Propagation of Zea mays L. by Shoot Tip Culture: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

A procedure for the stimulation of axillary bud development from young shoots of maize, their subculture to root-inducing media and transfer as rooted plants to soil is described. Axillary bud development was enhanced by the addition of kinetin and auxin to the culture medium. Root initiation on explanted axillary buds, while successful with some cultivars, was variable. A number of mature plants with normal tassels and ears were produced from the lowermost buds of an original stem explant. Buds from higher positions on the explant exhibited different potentialities with some, those normally from cob producing nodes, producing short-stalked plants with terminal female influorescences. A gradient of bud potentiality along the stem appears to be established extremely early after each is initiated.