Macropropagation Of Plantain (Musa Spp.) Cultivars Pita 3, Fhia 21, Orishele And Corne 1: Effect Of Benzylaminopurine (Bap) Concentration

Abstract

In Africa, plantain is one of the most important starchy food and cash crops. Nonetheless, one of the major constraints for its production was the unavailability of healthy planting materials at planting time. This constraint could be lifted using the cloning of planting materials via the in vitro micropropagation or in vivo macropropagation techniques. Shelled corms from four cultivars, known as PITA 3, FHIA 21, ORISHELE and CORNE 1, were used. Three treatments differing in three hormonal concentrations, especially 20.0, 30.0 and 40.0 mg L-1 were tested. The control one was hormone free. Tested treatments were laid out in a split plot design. The decorticated banana corms were sprayed twofold at 2 weeks interval with BAP solution when placed in sterilized soil in high humidity plastic tunnel. It emerged from results, regarding BAP concentration effect, that BAP treatment with 40 mg L-1 significantly reduced the emergence time of shoots at 20 days as against 25.1, 28.3 and 28.5 for the 2 tested other treatments as well as control, respectively. Likewise, the concentrations 40.0 mg L-1 both recorded the largest number of sprouted buds per corm and number of shoots per corm. With respect to banana cultivar effect, PITA 3 showed the largest number of shoots per corm. Basing on such findings, it is concluded that MSD technique combined with BAP at 40.0 mg L-1 is a suitable technique for improving of the in vivo macropropagation of plantain. This concentration increased at least 50 % of sucker production compared to control.