In vitro propagation of Phaleonopsis hybrid ‘Little gem’ by culturing apical part and axillary bud of flower stalk

The in vitro propagation of the commercially important Phalaeonopsis hybrid `Little gem` was achieved by culturing the apical part and axillary buds excised from flower stalks. The explants were cultured on 5 different basal media: 3.0 g·L-1 Hyponex and 4.0 g·L-1 peptone (H3P4) and Murashige & Skoog (MS) media were shown to be suitable for shoot regeneration. The MS medium supplemented with 5.0 mg·L-1 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) was found to be more efficient for shoot regeneration. However, the number of shoots induced by axillary buds was higher than that induced by the apical part. Incubation of the apical part under darkness for one week, as well as of the explants in the same medium with activated charcoal (AC) 0.5 g·L-1 promoted shoot regeneration and shoot growth; similar growth was not observed with axillary buds.