Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish an efficient micropropagation protocol for pineapple. Axillary buds were excised from the crown and inoculated on a liquid basal culture Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with sucrose (3%), benzylaminopurine (BA) (2.5 μM) and  naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (0.62 μM) for shoot induction. Shoot multiplication and elongation was on MS basal medium supplemented with 3% sucrose, 0.8% agar and different concentrations of BA (5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 µM) and NAA (2, 2.5 and 3 µM). Result showed that MS supplemented with BA (5 µM) and NAA (3 µM) gave the highest number of plantlets of 11.5 and 14.4 and the highest mean plant height at shoot elongation of 5.8 and 7.6 cm, respectively. Regenerated plantlets were hardened on different media. Non-acid washed riverside sand gave the highest recovery rate of 87.4%. Use of riverside sand as substrate for hardening will serve as cost-effective substitute for perlite or vermiculite.

Key words: pineapple, micropropagation, benzylaminopurine (BA), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), acclimatization.