A Scheme for Commercial Multiplication of Gerbera (Gerbera hybrida Hort.) through Shoot Tip Culture

Abstract

After removing roots, gerbera plants were separated into divisions. Each division was stripped off the leaves leaving only the last unexpanded leaf, which was shortened to 2cm in length. With the periderm of the rhizome peeled off, they were again shortened to 1cm in length. These shoot-tip pieces were sterilized in 1% NaOCl solution for 10min., then rinsed three times with sterilized distilled water, and further cut to 2-3mm tall shoot-tip explants. This hygienic procedure efficiently reduced the high infection rate of the initial shoot tip.The shoot-tips were cultured on medium containing 1/2 MS, organic constituents of MS(1962), 5mg/l BA, 0.1mg/l IAA, 2% sucrose and 1.0% Bacto-agar. The pH of the medium was adjusted to 5.6 prior to autoclaving. The cultures were placed under 16-hour daily illumination at 3000lx, at 27±2°C. After four weeks of culturing, 10 shoots per explant were found.Shoots of 1-2cm in length were subcultured on the pretrans-planting medium described by Pierik et al. (9). Shoots which were 2cm or more in length were treated with 0.1% IBA solution for 30 seconds, and were planted in a balanced mist propagating bed of sand. Roots developed in about two weeks. After transplanting, the rooted shoots from in vitro or in vivo culture survived very easily.