ADVENTITIOUS SHOOT FORMATION FROM HYPOCOTYL AND COTYLEDON EXPLANTS OF RELICT ENDEMIC LIQUIDAMBAR ORIENTALIS Miller

In this study, the effect of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) [6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) (0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 mg L-1) alone and BAP in combinations with ?-Naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) (0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 mg L-1) or Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.10 mg L-1)] on direct organogenesis from hypocotyl and cotyledon explants of 4-5-week-old sterile seedlings of Liquidambar orientalis (Oriental sweetgum) were investigated. For organogenesis, the addition of BAP to the medium was required, also the combinations of BAP with NAA responded better in terms of the percentage of shoot-forming explants, the number of shoots per explant and the growth of shoots as compared to combinations of BAP with IBA. The highest average percentage of shoot formation (76.64%) was obtained from hypocotyl explants cultured on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) containing 0.10 mg L-1 NAA + 3.0 mg L-1 BAP. The highest average shoot number per explant (32.20 shoots/explant) was observed in also hypocotyl explants cultured on WPM supplemented with 0.10 mg L-1 IBA + 1.00 mg L-1 BAP. The combination of 0.05 mg L-1 NAA + 1.0 or 2.0 mg L-1 BAP was found to be appropriate for both explants.