Propagation of edible honeysuckle (Lonicera edulis Turcz) in in vitro conditions

Aim. To propagate edible honeysuckle (Lonicera edulis Turcz) in in vitro conditions; to study the impact of sterilization agents on honeysuckle explants; to investigate the impact of the culture medium composition on the coeffi cient of propagation and rooting; to study the capability to adapt to in vivo conditions. Methods. Laboratory, mathematical, estimation and comparison. Results. The impact of sterilizing substances on obtain- ing the aseptic culture of edible honeysuckle in in vivo conditions was studied. The experiments were con- ducted on the following species: Alicia, Spokusa, Chaika, Nimfa, Doch Velikana, Karina. Lisoformin 3000 and mercury chloride were used as sterilizing agents. In the variant with Lisoformin 3000 it was studied in three exposures – 5, 7, and 10 minutes. In terms of explant regeneration effi ciency after sterilization with Lisofor- min 3000, three groups of edible honeysuckle species were isolated: 1 – with high regeneration capacity (94– 96 %) – Alicia, Karina and Spokusa; 2 – medium capacity (86–87 %) – Chaika and Doch Velikana, 3 – low capacity (80 %) – Nimfa. The experiments aimed at studying the impact of culture medium components on the propagation effi ciency determined the increase in the latter in case of rotating media with different quantitative and qualitative composition. Permanent application of uniform media leads to a sharp decrease in the prolif- eration coeffi cient in all the investigated species. Both hormone-free medium and the medium with growth regulators are effi cient for rooting. High indices of rooting were achieved in both variants. The use of auxins promoted the formation of a larger amount of plant roots (from 3.09 in Spokusa to 4.21 in Alicia) which in its turn impacted the survivability of plants in in vivo conditions. Conclusions. It was established that Lisoformin 3000 in the concentration of 3 % and at the exposure duration of 5 min ensured optimal effi ciency of steriliza- tion and regeneration of edible honeysuckle explants and did not decrease their propagation coeffi cients. With corresponding concentrations and sterilization duration, this preparation may be recommended for obtaining the aseptic culture of honeysuckle. It was demonstrated that the rotation of media, rich and poor in macro- and microsalts was effi cient for obtaining high indices of proliferation: the plants had a larger amount of tillering even in case of using not high concentrations of cytokinin. The introduction of rhizogenesis inducer, IBA, (1 mg/l) into the culture medium did not increase the percentage of rooted plants compared to hormone-free medium, but stimulated the formation of a larger amount of roots, which had further positive impact on the adaptation properties.