In vitro multiplication of statice plantlets using sugar-free media

Abstract Clumps of statice ( Limonium latifolium ) plantlets grown photomixotrophically were used as explants and cultured for 25 days on a sugar-free modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium in Magenta-type vessels with the number of air exchanges of the vessel (NAE) being 3.8 h −1 , at a photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) of 100 μmol m −2  s −1 and a CO 2 concentration of 1500 μmol mol −1 in the culture room. A factorial experiment was conducted with three levels of 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) concentration, namely 0, 0.25 and 0.5 mg L −1 , and two types of supporting material, agar and Florialite (a porous material). The control treatment was a photomixotrophic culture using a sugar- and BA (0.25 mg L −1 ) containing agar medium in the vessel with NAE of 0.2 h −1 , at a PPF of 50 μmol m −2  s −1 and a CO 2 concentration of 400 μmol mol −1 in the culture room. Leaf area, chlorophyll concentration and net photosynthetic rate were greater in the sugar-free medium treatment with a BA concentration of 0.25 mg L −1 and Florialite than those in the control treatment. The number of shoots and dry weight per clump in the sugar-free medium treatment were comparable to those in the control treatment. Among the sugar-free medium treatments, the number of shoots increased with increasing BA concentration, however, the leaf area, dry weight, chlorophyll concentration and net photosynthetic rate decreased with increasing BA concentration. The use of Florialite significantly enhanced the growth and root induction as well as net photosynthetic rate, compared with the treatments that use agar. These results indicated that sugar-free medium micropropagation could be commercially applied to the multiplication of statice plantlets.