EFFICIENT STERILIZATION AND CULTURE OF SEEDLESS PUNICA GRANATUM L. (MOLLAR DE ELCHE) FOR CLONAL MICROPROPAGATION IN VITRO
Keywords:
Punica granatum L., Mollar de Elche, micropropagation, sterilization, BAP, NAA, tissue culture.Abstract
This study aimed to develop an efficient in vitro clonal micropropagation protocol for the seedless pomegranate cultivar Punica granatum L. (‘Mollar de Elche’). The experiments were conducted in 2024 at the scientific-experimental stations of the Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture, and Winemaking named after Academician Mahmud Mirzayev in Uzbekistan. A multi-step surface sterilization procedure was evaluated using different concentrations and exposure durations of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl). The most effective treatment—1% NaOCl for 15 minutes—produced up to 97% contamination-free cultures with no observable tissue browning. For shoot induction, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/L BAP and 0.01 mg/L NAA yielded the highest shoot proliferation (6 shoots per explant) and maximum shoot length (7.1 cm).
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