'Fragrant taro' [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. antiquorum] micropropagation using thidiazuron and benzylaminopurine.

Fragrant taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott var. antiquorum] is an important regional plant, with a good taste, from Chongming Island in the southeast of China. Its natural vegetative rate of propagation is relatively low and no research on in vitro propagation of ‘fragrant taro’ has been reported. Thus, an in vitro propagation method for ‘fragrant taro’ was developed, and the effects of thidiazuron (TDZ) and benzylaminopurine (BAP) on shoot-tip differentiation and multiplication were analysed. Shoot-tips were first cultured in half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) semi-solid medium containing different concentrations of TDZ, BAP and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) for 30 d. The best result was found with 1.0 mg l^-1 TDZ treatment. Plantlets were then sub-cultured in MS liquid medium for another 90 d. After 30 d, the highest multiplication rate (2.5) was observed in medium with 1.0 mg l^-1 BAP and 0.5 mg l^-1 NAA. The multiplication rate in medium supplemented with 3.0 mg l^-1 BAP and 0.1 mg l^-1 TDZ was the highest (4.7) after 90 d of culture. Well-developed shoots were rooted in MS medium solidified with 0.6% (w/v) agar, supplemented with 1.0 mg l^-1 BAP, 0.5 mg l^-1 NAA and 500 mg l^-1 active carbon before transplanting. A protocol for propagating ‘fragrant taro’ in vitro was established in which shoots maintained rapid multiplication for a long time. This protocol can also be used for germplasm conservation and exchange of ‘fragrant taro’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]