Influence of different nutrient medium compositions on the growth and development of plants of modern potato varieties in vitro

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of different nutrient medium composition on the formation of morphological structures of potato plants in vitro and seed productivity of minitubers of the studied potato varieties. The research was conducted at the Department of Biotechnology and Biotechnical Systems of the Institute of Potato Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine. The object of the study were potato varieties of the Institute of Potato Growing of NAAS – «Skarbnitsa», «Fotinia», «Zhytnytsia», and «Mysteriya». The results of the conducted studies revealed the reliability of differences in the studied parameters, both between different genotypes and different concentrations of sucrose and vitamins in the nutrient medium. The height of regenerated plants during in vitro cultivation was directly dependent on the composition of the culture medium. A positive effect of a nutrient medium with high sucrose content and added vitamins on plant growth was revealed, which contributed to obtaining well-developed plants. In particular, the conducted studies have established that more active plant growth was observed on a nutrient medium with an increased content of sucrose up to 4 % and vitamins – 2 mg/l. The height of plants of all studied varieties increased by 7–12.8 % compared to the control, the number of internodes also increased. The analysis of the structure of the minitubers yield showed that the best in terms of the number of tubers per plant – 7.6–9.4 pcs. were «Zhytnytsia» and «Mysteriya» varieties, and the weight of tubers per bush was dominated by «Skarbnitsa» variety – up to 200.9 g. Thus, as a result of the conducted research, the influence of various factors on the growth and development of potato plants in vitro from cuttings planted on different nutrient mediums was studied. It was found that the growth rate of cuttings depends on illumination, photoperiod and composition of the nutrient medium. The optimal ratio of all indicators and nutritional elements contributed to an increase in plant height, the number of internodes and better development of the root system. Key words: in vitro plants, agar medium, mini-potatoes, potatoes, macronutrients, sucrose.