Effects of light intensity and plant growth regulators on callus proliferation and shoot regeneration in the ornamental succulent Haworthia

BackgroundHaworthia are desert succulents belonging to the Asphodelaceae family. Haworthia species are cultivated commercially as ornamentals and some rare species are quite valuable at retail market but growth slowly and difficult to propagation. However, an efficient micropropagation protocol was remained insufficient.ResultsThe organogenic cultures obtained from inflorescence explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various combinations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) and alpha-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) under a light intensity of 10 mu molm(-2)s(-1) or 45 mu molm(-2)s(-1). The highest callus proliferation index (93.15%) with 1.0mgL(-1) BA+0.1mgL(-1) NAA under a light intensity of 10 mu molm(-2)s(-1). The best shoot proliferation rates were on media with either 1mgL(-1) BA+0-0.4mgL(-1) NAA (65.57-81.01%) under a light intensity of 45 mu molm(-2)s(-1). The highest root length (15.57mm) and the highest rooting frequency (17 roots per shoot) were obtained when adventitious shoots were inoculated on MS medium with 0.4mgL(-1) NAA+0.4mgL(-1) IBA. The survival rate of the transplanted plantlets was about 100%. The efficient micropropagation protocol proliferated Haworthia regenerate plants from inflorescence within 11weeks.ConclusionsThe present study determined the best combination of light intensity and plant growth regulators (PGRs) for improved organogenesis of Haworthia during propagation by tissue culture. This optimized protocol showed light intensity is an important factor for efficient callus or shoot regeneration. These results indicate that it will be useful to optimize the light conditions for future commercial cultivation, germplasm conservation, genetic engineering and molecular biology research of this ornamental plant.