Application of Disease-Free Tissue Culture For the Propagation of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea Batatas) Plants

The aim of this study was to determine the most effective method for cultivating disease-free mother plants of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) through meristem culture.In this study, Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (1962) was used as the basal medium.The medium was supplemented with different concentrations of BAP (1.0; 2.0; 3.5 mg/L) and 2,4-D (1.0; 2.0; 3.5 mg/L) to assess their effects on plant regeneration.The regeneration of apical meristems of sweet potato through tissue culture under in vitro conditions, followed by subculturing of shoots, enables the production of disease-free plants at a rapid rate.This is a crucial aspect of modern plant biotechnology.The genetic stability of the regenerated plants provides a significant advantage in agricultural production.The results indicated that the highest shoot formation (1.8 shoots per explant) was observed in the medium containing 3.5 mg/L BAP.The medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L BAP showed superiority in terms of root number, leaf number (8.9), and node number (8.6).The regenerated shoots were transferred to subculturing media containing NAA (1-Naphthaleneacetic Acid).At this stage, the best results in terms of root number (2.5) and leaf number (4.5) were obtained in the medium containing 0.1 mg/L NAA.Despite the establishment of agricultural research infrastructure in Azerbaijan over the past decade, this study represents the first successful propagation of sweet potato using disease-free tissue culture methods in the country.