Improved micropropagation efficiency of purple artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) plantlet

The aim of the present research was to improve micropropagation of artichoke. Serious problem hindering large-scale artichoke micropropagation is rooting which results in high mortality during plantlet acclimation. In this study, we have investigated micropropagation of purple artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) for the devel-opment of virus-free shoot, enhanced shoot quality and in vitro rooting in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with auxins (Indole 3-butyric acid-IBA and Naphthalene acetic acid-NAA) with differ-ent substrates (perlite, rockwool and vermiculite) and gelling agents (agar and gelrite), roots were long and thin which resulted in increased fragility and difficulty when removing plantlets from these gelling agents gel. The results showed that meristem (0.5 mm in diameter) culture was effective to obtain virus-free shoot with higher percentage of survival and shoot regeneration (72%) after 30 days of culture. The shoot quality was improved when shoots were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg L-1 kinetin (KIN) in 30 days and sub-cultured into 1/2 MS medium (reduced macronutrient content by half) without plant growth regulators in 15 days. In addition, shoots cultured in liquid MS medium supplemented with 6 mg L-1 IBA with rockwool substrate gave the higher in vitro rooting (90%) and number of roots per plantlet (5 roots) than other combinations. Meristem derived plantlets gave good acclimatization, subsequent growth after 30th, 60th and 90th day of cultivating in the greenhouse as well as higher cynarine and catechin contents in flowers as compared to the control. & COPY; 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.