Effect of silicon on bulblet regeneration from bulbscale explants of Lilium longiflorum thunb

Abstract

Effect of silicon (Si) on bulblet formation from bulbscale explants of Lilium longiflorum was studied. Bulbscale explants were inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 2, 4 or 8 μM N6-benzyladenine (BA) alone or in combination with 1.8, 3.6 or 7.2 mM Si. Among the three concentrations of BA studied, 4 μM BA was found to be the best one for bulblet formation. On this medium, 41.2% of explants responded, with a mean of 2.0 bulblets. Maximum frequency of bulblet formation (89.8%), with a mean of 3.6 bulblets was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 4 μM BA and 7.2 mM Si. In vitro-regenerated bulblets were transferred to respective fresh medium for bulblet multiplication. The number of bulblets increased with increasing the concentration of Si in the culture medium containing BA. The highest number of bulblets (13.6) was obtained when explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 4 μM BA and 7.2 mM Si. Energy dispersive X-Ray analisis detected the presence of Si deposition in leaves of plants developed in Si containing medium, but not in plants developed in medium devoid of Si. The results of the present study suggest that bulblet formation can be significantly enhanced by Si.