STUDIES ON KOLA TISSUE CULTURE I: Protocols for Establishing Kola Tissues in vitro

The micropropagation of Cola nitida (Vent.) Schott and Endlicher by means of tissue culture was investigated to provide baseline infonnation on the requ irements for the survival of kola tissues and organs in vitro. Investigations were conducted on development of sterilization protocols, and medium selection and modification. The best sterilization procedure was established with the step-wise treatment of 70% ethanol, for 20 seconds and 10% (w/v) CaOCl, for I 0 minutes .. The use of modified Murashige-Skoog (MS) medium (without Zn and Cu elements) as basal medium was found as appropriate as the original MS medium, for explants' survival. The appropriate antioxidant technique was also established with 10mgl-1 ascorbic acid