An Alternative Tissue Culture Media for Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Micro Propagation

The cumbersome nature of tissue culture technique contributes to the low adoption of the technique. This work aims at developing an accessible alternative tissue culture medium for potato micro propagation. The inorganic components of the conventional MS medium were replaced with a common source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) to regenerate in vitro plantlets of six improved Cameroonian potato varieties selected from meristem-derived plantlets. These varieties included: Cipira, Mafo, Bambui wonder, Irad 2005, Jacob 2005 and Tubira. Five (5) nodes each per replicate per variety were cultured on both media and allowed to grow at a temperature of 21 ºC and 16hrs/day photoperiod for 28 days.Number of nodes sprouting, number of nodes rooting, plant height, and number of nodes per plantlet were recorded weekly in 4 weeks. Results shows that both media regenerated vigorous plantlets with shoots and roots. Using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), analysis of variance revealed slight significant differences (p?0.05) between varieties and media in terms of sprouting and rooting Height of plantlets on NPK medium ranged from 29.85 mm (Cipira) to 45.25 mm (Irad 2005) meanwhile, on MS medium it ranged from 47.93 mm (Bambui Wonder) to 65.70 mm (Jacob 2005). Average number of nodes ranged from 2.59 (Tubira) to 3.63 (Mafo) on fertilizer medium while on MS medium it ranged from 2.70 (Irad 2005) to 4.20 (No significant difference at p?0.05). in conclusion; the developing countries can replace the inorganic components of MS medium with inorganic fertilizer (NPK) for in vitro multiplication of potato