Evaluation of low cost sucrose alternatives for in vitro potato plantlet production

In present experiment effectiveness of inexpensive alternative sucrose sources (Table sugar, Jaggery, Sugar cane juice and Rock sugar) used for in vitro potato plantlet production of two cultivars, Kufri Himalini and Kufri Jyoti was evaluated. These alternatives were compared against a control sucrose 30 g/L, which is known to be expensive. Among the different treatments, treatment B4 (MS salts + Agar 6 g/L+ Jaggery 20 g/L+ Calcium pantothenate 1 mg/L), significantly improved plantlet height, number of leaves, root length, number of roots and number of nodes per plantlet in both Kufri Himalini and Kufri Jyoti. Which was on par with the treatment control (MS salts + Agar 6 g/L+ Sucrose 30 g/L + Calcium pantothenate 1 mg/L) and treatment B3 (MS salts + Agar 6 g/L+ Table sugar 30 g/L+ Calcium pantothenate 1 mg/L). Conversely, treatment B10 (MS salts + Agar 6 g/L+ Sugar cane juice 100 ml/L + Calcium pantothenate 1 mg/L), resulted in the poorest growth performance across all measured growth parameters in both cultivars, indicating that sugar cane juice as a sucrose source might be detrimental for plantlet development. These findings suggest that both jaggery and table sugar are effective substitutes for agar in vitro culture media.