PRODUCTION OF HIGH-QUALITY ALOE PLANTLETS THROUGH TISSUE CULTURE

The objective of the current work was to evaluate the possibility to improve the growth and quality of micropropagated shoots of Aloe barbadensis Miller through the addition of charcoal to the rooting substrate. Single shoots were multiplied in 45 days using a substrate containing agar, MS salts, sucrose 3%, BA 1 mg L^-1, and IAA 0.2 mg L^-1; shoots were then transferred for 20 and 40 days in a solid substrate containing half-strength MS salts, and sucrose 3% with or without the addition of charcoal at the concentration of 1%. After this period, shoots were transferred in greenhouse for acclimatization using a substrate containing peat:perlite (1:1 v/v). Growth parameters of shoots and their content of total chlorophyll and carotenoids were analyzed at the end of 20 and 40 days of in vitro culture and after 50 days of acclimatization. The height, fresh weight and root number of shoots were highest in the substrate containing charcoal after 40 days of in vitro culture. The content of total chlorophyll and carotenoids in shoots were highest without the addition of charcoal to the substrate and after 40 days of in vitro culture. The positive effects of charcoal on growth parameters of shoots persisted into the next phase of acclimatization while the content of total chlorophyll and carotenoids in shoots decreased.