Rapid clonal multiplication of Gerbera Jamesonii B. through tissue culture

A regeneration procedure was developed for Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii B.) using shoot explants from in vitro grown plants. The shoot explants stripped off roots and leaves were cultured on Murashige and Skoog s (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of 6-benzylamino-purine (BAP) and 6-furfurylamino-purine (kinetin) in the range 2.0- 3.0 mg l⁻¹ along with 0.1 mg l⁻¹ a- naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The addition of BAP to culture medium was found more effective than kinetin. The addition of kinetin strongly suppressed the shoot proliferation and was more at higher concentration. MS medium with 2.5 mg l⁻¹ BAP + 0.1 mg l⁻¹ NAA produced highest number of better sized shoots. The shoots of more than one cm long were cultured on MS medium supplemented with varying concentrations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and NAA for rooting at every 5-6 weeks. NAA induced early rooting compared to IBA. The callus development in IBA supplemented shoots suppressed the growth of roots. The shoots cultured on MS medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l⁻¹ NAA produced extensive root system 4-5 weeks after inoculation. Plantlets with good root system were transferred to pots containing peat, perlite and fly ash + sand (l:l,v/v) mixture for hardening. The survival rate of plantlets was more in perlite medium compared to other hardening medium.