Effect of Different Concentrations of Growth Regulators on Tissue Culture of Begonia rex Plant

Begonia rex is an ornamental plant from Begoniaceae family. The economic importance of ornamental plants all over the world has opened a promising horizon for the mass production of them. In vitro culture techniques are important tools for mass production of Begonia rex. For micropropagation of this plant young buds, leaves or axillary shoots are used. This experiment was carried out for assessment of effects of different concentrations of growth regulators on tissue culture of Begonia rex plant. Explants of young leaves were taken from plant grown in the green-house, sterilized and cultured on modified Murashinge-Skoog (MS) medium containing different concentrations of auxin and cytokinin in 25 ± 2ºC with 16 hours light under red and white tubes. The highest leaf number (269.33 leaf explant-1) was produced in 2 mgl-1 BA + 0.5 mgl-1 NAA, and the lowest leaf number (2 leaf explant-1) was in 0.5 mgl-1 BA + 1 mgl-1 NAA. The highest root number (19.33 root explant-1) was produced in 0.1 mgl-1 BA + 1 mgl-1 NAA, and the lowest root number was in 0.5 mgl-1 BA + 1 mgl-1 NAA.