Micropropagation of pitaya (Hylocereus undatus Britton et Rose)

A procedure for inicropropagation of pitaya using thidiazuron (TDZ) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) is described. Explants were excised from young joints of mature plants and cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium (MS) containing 0.5 muM NAA and 0.5 muM TDZ. Shoots produced from these first explants were Cut Up to Produce secondary explants, either by decapitation or by longitudinal division into three parts. The decapitated and longitudinal explants were cultured on MS Supplemented with 0.5 muM NAA and either 0.01, 0.09, 0.5, or 0.9 muM TDZ. Decapitated explants produced more shoots at higher frequency than the longitudinal explants. For both types of secondary explants, most shoots ere developed from the distal parts. Shoots produced from secondary explants were rooted in MS and then transferred to soil where they produced normal plants.