A study was carried out at the Tissue Culture Laboratory of Melkassa Agricultural
Research Centre, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) to investigate the
effects of different types and concentrations of cytokinin's and auxins on shoot initiation
and multiplication, and in vitro shoot rooting of three banana varieties using shoot-tip
explants. Shoot initiation was greater on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium
supplemented with 3 mg/l N6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) for Dwarf and Giant
Cavendish while 2 mg/l for Poyo varieties. Among the different concentrations of plant
growth regulators (PGR) tested, MS medium supplemented with combinations of BAP
and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) at 3+0.4, 4+0.4 and 3+0.2 mg/l for Dwarf, Giant and
Poyo respectively, were best combinations for high rates of shoot proliferation and
elongation. Further multiplication of shoots required up to 5 times sub culturing of 1
month each on the same media combination. In this study, about 3-fold multiplication
rate was achieved during every subculture. Better rooting was obtained when the shoots were cultured on MS medium with 2.12 mg/l α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) for
Dwarf and Giant while 1.74 mg/l indol-3-butyric acid (IBA) for Poyo. In vitro rooted
plantlets were transferred to the lighthouse for acclimatization and hardening. The best
growth was recorded for plantlets transplanted on potting media containing a 3:1 ratio
(v/v) of sugarcane filter cake and sand. The hardened plants were transferred and well
established to the field.
