In vitro production of bulblets of<i>Cyrtanthus loddigesianus</i>and<i>Cyrtanthus speciosus</i>

Abstract

SummaryThe micropropagation of Cyrtanthus loddigesianus and C. speciosus was carried out by the twin-scaling technique. In both species the best induction of shoots was obtained on the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5.37 μM of a-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 22 20 μM of benzyladenine (BA), whereas the best regeneration rate was found in the medium with 0.5% of activated charcoal. High doses of NAA/BA (5.37 μM/8.88 μM) were also found to be the most effective for developing new shoots in both species. 90 g l–1 and 30 g l–1 of sucrose in the liquid medium appeared to be the most appropriate condition to increase the biomass of the shoot-clumps of C. loddigesianus and C. speciosus, respectively. Rooting was promoted by low NAA concentrations (1.34 or 2.68 μM) in C. loddigesianus bulblets, and high concentrations (5.37 μM) in C. speciosus bulblets. Before transferring the obtained plantlets to the ex vitro conditions some were cold-treated to break possible dormancy. The plantlets were acclimatized in different chambers, and finally transferred to soil, where they showed 100% survival.