In vitro production of Phalaenopsis orchids

Abstract

Phalaenopsis – known as moth orchids – are the most popular orchids cultivated indoors as decorative house plants. This makes propagation and cultivation of Phalaenopsis important for commercial growers. Enhancements to the micropropagation of Phalaenopsis would have pronounced economic benefits through reduced losses and wastage. We examined the effects of several nutrient media and specific plant growth regulators (PGRs) belonging to the gibberellic acid and cytokinin groups on the in vitro germination of Phalaenopsis seeds, utilizing a single group pretest-posttest model. The effects of several nutrient media such as: Knudson C (KCM), Lindemann (LM), Orchimax (-OM), Orchimax + activated charcoal (+OM), Murashige & Skoog (MS), as well as various PGRs such as 6-Benzylaminopurine (6BA), 6-Furfurylaminopurine (KIN), Adenin hemisulfate (AHS), Thidiazuron (TDZ), 2-Isopentenyl adenine (2iP), and Gibberellic acid (GA3), on the process of germination were also investigated. The explants obtained from the germinating seedlings were subjected to direct organogenesis, and the optimal PGR and tissue fragments were determined. The +OM medium facilitated the shortest germination period (in days). An inverse relationship between the concentration of TDZ and the percentage of germination in the context of the employed PGRs was observed. Apart from TDZ, the remaining PGRs exhibited a positive correlation with concentration. However, no significant difference in germination was observed in comparison to the control. The findings of direct organogenesis investigations revealed that the medium that exhibited the highest productivity was enriched with 5.0 ppm of 6BA. The media containing TDZ exhibited a reduced level of efficiency. Particularly, the group treated with 1.0 ppm of TDZ exhibited reduced efficacy compared to the control group. All concentrations of cytokinin in root elongation stage exhibited a favorable impact in comparison to the control. The variance between these PGRs was not statistically significant.