In vitro rooting of Pyrus glabra Boiss. microshoots

Fars province is one of the natural habitats of Pyrus species in Iran. Harvesting of fruits, deforestation, expansion of agriculture and overgrazing in recent years has threatened the wild pear open forests and imposed detrimental effects on their natural regeneration, therefore, investigation on propagation of wild pear species for afforestation is needed. This research was carried out to develop a suitable procedure for rooting of Pyrus glabra Boiss. in vitro propagated shoots. The shoots were obtained by culturing nodal segments or shoot tips of P. glabra on DKW medium containing 1.0 mgl-1 BA and 0.01 mgl-1 IBA. The best in vitro rooting procedure consisted of two phases: in vitro root induction and ex vitro root devel-opment. For root induction P. glabra shoots were cultured on MS medium (half strength macronutrients) containing 50 mgl-1 IBA and incubated in the darkness for 24 hours. For root development, shoots were transferred from root induction medium, washed with tap water, planted in moistened Jiffy-7 pots and placed in a propagator with 90-95 % relative humidity under lighted conditions. Using this method, 100 percentages of shoots rooted and plantlets transferred to greenhouse successfully