MICROPROPAGATION OF GLORIOSA - TOWARDS A PRACTICAL PROTOCOL

Sprouts from tubers or tips from tubers during the first month of storage proved to be good explants to start cultures of Gloriosa. Addition of a low level of 6-benzyladenine (BA) in the medium (1 mg l-1) improved in vitro plant growth, whereas a high level of BA (10 mg l-1) caused a proliferation of multiple shoots from the rhizome meristems. By applying alternately the high and low BA levels, a method of continued micropropagation was achieved, which resulted in a four- to seven-fold multiplication of qualitatively good plantlets every 18 weeks. Transplantation into soil was only possible after the plants had formed tubers.