Effect of biocides on propagation of orchids by tissue culture

Abstract EN

Growing orchids in vitro is a profitable business throughout many countries all over the world.

Two orchid species belonging to different genera, Laelia anceps and Cymbidium devonianum were used in this study.

To avoid great losses caused by contamination during tissue culture, 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate (8-HQS) at 150 ppm or Physan-20 at 500 ppm were incorporated in MS medium.

This procedure eliminated contamination and abolish the need to autoclave media.

Besides their effectiveness in controlling contamination, both materials proved to have some beneficial effects on the multiplication and rooting of the plant material.

The biochemical finger print showed that the dissimilarity coefficient between treated plantlets and the control was very small, indicating that these substances did not induce somaclonal variations.