Influence of growth regulators and light on in vitro shoot regeneration in M.26 apple roostock

Summary

The effects of different BA and IBA concentrations and dark/light combinations, applied during both the last proliferating subculture (LPS) and the regeneration phase (RP), on shoot regeneration from leaves were evaluated in M.26 apple rootstock. A positive influence on caulogenesis was found with a low cytokinin/auxin ratio in the medium during the LPS. The increase in IBA concentration from 0.49 μM to 4.92 μM in the LPS, along with the absence or the use of a low cytokinin concentration (0.89 μM) in the medium, enhanced the subsequent shoot regeneration from leaves. During the RP, a concentration of 22.2 μM BA gave the best caulogenesis results. During both the LPS and the RP, high IBA concentrations were able to replace the combined effect of a low IBA concentration and dark treatment; this could indicate that dark treatments interact with the auxin metabolism in the leaf caulogenesis response. Auxin application could not reproduce all the effects of dark treatments, suggesting that dark also affects other biochemical and/or physiological aspects, such as gibberellin metabolism. Moreover, cytokinins applied during both the LPS and the RP influenced the size of regenerated shoots.