Comparative study on in vitro micropropagation response of seven globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori] cultivars: open-pollinated cultivars vs F1 hybrids

Globe artichoke [Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus (L.) Fiori] growing has gained commercial importance in recent years due to its consumption as food. It has also started to attract attention in pharmaceutics. Due to globe artichoke's stated importance, growers need large amount of pathogen-free, healthy starting materials for production. Stated material will maximize the yield while minimizing the costs. Hybrid cultivars have uniform in height and maturity and could be harvested concurrently; on the other hand, an open-pollinated cultivar would have useful potential that could be smoothly produced locally at a lower cost. In vitro micropropagation enabling these goals as it serves large scale, fast, reliable and realistic alternative method to classic propagation via offshoots. The aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate the micropropagation efficiency of two important local open-pollinated (OP) cultivars ('Bayrampasa', 'Sakiz') and five F1 hybrid cultivars ('Olympus', 'Madrigal', 'Sambo', 'Green Globe', 'Imparator'), on the basis of total subcultures they were subjected to. Various plant growth regulators at various combinations were assessed for in vitro micropropagation and subsequent in vitro rooting. 3/4 basic MS medium supplemented with 0.05 mg L-1 BA + 0.005 mg L-1 IBA was determined as the best media combination for in vitro micropropagation, while 10.0 mg L-1 IAA + 1.0 g L-1 activated charcoal adding to 1/2 basic MS medium had positive effects on in vitro rooting. According to results, the micropropagation efficiency varied based on cultivar differences and number of subcultures regardless of being OP or F1 hybrid. The present study demonstrated that in vitro propagation of globe artichoke could be a valuable process for assessing mass propagation regardless of using F1 or OP cultivars. Considering the OP cultivars are cheap in terms of price in a comparison to F1 hybrid cultivars, OP cultivars could be also recommended to be used for in vitro mass propagation.