Propagación in vitro de Heliconia bihai (L.) cv. Lobster Salmón a partir de meristemos florales

A protocol for in vitro propagation of Heliconia bihai cv. Lobster Salmon was developed using flowering buds as initial explants. 250 flowering buds were established in different assays with NaClO at 1% during 20 minutes. The establishment in Murashige & Skoog’s medium with BAP (2mg/L), AIA (1 mg/L) and L-cystein (0.1 g/L) showed the best results. Shoot multiplication was obtained with BAP (6 mg/L) with a subsequent subculture in a medium with BAP (2 mg/L) and AIA (0.5 mg/L), reaching multiplication rates of 3.0 new shoots. Rooting was achieved with AIA 1.3 mg/L. The survival rate during greenhouse acclimatization was 92%. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Turkey’s test were realized for each of the variables evaluated that showed statistical differences in all stages. The in vitro propagation of heliconia with flowering buds, requires longer periods for establishment and multiplication stages but allows higher levels of survival for initial explants and lower contamination, offering an alternative to obtain important amounts of planting material of different heliconia species of commercial interest.