Regeneration of punica granatum cv. ‘Youssef Khany’ plants from different juvenile explants

Reliable and reproducible protocols to get healthy and well formed plants from juvenile explants of the pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) cv. ‘Youssef Khany’ have been developed. Calli were initiated from cotyledon, hypocotyl, leaf and internode sections excised from 30 days old in vitro germinated seedlings. The best media for callus induction from cotyledon, hypocotyl, internode and leaf explants were MS medium supplemented with 13.0 μM NAA and 13.5 μM BA, 13.0 μM NAA and 18.0 μM BA, 5.0 μM IBA and 9.0 μM BA, 8.0 μM NAA and 9.0 μM kinetin, respectively. The highest percentage of callus was obtained from cotyledon explants (85.50) followed by hypocotyl (79.67), internode (79.47) and leaf (75.48) explants. The calli thus obtained showed differentiation on MS medium supplemented with 9.0 μM BA and 2.5 μM NAA. Cotyledon derived callus showed the highest regenerationrate (81.97%, with mean number of 16.47 shoots per explant) followed by hypocotyl, internode and leaf derived calli. In vitro rooting was best on half strength MS medium containing 500 mg l - 1 of activated charcoal. The plantlets with well formed root systems were transferred to plastic cups containing cocopeat followed by transfer to earthen pots containing soil and sand (1:1).

Keywords:

callus cultures , juvenile explants , regenerationrate , Punica granatum ‘Youssef Khany