Abstract

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam.) is a staple root crop, consumed as a carbohydrate-rich food source in many tropical countries. The production and productivity of sweet potato is limited by several factors, mainly virus infections. This study was conducted to produce virus-free sweet potato planting material using meristem culture. Meristems without leaf primordia were excised from four virus-positive field-grown local sweet potato cultivars 'Bellela', 'Temesgen', 'LO-323', and 'Zapallo'. Meristems were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different combinations and concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and gibberellic acid (GA(3)) for shoot initiation. 'Bellela' and 'Temesgen' exhibited 100% shoot initiation on 5 mg l(-1) BAP, 0.01 mg l(-1) NAA, and 1 mg l(-1) GA(3), although the shoots were bushy. 'LO-323' showed 90% shoot initiation with the best shoot quality on 2 mg l(-1) BAP, 0.01 mg l(-1) NAA, and 1 mg l(-1) GA(3). Shoot tips and nodes from in vitro-grown plantlets were cultured on BAP (0, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg l(-1)) or on BAP (0, 0.5, 1.0, or 2.0 mg l(-1)) + kinetin (Kin; 0, 0.1, 0.5 or 1.0 mg l(-1)) for multiple shoot formation. The best shoot proliferation was obtained on MS + 0.5 mg l(-1) BAP + 0.5 mg l(-1) Kin. In vitro-grown shoots were cultured on MS medium containing 0.0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0 mgl(-1) indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The best root formation was obtained on IBA-free medium. The plantlets thus produced were tested for the presence of ten sweet potato viruses [Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV), Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV), Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus (SPCFV), Sweet potato caulimo-like virus (SPCaLV), Sweet potato mild speckling virus (SPMSV), C-6 (a flexuous rod virus), Sweet potato latent virus (SwPLV), Sweet potato virus G (SPVG), and Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)] using nitrocellulose membrane enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (NCM-ELISA). Ninety-nine percent of plantlets were free from all viruses.

Published in

Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology
2012, volume: 87, number: 3, pages: 255-260
Publisher: HEADLEY BROTHERS LTD

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