REGENERACIÓN in vitro DE PLANTAS DE Tillandsia viridiflora (Beer) Baker POR ORGANOGÉNESIS DIRECTA.

Tillandsia viridiflora (Beer) Baker is an epiphytic bromeliad endemic to Mexico, and the destruction of its habitat and illegal trade have led to its inclusion in the list of endangered species in NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010. For its commercial use as an ornamental plant, a massive propagation system is required. In vitro plant tissue culture techniques are an option for producing large numbers of plants. The objectives of this study were to determine the optimal conditions to regenerate plants in vitro by direct organogenesis and acclimatize them. Organogenesis was evaluated in Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP, 0.0 and 8.8 µM) and naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, 0.0 and 2.1 µM) from in vitro seedlings germinated in MS medium with 50% of the salt concentration. Shoot groups were placed in MS medium with gibberellic acid (GA3, 0 and 5.77 µM) to promote elongation. Shoot rooting was evaluated in MS medium with 50% of the salt concentration added with NAA (0.00 and 2.15 µM) and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.00 and 2.15 µM). During acclimatization, we evaluated two plant heights and two types of substrates: peat + perlite (1:1) and pine bark (Pinus). We established a completely randomized design and the data obtained were analyzed with ANOVA; the Tukey test was used for the comparison of means. Germination was 82% in five weeks. In the organogenesis, 10.4 shoots were induced per explant with 6.65 µM of BAP and 0.5 µM of NAA, and the multiplication resulted in 13 shoots with 4.4 µM of BAP and 0.5 µM of NAA, both cases in 12 weeks. The largest elongation (1.5 cm) of the shoots occurred by adding 5.7 µM of gibberellic acid; and the highest number of roots (2.4 roots per plant) resulted from adding 1.0 µM NAA. In acclimatization, survival was 100% with 4.5 and 6.5 cm plants planted in peat+perlite and pine bark [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]