With its graceful canopy and its several
application possibilities in the food-, cosmetical- and pharmaceutical
industry, the cultivation of the “Shidareguwa” mulberry (Morus alba var. Shidareguwa) is a matter of public and economic
interest. Due to the difficult propagation of Morus alba by using conventional methods, the in vitro micropropagation of M.
alba gains in importance. The following review is about the paper “Micropropagation of a difficult-to-root weeping mulberry (Morus alba
var. Shidareguwa): A popular variety for ornamental purposes” (Aroonpong, Chang,
2015).
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The study examined the application of
existing in vitro propagation methods
on Morus alba. With its potential
economic benefits as a driving force, the development of an efficient and
cost-effective propagation Method is of great value and would improve and accelerate
the cultivation of Morus alba.
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Either shoot tips or nodes of
different ages (Node 1,2 & 3) have been used as explants and were cut off
from a 3-year old field-grown Morus alba.
These explants have been disinfected and afterwards put in a MS medium with
variable content of the phytohormon BAP. For the rooting the medium has been changed
to an MS medium with different concentrations of the auxine IBA. To be able to
compare the rooting ability, explants of Morus
alba have been cultured ex vitro as
well, after being treated with IBA.
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Survival, exo- and endophytic
contaminations and browning of the explants varied depending on the used part
of the plants as showed in Figure 2 in the publication (p. 322). The shoot tips
showed the highest survival rate (100%) whereas the nodes showed decreasing
survival rates with increasing age of the nodes. Nodes of increasing age also
showed increasing endo- and exophytic contaminants probably due to the
specificity of the vascular tissues which are less specificated in the shoot
tips and the younger nodes.
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The success in the acclimatisation
of the in vitro culture is depending
mainly on the duration of the acclimatisation process. It takes more time to acclimatise
plants coming from an in vitro
culture compared to plants propagated ex
vitro. Also the amount of leaves and the consequential better uptake of
carbon energy seems to accelerate the rooting process during the acclimatisation
stage.
