Improving Pistacia vera micropropagation: with emphasis on the efficiency of minerals, vitamins and plant growth regulators

A complete micropropagation protocol was developed for Pistacia vera cv. Ghazvini, an important rootstock in Pistachio orchards in Iran. In present study, the efficiency of a new medium called GNH (Garoosi, Nezami and Haddad) was investigated against some standard media. Different vitamins, calcium (Ca) sources and plant growth regulators (PGRs) were tested on in vitro shoot multiplication and root induction. Results indicated that mean number of shoots (4.25 ± 0.25), and productivity (69.87 ± 9.19 mm) increased significantly when GNH medium formed the basal medium, compared to the standard media including Murashige and Skoog medium (MS), Juglans Medium (DKW), and McCown Woody Plant Medium (WPM). The most suitable concentration Ca and vitamin sources for shoot multiplication were 3.0 mM Ca gluconate and DKW-vitamins. The most suitable PGRs were a combination of 0.5 or 1.0 mg l-1 BAP and 0.1 mg l-1 IBA. The highest rooting parameters were obtained when 3.0 mM Ca gluconate or Fe-EDDHA (with 0.2 mM Fe) were incorporated into the GNH medium containing 2.0 mg l-1 α-naphthalenacetic acid (NAA). Finally, nearly 70% of the plantlets survived acclimatization in the greenhouse. The results suggested the GNH medium (supplemented with Ca gluconate and DKW-vitamins), as a considerable and specific medium for the rapid micropropagation of Pistacia vera cv. Ghazvini.