Micropropagation of Vaccinium myrtillus L. (Bilberry) naturally growing in the Turkish fora

Abstract

This study was designed to micropropagate Vaccinium myrtillus L., a naturally growing bilberry, in the Turkish fora. In orderto determine the most efective basal medium, lateral buds were initially selected as explants, which were then individually culturedin Murashige and Skoog medium, Anderson s rhododendron medium, and McCown s woody plant medium (WPM) supplementedwith 1.0 mg L 1 zeatin in combination with either 0.1 mg L 1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or 0.1 mg L 1 α-naphthalene acetic acid.WPM, supplemented with zeatin and IBA, was found to be the most efective basal medium tested. As shoot regeneration ability highlydepends on the medium and cytokinin concentration, WPM basal media containing various concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg L 1 ) of3 diferent cytokinins, namely zeatin, thidiazuron, and N 6-[2-isopentenyl] adenine, were employed together with IBA (0.1 mg L 1 ) andwere compared with basal media containing none of the growth regulators. In terms of shoot multiplication, 2.0 mg L 1 zeatin was foundto be superior to the other tested growth regulators when combined with 0.1 mg L 1 IBA. WPM was also used as a basal medium forrooting and was supplemented with diferent concentrations of IBA (0.25 2.0 mg L 1) with or without activated charcoal (AC). WPMsupplemented with 0.5/1.0 mg L 1 IBA/AC was the best culture medium for rooting with 60% root formation.