyledons was obtained from Medium-3 (MS+8 mg L 1 Agar + 0% AC) containing 2.0 mg L 1 BAP and 1.0 mg L 1 NAA with 43.3 shoots per explant. Results of this study, the clonal micropropagation of pomegranate genotypes and varieties determined as a result of plant breeding studies will be contributed. Keywords: Pomegranate, Plant growth regulators, Callus regeneration DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/5-12-16