Marzieh Babashpour-Asl - Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Maragheh Branch, Maragheh, Iran

To establish an efficient protocol for micropropagation of snowdrop (Galanthus transcaucasicus), an endangered ornamental plant, effect of explant type, sucrose and plant growth regulators on bulblet formation was evaluated. The results showed that bulb segment explant (bulb divided vertically into four equal segments) was the best explant for bulblet production. In the first experiment, the highest number of bulblets and the largest ones was achieved when bulb segments were cultured on modified Murashige and Skoog (MMS) medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/l α-naphtalene acetic acid and 2 mg/l 6-benzylaminopurine after 20 weeks of culture. In the second experiment, with the increase in sucrose concentration, the size of bulblets was increased, although their number were decreased. Moreover, indole butyric acid was obtained as the best auxin for bulblet formation. This protocol provided a basis for future study on large-scale multiplication system for commercial nurseries of Galanthus transcaucasicus.

Micropropagation, snowdrop, tissue culture, Galanthus.