Influence of in vitro preconditioning of Citrus sp. microshoots with sucrose on their ex vitro establishment

The influence of in vitro conditioning and rooting of microcutting with different sucrose (0–6%) levels on their in vivo establish ment and growth was investigated on four Citrus species, viz. C. reticulata Blanco, C. noblis Lour x C. delicoisa Tenora, C. volkameriana Tan and Pasq and C. reshini Tanaka. Significant interaction between genotypes and sucrose levels were recorded for shoot length, persistant leaf number, stomatal index, leaf area and root length. Maximum values for shoot height, root length and new leaf number were obtained for all the Citrus species after transferring them to in vivo conditions when previously conditioned with 3% sucrose. Citrus species responded differently to preconditioning with variable sucrose level. Kinnow mandarin responded better for most of the characters studied.