IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF CAPPARIS SPINOSA L.

Abstract

In vitro propagation of Capparis spinosa was conducted via seeds and nodal buds of a Lebanese ecotype. High seed germination percentage was achieved on MS medium deprived of hormones (71%) and on sterile water (64%) after a dormancy-breaking treatment by coat-scarification with a scalpel. Multiple shoots were obtained from nodal buds on both MS and modified MS medium supplemented with BAP (1.5 mg l -1 ), IBA (0.05 mg l -1 ) ± GA 3 (0.1 mg l -1 ), at intervals of 4 weeks. Shoot multiplication was conducted on the same media by subculturing shoot segments with 2-3 nodes every six weeks. After six subcultures, multiplication was achieved with a mean rate of 20 new shoots per explant. High rooting response of shoots (87%) was obtained after a 4h pulse treatment period in darkness with IAA solution (100 mg l -1 ), followed by a subsequent 30-day of culture on gelled half-strength MS basal medium. These results indicate the enormous potential for caper to be used for large-scale mulitiplication.