Item Details

Title: IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF THREE COMMERCIAL PASSIONFRUIT VARIETIES IN UGANDA

Date Published: 2016
Author/s: S.B. MUKASA, A. SSAMULA, P. ASAMI and T.A. HOLTON
Data publication:
Funding Agency : Africa Biosciences Challenge Fund (ABCF)
Copyright/patents/trade marks: African Crop Science Society
Journal Publisher: African Crop Science Journal
Affiliation: 1School of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University,
P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
2Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa, International Livestock Research Institute, P. O. Box 30709,
Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Keywords: 6-Benzylaminopurine, Kinetin, shoot regeneration

Abstract:

Small purple (Passiflora edulis f. edulis) and yellow (P. edulis f. flavicarpa) and KPF 4 (a cross between the two
varieties) passionfruit varieties are of high economic importance in Uganda. Production of passionfruit is greatly
constrained by viral diseases, leading to significant yield losses. This is aggravated by lack of adequate quantities
of clean planting material. In vitro propagation through nodal sections is one way that has been successful in
rapidly producing planting materials of vegetatively propagated crops that are clean and true-to-type. This study
was aimed at obtaining optimum in vitro growth conditions for rapid micropropagation of the commercial
passionfruit varieties in Uganda. Surface sterilised nodal sections from two month old plants were used as
explants. For shoot regeneration, explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media, supplemented
with varying concentrations of 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), either singly or in combination with Kinetin (KIN).
Rooting MS media was fortified with varying concentrations of 1-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), either singly
or in combination with BAP. MS medium supplemented with a combination of 2 mg l-1 BAP and 0.5 mg l-1 KIN,
optimally supported shoot regeneration of the three passionfruit varieties. The average number of shoots and
shoot height were 3.3 and 3.1 cm, respectively. Optimal root development was observed on MS media containing
3 mg l-1 NAA, with a mean number of 5.5 leaves and a length of 2.4 cm. The rooted in vitro plantlets were
successfully established in a potting mixture containing loam soil and manure in ratio of 1:1