The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of panela (hard brown sugar) on in vitro development of banana cv. Maçã, in order to reduce production costs. Banana explants were inoculated in nutrient media formulated with four different concentrations of panela solution (10, 25, 50 and 75%) and data were compared with those of plants grown on MS medium (control), totalizing five treatments. After 60 days, the average number of leaves, shoots and roots, as well as the mean number of explants dead and oxidized were analyzed. There was no significant difference between treatments for most parameters, except for the mean number of oxidized explants, which was higher in the treatment containing 75% of panela. It was concluded that nutrient media with up to 50% of panela in the composition, without plant growth regulators, can be used for in vitro banana replacing the MS media.
micropropagation; Musa spp.; nutritive media
