Effects of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extract of Rhazya stricta on Control of Date Contamination Under In Vitro Conditions

Abstract

Background: Contamination of tissue culture medium is a common problem that causes the loss of some or all cultures. Despite all measures taken in tissue culture laboratories to prevent culture contamination, bacterial and fungi contamination is still a significant problem under in vitro culture. Achieving a suitable method for controlling the contaminants in the in vitro culture medium will be a considerable development in the micropropagation of dates. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effects of different aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Rhazya stricta on the disinfection of dates under in vitro culture. Methods: A factorial test was performed based on a completely randomized design with three replications. The study included three factors: plant organs (leaves and roots), solvent type (ethanolic and aqueous), and extract concentration (0, 25, 50, and 75 mg/mL). Results: The lowest contamination (38.33%) was seen in the treatment with ethanolic root extract (50 ppm). In comparison, the control and the treatment containing aqueous leaf extract (with concentrations of 0 and 25 ppm) resulted in the highest contamination rate (100%) in tissue culture conditions. Conclusions: The alcoholic extract of medicinal plants can be used to disinfect the explants and the substrate.