Effect of chitosan on in vitro proliferation of Ghezel ouzum grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivar

Ghezel Ouzum is a commercially important cultivar with red crispy and juicy berries. In In vitro Micropropagation of woody plants such as grape, the proliferation stage has a high importance. Hence with different methods it has been attempted to achieve a successful way to increase the propagation rate. In this research the effect of low molecular weight chitosan on proliferation of Ghezel Ouzum grape was studied. For this purpose, the MS medium containing benzyl amino purine 0.5 mg L-1 (BAP) and 0.01 mg L-1 Indole butyric acid (IBA) and various concentrations of chitosan (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg L-1) were used in a completely randomized design with five replicates. The results showed that the effect of chitosan on in vitro proliferation of Ghezel Ouzum grape cultivar was significant, so that the addition of chitosan to the culture medium increased  the proliferation rate of shoots. According to the results, chitosan concentration of 40 mg L-1 showed better results compared with the other concentrations and control and increased the number of lateral shoots, shoot length, leaf number, leaf area, dry weight of plant biomass, and chlorophyll content in produced plants. Based on these results, given the favorable properties of chitosan, it can be used as a growth stimulator for increasing in vitro proliferation of this grape cultivar.