Establishment of highly efficient micropropagation method for apple variety Red Chief
摘要
Commercial cultivation of apple cultivars sometimes encounters problems such as poor propagation rates, varying quality and limited supply of planting materials. Therefore, present study focuses on the development of a reliable in vitro micropropagation protocol for rapid and consistent multiplication of ‘Red Chief’ apple plants using axillary shoot bud explants. Buds were gathered throughout year from apple orchards of the university, with the foremost percent bursting and bud survival observed between June and September. The effective establishment of buds necessitated the rinsing of phenols in a liquid MS medium augmented with activated charcoal (100 mg/l) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (1 g/l). The optimal results were achieved when MS medium was augmented with 1 mg/l BA, 0.1 mg/l IBA and 0.5 mg/l GA3, resulting in highest bud break of 40.13% and survival rate of 19.66% for buds fetched in month of June to September. A six fold multiplication rate and shoots up to 2.5 cm in length were observed on a medium augmented with 1.0 mg/l BA and 0.5 mg/l GA3. Additionally, the inclusion of 0.1 mg/l IBA in this composition led to five shoots per cultured shoot, whereas BA alone produced only threefold rosette-type shoots. Moreover, a two-step rooting procedure with 3 mg/l IBA resulted in 100% rooting success, surpassing the one-step method. The acclimatization of plantlets was successfully achieved under glasshouse conditions. This protocol holds significant promise for large-scale production of ‘Red Chief’ planting material, contributing to sustainable cultivation of this commercially important variety and addressing challenges associated with traditional propagation methods.