New protocol of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in vitro propagation

Introduction: A successful in vitro propagation system was developed for Sandra and Rocky cultivars of tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) commonly grown in Kurdistan Region of Iraq by in vitro culture of shoot tips and node explants. Methods: Shoot tip and node explants were excised and cultured on basal MS medium containing several concentrations of BAP and Zeatin. Results: Multiple shoots formation of up to 2 shoots were obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mgl(-1) Zeatin in node and shoot explants for the two cultivars. Microshoots were tested for root initiation on full MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of IBA, NAA and IAA. The best root formation was observed on a medium containing 1.0 mgl(-1) IAA in Sandra cultivar and 0.5 mgl(-1) of NAA in rocky cultivar. Conclusion: The regenerated plants were successfully acclimatized and transplanted to the open field conditions.