IN VITRO SHOOT INITIATION AND MULTIPLICATION OF Pinus nigra var. maritima (Ait.) Melville

W T P S K Senarath
University of Sri Jayewardenepura

From different combinations of basal medium and growth regulators tested, it was found that the best medium for producing shoots from mature embryos was MS + 2 ppm BAP + 2 ppm NAA + 1.25 ppm IBA; from apical meristems, CD + 1.12 ppm BAP + 0.04 ppm 2,4-D + 0.01 ppm K; and from needle fascicles, CD with no growth regulator. Of 3 substrates tested for growing seedlings to produce explants, the best (for apical-meristem explants) was low-nutrient compost, and the best age of seedling was 21 days. Explants from one-year old plants and shoots produced in vitro gave more shoots than did those from mature trees; there was no significant difference in the length of the shoots. Production of adventitious buds for rapid multiplication was greater on explants of apical meristem origin than on those from mature embryos or needle fascicles; the percentage survival decreased significantly in second and third generations of explants of all three origins.

Department of Forestry and Environmental Science,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura,Sri Lanka. 1999. All rights reserved.