SHOOT MULTIPLICATION AND IN VITRO ROOTING OF CARLINA ONOPORDIFOLIA BASSER

This paper is the first published report describing micropropagation of Carlina onopordifolia, using shoot tip and hypocotyl explains. The explants were excised from 10-day-old seedlings and transferred to proliferation medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BA; 1.0 or 3.0 mg l(-1)), kinetin (Kn; 1.0 or 3.0 mg l(-1)) or zeatin (ZEA; 1.0 or 3.0 mg l(-1)) in combination with naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA; 0.1 mg l(-1)). The shoot tips were significantly better than hypocotyls as initial material for shoot regeneration. For shoot multiplication, MS medium supplemented with BA proved superior to the other cytokinins tested. Medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l(-1) BA gave the highest shoot propagation frequency (66.9%) and number of shoots per explant (2.5). Single shoots were separated from each other and rooted on MS supplemented with IBA for the whole period of culture, with long- or short-pulse IBA application. The highest rooting frequency (84.8%) and root number (18.8) were for short-pulse (1 min) 1000 mg l(-1) IBA solution. The higher IBA concentration stimulated callus formation and the development of short roots. The shoots were transferred to MS medium without growth regulators. Survival was highest (54.4%) for the plants from the short-pulse 100 mg l(-1) IBA treatment. After 8 weeks of acclimatization the plantlets were removed to field conditions and grew normally.