Potato Micropropagation Using Advanced Biotechnology: Effect of Liquid Media on Potato Shoot Quality

Recently, rapid multiplication systems have been developed in potato micropropagation using liquid media in Temporary Immersion System (TIS) culture. Most of these researches focused on the effect of Temporary Immersion System on microtuber production rather than on shoot multiplication. The aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of RITA (R) culture system on the quantity and quality of shoots produced in comparison to agar-solidified medium. Potato plantlets (Solanum tuberosum L. cvs. Ackersegen, Blaue Schweden and Fruehnudel) were used as plant material, cultured on either liquid or agar-solidified Murashige and Skoog medium containing 0.5 mg L-1 thiamine, 100 mg L-1 myoinositol, 0.5 mg L-1 pyridoxine, 0.5 mg L-1 biotin, 30 g L-1 sucrose, 0.1 or 0.2 mg L-1 BAP. Thirty nodal segments were transplanted into Phytacon (TM) and RITA (R) vessels containing 250 ml of culture media. After four weeks, the shoot number and length, number of single node-cuttings and usable single node-cuttings were evaluated. The potato shoot multiplication was influenced by culture system, potato cultivar and BAP concentration as well. The culture system, however, had the main effect. In the liquid culture system (RITA (R)) shoot number, shoot length and the number of usable single node-cuttings was enhanced and the shoot quality was better in comparison to the agar-solidified medium resulting in a higher multiplication rate.