Factors affecting the axillary and adventitious shoot formation in woody plants in vitro

Axillary and adventitious shoot formation in vitro is widely used for propagation of woody plants as a mean of asexual propagation. The tissue culture techniques are successfully used to overcome barriers for several difficult to propagate plants. If the axillary shoot proliferation is a reliable method to clone elite genotypes, the adventituos shoot regeneration is a valuable method to increase the multiplication rate, to make efficient shoot rejuvenation and to regenerate genetically transformed plants. Many factors can affect the in vitro establishment and further micropropagation of woody plants. Type and physiological status of explant, genotype and age of donor plant, medium, exogenous plant growth regulators supplemented and environmental conditions in the culture containers could affect the result of micropropagation. In spite of these difficulties, numerous benefits and potential improvements, both commercial and scientific, could be realized in the in vitro propagation of woody plants. This paper reviews all these aspects.