COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON REGENERATION OF DIFFERENT TISSUES OF TOMATO IN VITRO

Several studies have been conducted to utilize somaclonal variations in in vitro conditions. For this, the regeneration process of hypocotyl, cotyledon and leaf explants of the tomato cultivars Rio Grande and Brigade have been compared. Depending on the explant type used, shoot regeneration varied (leaves≥cotyledon≥hypocotyl), however, no clear differences between cultivars occured. Different orientations of explants on the media had a explant specific effect on organogenic callus formation and shoot regeneration. The effect of source plants on culture success has shown itself in explants derived from seedlings grown under low light intensity which failed to be successful in culture. In addition, MS basal medium supplemented with a) 0.2 mg/l IAA + 2.3 mg/l BAP or b) 1 mg/l IAA + 1.2 mg/l Kinetin have been compared by observing the responses of explants. In cultures where negative factors were eliminated shoot regeneration reached an average of 3, 2.5 and 1.7 shoots/callus for leaves, cotyledons and hypocotyls respectively.