Abstract:
The study compares in vitro micropropagation responses and cultivar specificity using
12 cultivars of five genomic composition. Variation was revealed in in-vitro multiplication
between cultivars of different genomic compositions and also within them. The
rate of multiplication was highly variable: between about one and ten per week at the
fourth subculture. It appeared that genome ' B ' adversely affected multiplication; the
more ' B ' genomes in the group, the lower the rate of multiplication. A A A group
members showed the highest rate of multiplication with the lowest range. The rate of
multiplication also appears to be related to the degree of browning of the shoot tip
tissues. It is suggested that multiplication is cultivar-specific and influenced by many
factors such as the culture environment. Such studies are important for in vitro breeding
programmes i n Musa spp.
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