Influence of Different Concentrations of Salt Stress on In Vitro Multiplication of Some Fig (Ficus carcia L.) Cultivars

Abstract

This work aimed to establish in-vitro plant formation from Ficus carica L. cultivars (i.e., Black Mission, Brown Turkey and Brunswick) and investigate their salt tolerance using different concentrations of NaCl. Plant growth regulators BAP, Kinetin, 2iP and NAA were evaluated during proliferation, elongation and rooting stages. Murashige and Skoog (MS) was the most superior medium for increasing explant development in most tissue culture techniques for all cultivars. BA was the best cytokinin for enhancing proliferation in cvs. Brown Turkey and Brunswick, while Kinetin was more effective in improving growth and greening parameters of cv. Black Mission. Shoot elongation of cv. Black Mission was increased by using hormone-free media. Shoot elongation was enhanced by addition of 0.5 mg L-1 GA3 to the culture medium of cv. Brunswick, while 1.0 mg L-1 was better for cv. Brown Turkey. IBA at 2.0 mg L-1 was most effective in maximizing cv. Brown Turkey rooting, while 1.5 mg L-1 was the best for the other cultivars. Half strength MS medium produced the best root formation compared to other media strengths. NaCl at concentrations of more than 12 g L-1 induced lethal effects on all parameters under study and 11 g L-1 had adverse effect on the plantlets of cv. Brunswick. Contents of K+, Na +, Fe++ and Zn++ increased incrementally with increasing NaCl levels in all cultivars. cv. Brown Turkey accumulated more K+ and Na+ than others.