In vitro propagation of garlic by shoot proliferation

Shoot buds (5–8 mm long), excised from dormant cloves of the New Zealand commercial garlic (Allium sativum L.) and a virus-free French cultivar ‘Rose-de-Kakylis’, proliferated both axillary and adventitious shoots on B-5 basal medium supplemented with 0.5 mg l^?1 isopentenyladenine (2-ip) and 0.1 mg l^?1 naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). An 8-fold increase in shoot number occurred every 6 weeks. Shoots were readily rooted in B-5 + 0.01 mg l^?1 2-ip + 0.2 mg l^?1 NAA and transferred to pots, where about 70% of the shoots formed established plants. The plants raised by this shoot-proliferation method retained the diploid condition of the parents.