In vitro multiplication of lingonberry - Short Communication

Although plants of Vaccinium genus have not been cultivated on a large scale in the Czech Republic, there is a potential for commercial lingonberry production in some mountain regions. The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient in vitro system for a quick multiplication of lingonberry cvs Koralle, Linnea, and Runo Bielawskie. McCown woody plant medium (WPM), Anderson's rhododendron medium (AN) and half-strength Murashige and Skoog medium (half-MS) containing cytokinin zeatin in concentrations 0.5, 1 or 2 mg/l were tested for repeated subcultures. The number of newly formed shoots varied with the cultivar, medium tested and concentration of zeatin. Across all experiments, the highest multiplication rate (8.9 +/- 0.6) was obtained for cv. Runo Bielawskie on WPM medium with the highest concentration 2 mg/l of zeatin. The lowest multiplication rates 1.1 +/- 0.0 were noted on half-MS medium with the lowest concentration of zeatin (0.5 mg/l). In conclusion, micropropagation techniques described in this paper increased multiplication mainly in lingonberry cv. Runo Bielawskie on WPM medium. However, some cultivars of lingonberry would still require further research to optimize proliferation media.