Micropropagation and Simultaneous Rooting of Actinidia deliciosa var. deliciosa 'Hayward'

Nodal segments and shoot tips of axenic shoot cultures of `Hayward' kiwifruit were inoculated on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with zeatin at 1 mg·liter-1 and IAA at 0.05 mg·liter-1 (H1) or on MS medium without growth regulators (H2). Inocula cultured on H2 medium all developed into normal plantlets, while those cultured on H1 medium developed into shoots, 18% of them abnormal. Rooting of H1 shoots was induced by a 24-h immersion in a solution of IRA at 20 mg·liter-1. H2 plantlets were directly transferred to soil. Statistical treatment of the results revealed no significant differences, in terms of plant development, between the two micropropagation methods used. However, the presence of a functional root system on 5-week-old H2 plantlets resulted in 100% plant survival, but only 70% of in vivo-rooted shoots from H1 survived. Nevertheless, H1 still allowed for an important reduction of costs and manipulation. Chemical names used: indole3-acetic acid (IAA).