Effects of Thidiazuron and Activated Charcoal on in vitro Shoot Proliferation and Rooting of Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.)

In this study, a micropropagation approach was developed for a commercially important myrtle clone 'Asi Mersin' in Turkey. The effects of different concentrations of thidiazuron (TDZ), 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on shoot formation and the effect of activated charcoal on rooting were studied. The most of the shoots were obtained on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.3 mg L-1 TDZ + 0.1 mg L-1 NAA in the 1st subculture (3.8 shoot), and from MS with 0.3 mg L-1 TDZ + 0.01 mg L-1 NAA in the 2nd subculture (4.0 shoot). The explants were rooted in 1/2MS containing indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), NAA and activated charcoal (AC). IBA applications induced more rooting than NAA. The medium supplemented with 1.0 mg L-1 IBA + 2.0 g L-1 AC resulted in the highest rooting ratio (80%). Addition of AC into the medium resulted in slight increase in the rooting ratio, significant increase in shoot length, and reduced darkening in the rooting area. Acclimatization was successful for 86% of the rooted plants.