In vitro propagation of three Damask Roses accessions

An in vitro propagation protocol has been developed for three superior Damask rose accessions using axillary buds of mature 5 years-old plants. Effects of culture medium and plant genotype were evaluated using a split plot design based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Surface sterilization was carried out with 0.1% HgCl2 for five minutes. The appropriate seasons for collecting explants were summer and autumn. Endogenous contamination was eliminated by cefotaxim antibiotic. Shoot growth rate and shoot index showed better performances on MS than on WPM medium. Thidiauzuron (TDZ) in combination with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) induced significantly higher number of shoots per explants than the most optimum BAP treatment alone. The highest level of shoot multiplication rate (5.9) was recorded at a combination of 5 mgl-1 BAP and 0.1 mgl-1 TDZ. Type and concentration of auxins did not have significant effects on shoot multiplication and shoot length. Between various cytokinins, BAP was more effective than kinetin on shoot multiplication. There was no consistent response by both shoot multiplication rate and genotype to different concentrations on growth regulators. Two accessions were rooted on the medium supplement with 0.1 and 0.2 mgl-1 naphtalene acetic acid respectively.