Key Techniques in Tissue Culture of Scape Explants from Hemerocallis citrina

Abstract

Datong in Shanxi Province, known as the “Daylily Capital of China,” still primarily relies on traditional propagation by division for daylily seedling production. Although traditional seedling propagation methods are simple and low-cost, they suffer from limitations such as low propagation efficiency, which restricts large-scale production. The application of tissue culture in seedling production not only enables rapid large-scale propagation but also helps maintain desirable genetic traits through virus elimination. This study aimed to establish an efficient in vitro regeneration system for Hemerocallis citrina ‘Datong Huanghua’ through optimization of key culture stages using scape explants. The results demonstrated that during the stages of callus induction, adventitious bud differentiation, and proliferation culture, the best results were achieved using MS medium supplemented with 3 mg/L zeatin (ZT) and 0.3 mg/L α-naphthylacetic acid (NAA), yielding a callus induction rate of 83.33%, an adventitious bud differentiation rate of 83.40%, and a proliferation coefficient of 4.05. For root induction, MS medium containing 0.25 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 0.25 mg/L NAA resulted in an average of 4.7 roots per plantlet with a 100% rooting rate. In addition, endogenous hormone analysis showed that lower ABA/GA3 and ABA/ZR ratios in scape explants promoted callus formation during the induction and differentiation stages.