Augmenting in vitro shoot multiplication with growth regulators and light conditions in Musa acuminata cv. Dwarf Cavendish

An efficient protocol was developed for in vitro mass propagation of the commercial cultivar Musa acuminata cv. Dwarf Cavendish through shoot apices culture. Shoot apices with 2-3 pairs of leaf primordia were induced from sliced rhizome explants on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 6.0 mg/l BA*, 150 mg/l Ads and 3% (w/v) sucrose. Multiple shoots were induced from meristematic domes on the same medium. Addition of 1.0-1.5 mg/l IAA to the culture medium and incubation in continuous light (24 h) increased the yield of multiple shoots. The high multiplication coefficient was maintained stable up to the 5(th) subculture; thereafter it declined. Rooting was readily achieved upon transferring the shoots onto half-strength MS medium supplemented with 500 mg/l activated charcoal and 2% (w/v) sucrose. Micropropagated plantlets were hardened in a polyethylene house and successfully established in soil. There was no morphological variation among the micropropagated plants.