Cultivar specificity with respect to in vitro micropropagation of Musa spp. (banana and plantain)

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. I