IN-VITRO PROPAGATION OF MANIHOT ESCULENTA CRANTZ THROUGH NODAL CULTURES

Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium was supplemented with Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) and 6- benzylaminopurine BAP) in varied concentrations to determine the optimum concentration of the plant hormones needed for in vitro nodal proliferations and elongation of cassava plantlets. Regenerated cassava nodal plantlets were obtained from International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State. The nodal plantlets were excised and sub-cultured into different test-tubes containing MS medium supplemented with NAA and BAP at different concentrations of 0.005ml NAA+ 0.02ml BAP, 0.01ml NAA+ 0.05ml BAP, 0.015ml NAA+ 0.08ml BAP and a control without any hormone for nodal proliferations and plantlet height. The results obtained showed that the control experiment not supplemented with hormones had the highest average number of nodes (40.33) at 9 weeks, while the MS supplemented with hormones at 0.01ml NAA + 0.05ml BAP yielded the longest plantlet (23.30mm) at 9 weeks. This study revealed that hormones in varied concentrations are necessary for early germination and elongation of cassava plantlets height but nodal proliferation of the cassava plantlets is not dependent on hormone supplements.