Genotype- and Sex-Specific Protocols for in vitro Micropropagation and Medium-Term Conservation of Jojoba

Abstract

Nodal explant cultures from field-grown five jojoba genotypes (EC 99690, EC 99692, EC 99692, EC 267779 and EC 171284; male and female plants), could be established on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The nodal explants of different genotypes as well as sex elicited differential requirements of N6-benzyladenine (BA) for optimum shoot regeneration and medium-term conservation. Female nodal explants of EC 99692 produced maximum shoots (10 shoots per explant) followed by male of EC 171284 (9.3 shoots per explant) on MS + 10 μM BA. The pulse treatment of 50 μM indole-3-butyric acid for 20 min caused in vitro rhizogenesis in 44 - 67 % cultures of various genotypes tested. A significant difference was observed for the conservation period of male and female cultures of all the genotypes. MS + 10 μM BA supported the shoot cultures of EC 99690, EC 99691 and EC 267779 for maximum conservation period, while MS + 5 μM BA proved to be optimum for conserving the shoots of EC 99692 and EC 171284. Generally, the female shoot cultures of genotypes survived for longer period than male ones.