Improved in vitro rooting of almond (Amygdalus communis) cultivar 'Nonpareil'

An efficient method was developed for rooting of almond (Amygdalus communis L.) cultivar, Nonpariel. Apical shoots of almond (A. communis L.) Nonpareil were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 1.0 mgl(-1) BA for micropropagation. After 3 weeks cultured elongated shoots were excised and their response to a range of rooting treatments investigated. Three experiments were conducted. 1) Elongated shoots were excised and their response to a range of rooting treatments investigated. Basal end of almond shoots were dipped 1.0 g/l of IBA at different times (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 seconds) and (10,15, 20, 25, 30, 35 minutes) for rooting of almond shoots. Then, the dipped shoots were cultured on modifiye Murashige and Skoog medium (1/2 and 1/4) free hormone respectively. 2) Shoots (2-3 cm in length) were excised and the basal end dipped in 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 mM IBA for 3 min, then placed in the modified half strength MS medium with 2% sucrose, 0,7 % w/v agar(Agar-Agar, sigma) without plant growth regulators. Cultures were placed in the dark for 4 days prior to transfer to a 25 +/- 2 degrees C with 16 h photo period (40 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)) provided with mercury fluorescent lamps. 3) Shoots were cultured basic MS culture medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) containing 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 mu M IBA. The best root formation observed on the MS media (half strength) and dipped shoots 10, 15, 30 and 35 minutes at 1.0 g/l of IBA.