In vitro propagation of the Orito banana cultivar (Musa acuminata AA)

Traditional banana propagation methods do not meet the demand of the crop or ensure the availability of diseasefree plants. Moreover, the yield and productivity of the banana propagated by the traditional route is reduced due to the attack of diseases. In vitro micropropagation is the tool that allows obtaining plants with excellent characteristics: health, high vigor and fruit yield. Hence, in this research, a protocol was established for the in vitro propagation of the Orito banana cultivar (M. acuminata AA), comprising four phases (establishment, multiplication, rooting and acclimatization). Corms were used as planting material, the corresponding recesses were made before taking them to the laboratory. In the first phase (aseptic establishment of buds), contamination by microorganisms was efficiently controlled in T2 (0.1 % Tween 80 + 20 % chlorine + 0.2 % mercury bichloride for 5 min) obtaining 100 % contamination-free explants and 100 % survival. The healthy and aseptic explants were transferred to the multiplication phase, showing similar effects in the number of shoots (1.31) for all the concentrations studied, for the variable length of shoots T1 containing the lowest concentration (2 mg/L BAP + 0.43 mg/L IAA), a length of 8.57 cm was obtained. The resulting shoots were transferred to an in vitro cooling medium, and then to the greenhouse for rooting and ex vitro acclimatization using sand as substrate. In this last phase, 100 % survival, 7 roots per plant and an average height of 11.40 cm were obtained. The results were optimal and the plants generated by this technique were vigorous, healthy and aseptic.