Effects of Four Different Capping Systems in the Micropropagation of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) Variety B79-474

Irwin Puc, Javier Alegria, Dion Daniels, David Guerra, Stephen Williams

Abstract: Aeration in a plant tissue culture vessel is an important concern because the tissue culture technology is inextricably bound-up with a requirement for sterility and prevention of dehydration. To improve the culture conditions for the micropropagation of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) variety B79-474 in the multiplication phase, different types of capping systems were designed and tested in this experiment. Four capping systems were used: Filter Disk (A), Plastic Wrap (B), Plastic Cap (C) and Cellophane (D). This research describes the culture vessels and culture systems, with an emphasis on different capping to improve the culture atmosphere and thus improve growth, multiplication coefficient and the quality of plantlets. The parameters used to determine better aeration and growth in the culture vessels were average height, number of dead leaves, and multiplication coefficient. The results showed that Cellophane had the highest average height and multiplication coefficient compared to the other capping systems. The results also indicated that Cellophane had the least number of dead leaves when sub-cultured after 28 days. Using capping system with cellophane for multiplication in vitro can therefore lead to an increase in plant production while significantly reducing the number of dead leaves. The vigorous growth seen in the treatment with cellophane could have been seen in the growth and development of these plants in the acclimatization phase.

Keywords: Sugarcane; micropropagation; capping system