Improved in vitro regeneration and propagation of Tunceli garlic (Allium tuncelianum L.)

Over-exploitation of endemic and threatened Tunceli garlic [Allium tuncelianum (Kollman) N. Ozhatay, B. Mathew & Siraneci] for household purposes has threatened the species and requires that a reliable, improved tissue culture protocol be developed for its conservation. Leaf tips, the middle portions of leaves, leaf bases, vertically-sectioned halved or quartered bulbs, horizontally-sectioned upper and lower bulb halves, and root tip explants were cultured on 1.0x Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 mg l(-1) 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) or 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 mg l(-1) 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) plus 0.5 mg l(-1) alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The results indicated that root tip explants were most suitable for bulblet regeneration on 1.0x MS medium containing 5.0 mg l(-1) BAP plus 0.5 mg l(-1) NAA. All other explants failed to regenerate on different concentrations of BAP plus NAA, or on 2,4-D. The regenerated bulblets were acclimatised at 24 degrees +/- 1 degrees C and 80.0% relative humidity under growth chamber conditions, then transferred to pots containing peat-moss in a greenhouse. The results will be important for garlic breeders and researchers.