INFLUENCE OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATORS ON INVITRO MICROPROPAGATION OF POTATO VARIETIES

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a dicotyledonous, tuberous and starchy plant of Solanaceae family. After wheat and rice, it is third most important food crop. Cytokines and auxins together are reported to be effective for plants in-vitro regeneration. The IBA was more effective than IAA in stimulating earlier root development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of plant growth regulators on potato varieties (Asterix and Bartina). Completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications was used to conduct this experiment. The significant differences between means were evaluated using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test.  In the present study benzyl amino purine (BAP) and indole-acetic acid (IAA) were used for shoot proliferation and multiplication while Indole-Butyric Acid (IBA) were used for root development. The meristem tips of the selected varieties were eliminated under aseptic conditions and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium with different treatments of BAP (0, 1.5,3, 4.5mg/l) and IAA(0,0.5,1mg/l) for shoot multiplication while IBA with different concentration (0,1,0.5 and 2mg/l) were used for root initiation. The result indicated that at the concentration of 4.5mg/l BAP + 1mg/l IAA, the Asterix variety showed best response as mean number of shoots were 9.2, highest shoot length was 10.2 cm and number of leaves were 7.0. Similarly, the Bartina variety showed their best response at the same concentration as mean of number of shoots were 7.8, highest shoot length was 9.9cm and number of leaves were 8.9 compared to other treatments. The results also indicated that at l mg/l IBA were best for both varieties, as the number of roots were 9.53 and root length was 9.86 cm in Asterix variety. similarly, in bartina variety the number of roots were 8.60 and root length was 7.60cm.