The importance of explant source on regeneration and micropropagation of Gladiolus by liquid shake culture

Abstract

An efficient system for the in vitro shoot regeneration and rapid mass shoot propagation of Gladiolus was developed using shoots derived from longitudinal corm explants on MS by Murashige and Skoog (1962) [Physiol. Plant 15 (1962) 472] liquid medium containing 2.2 μM BA and 30 g l −l sucrose by using a liquid shake culture system. Four explant sources (shoot-tip, longitudinal corm section, basal plate and daughter corm) were used to test the capacity of uniform shoot formation. Six vigorous and uniform shoots could be derived from longitudinal corm explants (most stable and proliferative) on MS agar medium with 2.2 μM BA and 30 g l −1 sucrose after 15 days. For continuous mass shoot propagation, these new shoots were cultured on 50 ml of the same liquid medium. Separate plantlet and corm formation could be achieved when shoots were cultured on MS-agar medium with IBA (from 1.0 to 2.5 μM) at phytosynthetic photon flux (PPF) of 30 or 40 μmol m −2 s −1, respectively and at 15–20 or 25 °C, respectively.