PLANT CELL TISSUE AND ORGAN CULTURE, cilt.157, sa.3, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Ex vitro root formation of micro cuttings of Pyrodwarf pear rootstock (Pyrus communis L.) using floating perlite bed and the effects of Indole-3-butric acid (IBA) treatments on the growth performance after five months were determined. Micro cuttings were dipped in 25, 50, 100 or 150 mg L-1 IBA solutions for 10 s for ex vitro rooting, except for the control. The floating perlite bed cultures were kept for 4 weeks at 25 +/- 2 degrees C with a photoperiod of 16 h light (35 mu mol center dot m(-2)center dot s(-1)). At the end of the rooting experiment, there were no statistically significant differences among treatments in terms of rooting percentages (77.8%-81.1%), number of roots (1.9-2.5) and the length of the longest root (22.8-36.8 mm). In the plant growth experiment, ex vitro rooted micro cuttings treated with 25 and 50 mg L-1 IBA and the control were maintained under greenhouse conditions for 5 months to determine the growth performance of the plants. Growth performance was higher in terms of stem diameter, root and stem dry weights of plants rooted with 50 mg L-1 IBA determined as 4.5 mm, 196.5 mg and 704.7 mg, respectively. In conclusion, it was found that the floating perlite bed method was effective in ex vitro rooting and acclimatization. Ex vitro rooting with 50 mg L-1 IBA improved plant growth performance in greenhouse. Key message Ex vitro rooting and acclimatization of Pyrodwarf micro cuttings were achieved successfully using floating perlite bed. Micro cuttings quick-dipped in 50 mg L-1 IBA exhibited improved growth performance.