Studies on in-vitro organogenesis in date palm

In-vitro organogenesis is the best method to overcome the problem of somaclonal variations and obtain trueto-type date palm plants. In the present investigation, activated charcoal (AC) (1.5 and 3.0 g l⁻¹), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (1.0 and 2.0 g l⁻¹) and thiourea (250.0 and 500.0 mg l⁻¹) were separately added to the half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium to test the survival, browning of tissue/media and suitability of the growth of explants. Date palm cv. Halawy seedlings shoot tip cultured under dark condition showed that AC (1.5 g l⁻¹) was suitable for explant survival, minimized browning and supported growth for one month than other treatments. Half-strength MS medium supplemented with 1.5 g l⁻¹ AC and different treatment combinations NAA (0.0, 0.1 and 1.0 mg l⁻¹) with either 2-ip or TDZ (1.5 and 3.0 mg l⁻¹) were used for axillary shoot production in dark conditions. Out of 12 treatments, 3.0 mg l⁻¹ 2-iP + 0.1 mg l⁻¹ NAA was superior for axillary shoots production within three months. Halfstrength MS medium supplemented with different concentrations of GA₃ (0.0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg l⁻¹) along with 1.0 mg l⁻¹ NAA was used for shoot elongation. These cultures were kept under 16 h light (2000 lux) and 8 h dark for one month. Out of five treatments tested, 0.5 mg l⁻¹GA₃ + 1.0 mg l⁻¹ NAA was found optimum for shoot elongation. The results drawn from this study will be highly useful in micropropagation of date palm seedlings compared to off-shoot/sucker by organogenesis.