Plant growth regulators and organic additives on the proliferation of protocorm-like bodies and plantlet regeneration of Cattleya gaskelliana (N.E.Br.) B.S.Williams

Abstract

In this study, a tissue culture method was developed for the propagation and conservation of Cattleya gaskelliana (N.E.Br.) B.S. Williams. Initially, protocorms with leaf primordium, obtained via asymbiotic seed germination, were used as explants. Half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.5 mg L−1 6-benzyl aminopurine (BA) and 2.0 mg L−1, indole butyric acid (IBA) was found to be optimal for the proliferation of protocorm-like bodies (PLB). Most explants (81%) proliferated, each producing 11.1 ± 1.87 units per explant. The optimum number of PLB differentiated to plantlets on a cultured medium with 0.5 mg L−1 Thidiazuron (TDZ) + 100 mL L−1 coconut water. Firmly rooted plantlets with vigorous growth were regenerated on ½ MS medium + 1.0 mg L−1 Indole- 3-acetic acid (IAA) and 50 g L−1 banana puree. Plants regenerated via in vitro processes were wrapped with sphagnum moss and acclimatized in a substrate containing equal proportions of bark, perlite, and peat with a 100% ex-vitro survival rate after acclimation for 70 days. The protocol developed in this study can be used to obtain several thousand plants within one year, and thus, is an effective method.