Vol. 84 No: 3

Title:
Regeneration and proliferation of pathogen-free horseradish (Armoracia rusticana) plants in vitro

Authors:
A.M. SHEHATA, R.M. SKIRVIN and M.A. NORTON

pp: 295-299

Abstract:
Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn.) leaf explants were tested for their ability to regenerate and proliferate shoots in vitro. Leaf explants were grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of either naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) or benzyladenine (BA), or a combination of both. The optimum number of regenerated shoots occurred at 15 μM NAA, while the optimum number of proliferated shoots occurred at 2 μM BA. Higher concentrations of BA resulted in reduced shoot height, inhibited rooting, and increased leaf deformation. A sample (1,000 plants) of both regenerated and proliferated plants was rooted, acclimatised to greenhouse conditions, then field-planted in two subsequent years. All plants survived. The ability of ten virus-free (VF) and ten virus-infected (VI) horseradish cultivars to regenerate shoots in vitro was tested. Nine of the ten VF cultivars regenerated more vigorous and healthier shoots than VI plants. The results of these experiments represent the first steps towards establishing a certified root programme to provide horseradish growers with large numbers of pathogen-free plants to restore yields of good quality roots.

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