Vegetative shoot tips from 2 to 4 month old suckers of banana cv. "Prata" were grown on MS medium with 30 g/l sucrose and 22 µM benzylaminopurine. After 8 to 10 weeks, one or two lateral buds were produced; subculture of these on the same medium produced up to 10 buds after 6 to 10 weeks. The highest multiplication factor observed in subsequent subcultures was 40 new palntlets per explant; the average multiplication factor was 10 buds per explant in 8 weeks. Rooting occurred on the same medium but better rooting was achieved on medium diluted to halfstrength MS with 1 µM indole-butyric acid. Plants obtained from different generations of subculture, when transplanted to the field, showed more uniform and more vigorous growth than traditional planting material of the same variety. The system is viable for commercial scale multiplication.
Musa spp; banana cv. "Prata"; tissue culture; micropropagation