Evaluation of the activity of aqueous extracts of some organic waste materials on in vitro-cultured shoots of ‘M9’ apple rootstock

The present work investigated the effects of different aqueous extracts of organic waste compounds on growth, proliferation and photosynthetic activity in ‘M9’ (Malus domestica Borkh.) shoot cultures, with the aim of determining the feasibility of using in vitro cultures as a tool for the rapid evaluation of organic amendments in agriculture. Aqueous extracts of the following organic waste compounds: cow manure (CM), sugarbeet industrial waste (SB), mixed grape, poultry and municipal solid waste (GPM), and citrus pruning and industrial waste (CPI) were prepared at a rate of 1:10 (w/v) compound:distilled water. The basal media used in the proliferation phase were: (i) PM1, modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) enriched with 4.4 µM 6-benzyladenine (BA); (ii) PM2, as PM1 but with a reduced cytokinin concentration (1 µM BA) to evaluate possible hormone effects; and (iii) PM3, 4.4 µM BA with reduced salt strength (0.33 MS) to induce nutrient deficiency. Hormone-free medium with half-strength MS salts was used for rooting. All media were enriched with each extract at 0, 0.2, 2, 20 or 200 ml l–¹. Photosynthetic activity was measured on PM3 medium enriched with SB or CM. Standard culture conditions were 22° ± 2°C, with a 16 h photoperiod at 30 µmoles photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) m–² s–¹, but at 80 µmoles PAR m–² s–¹ to determine photosynthetic activity. Shoot weight increase in PM1 was not affected by the GPM and CPI extracts, while the growth trends of CM- and SB-treated shoots were described by a second-degree function with maxima at 2 ml l–¹ and 0.2 ml l–¹, respectively. Shoot proliferation for SB was represented by a quadratic curve (maximum at 2 ml l–¹), was linearly reduced as GPM increased, but was not affected by CM or CPI. Treatments did not significantly affect rooting percentage and root length; however root number was increased by SB at 2 ml l–¹.CO₂ fixation increased linearly with both SB and CM, despite reduced growth at the highest levels of extract.