Use of Tissue Culture for Propagation of Banana Variety Grand Naine (Musa acuminata)

Abstract

The present experiment was conducted in sword suckers of the Grand Naine variety of bananas to estimate a perfect blend of different growth hormones used to initiate explants' proliferation and shoot growth in the micropropagation of bananas. In the experiment, we concluded that the explants survival rate increased when they were treated with 0.1 and 0.2 percent of HgCl2 for a period of 8 and 6 minutes respectively. Six different compositions of growth media or treatments were used to initiate the proliferation of explants and further shoot growth. Among the six treatments, MS +6 mg/l BAP + 1 mg/l NAA (T5) gave excellent results, comparatively. For rooting all the explants were treated with the same media composition of IAA at a concentration of 0.1mg/l and activated charcoal, which proved an adequate blend for root imitation. Primary and Secondary hardening processes are carried out in greenhouse using soil-rite as growth media and in the shade house by using press mud and sand in a 1:1 ratio as growth media. Plantlets were established in the field following the second hardening.