In vitro propagation of Juniperus phoenicea L.

Nodal explants were excised from the apical part of actively growing stems of an adult tree growing in the wild in May and June. After surface-sterilization, explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with no hormone (Hormon free, Hf) or with BA (1 mg L^‑1). Vlastogenesis percentage ranged between 65 and 75% and stunted shoot formation ranged between 1.4 and 2.3. The use of NAA at 0.1 mg L^‑1 in combination with (6-benzyladenine) BA at (1 mg L^‑1) or zeatin (ZEA) did not affect shoot formation. The effect of four different culture media was tested: MS, Woody Plant Medium (WPM), Rugini Olive Medium (OM), and Juglans Medium (DKW) containing 1 mg L^‑1 BA. The highest percentage of shoot forming explants was observed on OM and DKW (85 and 90%, respectively); while, on WPM, the percentage was very low (20%). Both the number of shoot formation and shoot length increased to 3.2 and 0.9 cm (3 times higher) on OM. Based on above results, the effect of BA, Kinetin (KIN), and 2-isopentenyladenine (2IP) at 0.2 and 1 mg L^‑1 on DKW and ΟΜ medium was tested comparatively. OM medium proved to be efficient on shoot formation of J. phoenicea in combination with 2IP. Full or half strength OM, supplemented with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) at 0.1, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mg L^‑1 was employed in the rooting stage, with no results.