Interaction of genetic variability x phytohormonal composition and concentration may influence speed of in vitro micropropagation of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a staple food for more than a billion people and is becoming increasingly popular in the developing world. To meet this progressive demand and sustained productivity a higher level of genetic diversity is required in this crop so that it could cope with new threats from pests, disease, heat, and drought. However, creating a new potato variety is slow and difficult process even by the patient standards of plant breeders. Tissue culture is a promising alternative technique to create rapid genetic variability and multiplication in asexually propagated crops like potato. Thus, reported study was planned to investigate regeneration response of nodal cuttings of two potato varieties i.e., Lal Moti and Lady Rosita to different concentrations of hormonal supplements. Under two concentrations (1mg L-1 and 2 mg L-1) of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP), four treatments each of kinetin and Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) were used for shoot/root induction. The results exhibited that Lady Rosita performed better than Lal Moti in shoot formation and gained maximum shoot length (13.08 cm) at concentration of 1 mg L-1 each for BAP and kinetin. Regarding root formation, Lal Moti performed better than Lady Rosita and attained maximum root length (8.34 cm) when 1 mg L-1 BAP was used with 1 mg L-1 of IAA. Taken together our findings suggested that the above mentioned combinations of reported phytohormones with BAP are excellent for shoot/root induction in Lady Rosita and Lal Moti potato varieties. Furthermore, these protocols may be utilized for rapid in vitro multiplication of disease free potato plantlets.