Effect of benzylaminopurine on <i>in vivo</i> multiplication of French plantain (<i>Musa</i> spp. AAB) cv. ‘Itoke sege’

Abstract

However, the response of cv. "Itoke Sege" to in vivo macropropagation combined with different benzylaminopurine (BAP) concentrations is not known. This study was conducted to determine the appropriate concentration of BAP for enhancing in vivo macropropagation of French plantain cv. 'Itoke Sege'. Methodology and results: Sword suckers of about 70 -80 cm tall and 14 -16 cm collar diameter were obtained from farmers' fields in Rungwe district in Mbeya, Tanzania. Moistened sawdust was steamsterilized for 45 minutes and then filled for cooling in wooden propagators of 1.5 m x 2.20 m x 0.3 m dimension. Suckers were partially peeled, washed to remove roots and surface-sterilized for 15 seconds by dipping them in hot boiling water. The sterilized corms were desheathed to expose axillary buds and decorticated to suppress the apical meristems. Fifteen corms in three replications were each dipped in BAP at 0.0, 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 mg/l for 12 hours and then planted into sawdust media. Irrigation was done immediately but subsequent watering was carried out when necessary. In vivo multiplication response was evaluated based on number of days to first shoot emergence, number of shoots per corm, number of roots per shoot and shoot size. Results showed that BAP concentration at 1.5 mg L -1 significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the number of days to first shoot emergence of 15.78 days followed by BAP at 3.0, 6.0 and 0.0 mg L -1 with 25.18, 28.39 and 36.43 days, respectively. Similarly, BAP concentration at 1.5 mg L -1 significantly (P < 0.05) increased sucker productivity with 17.11 suckers per corm followed by BAP at 0.0, 3.0 and 6.0 mg L -1 with 15.23, 13.08 and 12.96 suckers per corm, respectively. Corms treated with BAP at 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 mg L -1 significantly (P ≤ 0.05) produced taller shoots with length of 27.0, 27.3 and 26.7 cm followed by corms treated with BAP at 0.0 mg L -1 with shoot length of 22.7 cm. Conversely, corms treated with BAP at 0.0 and 6.0 mg L -1 produced suckers with larger collar diameter of 3.4 and 2.4 cm followed by suckers from corms treated with BAP at 3.0 and 1.5 mg L -1 with collar diameters of 2.2 and 2.0 cm, respectively. Suckers from corms treated with BAP at 0.0 and 3.0 mg L -1 had larger number of leaves of 4.8 and 4.6 per sucker followed by suckers from corms treated with BAP at 1.5 and 6.0 mg L -1 with 4.0 and 3.8 leaves per sucker, respectively. Conclusion and application: Based on these findings, it is concluded that in vivo macropropagation combined with BAP at 1.5 mg L -1 is a suitable technique for improving multiplication and sucker growth of French plantain cv. 'Itoke Sege'. The findings of this study provide an opportunity for the use of in vivo macropropagation coupled with BAP at 1.5 mg L -1 as an alternative simple and cheap technology for rapid and mass production of planting materials for recalcitrant plantain varieties. Further study is recommended to evaluate the response of cv. "Itoke Sege" to in vivo macropropagation combined with other cytokinebased growth regulators. Research is a...

Effect of thidiazuron on <i>in vivo</i> shoot proliferation of popular banana (<i>Musa</i> spp. L) cultivars in Tanzania

“…Comparatively, a temporary treatment of deshealthed corms of plantain cv. "Itoke Sege" in benzylaminopurine at 1.5 mg /litre produced 17.11 in vivo suckers per corm (Kindimba and Msogoya, 2014). In the present study TDZ concentration from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/l increased in vivo shoot growth based on the number of leaves per shoots though the number of leaves per sucker decreased as TDZ concentration increased to 3.0 mg/l.…”

“…The technique involves disinfecting, deshealthing banana corms to expose axillary buds and decorticating the apical meristem to suppress Journal of Applied Biosciences 81:7214 -7220 ISSN 1997-5902 apical dominance (Kwa, 2003;Njukwe et al, 2005;Kindimba and Msogoya, 2014). Compared to in vitro propagation, this technique provides in a short period pest-free plantlets (Njukwe et al, 2005;Kwa, 2003) and has the potential of producing 50 -60 shoots per corm in 4 -5 months (Baiyeri and Aba, 2004).…”

“…Moreover, a temporary dipping of deshealthed and decorticated corms in BAP at 1.5 mg/l resulted to the highest in vivo proliferation of 17.11 suckers per corm in plantain cv." Itoke Sege" (Kindimba and Msogoya, 2014). Thidiazuron (TDZ) is a diphenyl urea based cytokinin growth regulator, which is nondegradable by cytokinin-oxidase enzymes (Makara et al, 2010).…”

Field Performance of False Horn Plantain (<i>Musa</i> AAB) Corms Treated Mechanically and with Hormone Solutions

“…An innovative micropropagation technique for raising plantlets is tissue culture [17]- [20]; however, this procedure requires high initial investment costs for specialised laboratories. In contrast, a macropropagation technique that is now commonly employed by many smallholder plantain and banana farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa is the Plants Issus de Fragments de tige (PIF) treatment [13], [16], [21] that destroys the apical meristem with a crosswise incision and leads to robust and healthy plantlets at the nursery stage [5]. This is especially the case, when pest (e.g.…”

“…banana weevil and nematodes) infested suckers and corms are treated with hot water at 52°C for 20 min prior to planting [11], [22]. Moreover, the PIF technique in combination with synthetic or natural plant growth regulators has increased the number of shoots per corm [21]. Despite several studies having demonstrated that large numbers of clean and healthy plantlets can be produced by macropropagation, there are only few data available on the performance of that planting material under typical farming conditions [23].…”