AN ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY FOR CARNATION MULTIPLICATION: TESTING THE EFFICIENCY OF TYPE AND SOURCE OF EXPLANT

The study is aimed at development of an alternative strategy for multiplication of carnation plants by combining the advantages of tissue culture with vegetative propagation. Among the axillary and apical nodes evaluated for their efficiency in producing microshoots, apical nodes produced more shootlets. Efficiency of these nodes was tested based on their source of origin. Nodes excised from vegetative and reproductive shoots were cultured to test their comparative potential for in vitro culture. Series of factorial experiments combining all the factors, viz., position of node (apical, axillary), source of node (vegetative shoot, early and advanced reproductive), and concentration of cytokinins were conducted to arrive at a conclusive result. Microshootlets harvested from in vitro culture were subjected to rooting in different combination of rooting media. Apical buds from tip cuttings and non-flowering shoot¬lets are the best for producing maximum number of microshoots/explant irrespective of the source of explant.