The Evaluation of the Effect of Multiwall Carbon Nano Tube (MWCNT) on In Vitro Proliferation and Shoot Tip Necrosis of Pistachio Rootstock UCB-1 (Pistacia integrima × P. atlantica)

UCB-1 (Pistacia atlantica × P. integrima) is a commercial rootstock for pistachio in some pistachio plantations across the world. This rootstock is very new in Iran and recently, it has been used commercially in some plantations due to its high growth. Propagation of this rootstock by tissue culture results in many limitations such as shoot tip necrosis (STN) and a low proliferation rate. Therefore, any process that leads to improve the proliferation rate and feature will be used in commercial propagation of this rootstock. Nanotubes are widely used in in vitro cultures. For this reason, we used different concentrations of carbon nanotubes (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 µg/l) and benzyladenine (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mg/l) to improve the proliferation rate and qualitative indices. The results showed that using carbon nanotubes concentration of 200 µg/l with 2mg/l of benzyladenine (BA) led to maximum proliferation (4 microshoots per explant), maximum shoot length (3.68 cm) and minimum STN (8%) and vitrification (this isn’t a word?) (0 %) percentage.