Collection, characterization, regeneration and in vitro conservation of vegetatively propagated vegetable crops (Potato Garlic, Mint and Tarragon) Volume 2: Garlic

Garlic is considered as an important medicinal and food plant that its vegetative propagation could transfer diseases, especially viruses from one generation to the next or from one region to another. Therefore using diseases-free plants is essential in the production of this crop. In vitro system is a very efficient method for propagation and conservation of healthy plants. In this regard, nine main native accessions of Iranian garlic were collected. in vitro propagation technic of garlic was, then, developed for the first time in the country, through shoot meristem and root meristem culture on seven genotypes. Effects of MS media supplemented by different combinations of growth regulators auxin and cytokinine were studied in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design on four different genotypes with four replication. Garlic was successfully micropropagated via shoot tip on MS media suplemented with NAA and 2IP. The highest rate of regeneration was produced in a combination of 0.5 mg/l 2IP and 0.1 mg/l NAA. This supplement increased also the propagation rate in the following subcultures. To assess the feasibility of in vitro culture system for conservation of garlic germplasm the genetic stability of in vitro plantlets was studied through. Morphological evaluation and RAPD markers in comparison to their parental plants in the greenhouse. The results derived from morphological evaluation showed no deviation from the parents for qualitative traits, however, in quantitative traits, the regenerated plantlets were relatively weaker as expected. Molecular marker study also detected no DNA polymorphism or genetic differences between parental plants and in vitro plantlets. Therefore, in vitro conservation is an appropriate and efficiend technique for maintaining garlic genetic resources.