In vitro Regeneration of Avocado (Persea Americana) West Indian Rootstock cv.lula Via Tissue Culture

Abstract

Avocado (Persea Americana Mill) is a subtropical fruit and is highly recommended for its nutritional value.  Avocado is known for its sensitivity to biotic and a biotic stress. One way to overcome this problem is to graft on tolerance rootstocks that are mainly obtained via seeds that are subjected to genetic variation. Two different types of explants: axillary bud and shot tip meristem were used in this study. Axillary buds gave the best results in terms of the maximum number of shoots when compared to the apical meristem in all treatments, regardless of the media type. The highest shoot induction in Woody Plant Medium (WP) was better than Murashige and Skooge( MS) medium regardless of the explant type. Explant responded better in BAP- containing medium than TDZ and KN. The maximum number of shoots obtained from axillary bud was 4 shoots/explant when cultured in WP medium supplemented with BAP (1.5mg/l). When apical meristems were used as explant, the best result obtained was 2.5 shoots/explant cultured in WP medium supplemented with BAP (1.5mg/l).  For shoot length, axillary buds responded better than apical meristem when cultured in BAP containing medium regardless of medium type. The maximum shoot length (4.8 cm) was obtained from axillary bud cultured in WP media supplemented with BAP (1.5mg/l). For rooting, 50% of explant formed root at IBA (1.0 mg/l) when cultured in WP medium. The best number of roots (3.2 roots/explant) was obtained in MS medium supplemented with IBA (1.0 mg/l).