Abstract
Shoots of three lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) cultivars, ‘Regal’, ‘Splendor’, and ‘Erntedank’ and two clones from natural stands in Newfoundland were initiated in vitro from shoot tip and nodal explants on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing the plant growth regulators N6-[2-isopentenyl]adenine (2iP) (12.3 μM) or zeatin (5.7 μM). Zeatin was more effective than 2iP, and induced proliferation of 2 to 3 times as many shoots in ‘Regal’ as 2iP. Out of four media tested for shoot proliferation, modified MS medium was found more effective than the Woody Plant Medium for shoot multiplication. With all three cultivars, a reasonable balance in terms of shoot multiplication rate and desirable growth characteristics was attained in a new medium. Nodal explants of the two clones cultured on the modified MS medium with 12.3 μM 2iP produced 4 to 6 healthy axillary shoots per explant in clone 1 and 2 to 4 shoots in clone 2. Shoots rooted well ex vitro directly on a 2 peat: 1 perlite (v/v) medium after dipping in 39.4 mM indole-3-butyric acid. The new protocol proposed from this study is expected to be adapted for propagating a wide range of lingonberry germplasm.
