IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF TWO IRISH POTATO (Solanum tuberosum L.) VARITIES THROUGH LATERAL BUD CULTURE

Irish Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the world’s most economically important tuber crops belonging to the family Solanaceae. It is a versatile vegetable that is eaten all around the year. The objective of this study was to establish a protocol for in vitro micropropagation of Gudene and Belete Irish potato varieties from lateral bud explants. For shoot induction lateral buds of Gudene and Belete were cultured on MS basal medium that contained 30 g/l sucrose, 6 g/l agar, vitamins and supplemented with BAP in 1, 2, 3, 4 mg/l concentrations combined with different levels (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mg/l) of IAA. Shoot multiplication was done by culturing microshoots on full strength MS basal medium supplemented with BAP (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mg/l) and KN (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 mg/l) in sole or combination. Rooting of the multiplied shoots was done on full strength MS basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of IBA (0.25, 0.5 0.75, 1 mg/l) and NAA (0.25, 0.5 0.75, 1 mg/l) in sole or combination. In all cases, MS basal medium without PGRs was used as control. The rooted plantlets were then acclimatized under greenhouse conditions by transplanting the plantlets on moist red soil, sand soil and compost or their mixture in 2:1:1 ratio. Results showed that shoot initiation, shoot multiplication and root formation responses were significantly (P