IN VITRO PROPAGATION OF SUGAR CANE (Saccharum Officinarum L. var. (Sp-70) THROUGH APICAL MERISTEM

Ethiopia’s sugar industry is increasing more than ever before and becoming one of the major pillars of the country’s economy. Conventional propagation of sugar cane has very low rate of multiplication and harbors diseases. This study was conducted to develop micropropagation techniques for rapid multiplication of disease-free sugarcane planting material through apical meristem explant. Sterile sugarcane variety (sp-70) was cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with BAP (0, 0.25. 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mg/l), in combination with, IBA (0, 0.5, mg/l). For shoot initiation, explants were incubated for a week in dark. Thereafter, the initiated shoots were transferred to MS basal medium supplemented with 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3mg/l of BAP combined with 0, 0.5, 1mg/L, IBA and incubated for a month in a growth room. For rooting, plantlets were transferred to half-strength MS medium with 0.5,1,2,3,4, mg/l of NAA. Acclimatization was done in greenhouse on substrate mix of autoclaved garden soil, farmyard manure and sand in 2:1:1 ratio. Analysis of variance showed that 0.5mg/l BAP resulted in higher shooting response than other treatments. Shoot multiplication was significantly higher when cultured on MS basal medium supplemented with 1mg/l BAP and 0.5mg/l IBA. In rooting better result was obtained in 1/2MS medium supplemented with 1mg/l NAA. The plantlets transferred to greenhouse showed a survival rate of 98% after 30 days. From theresult of the study it can be concluded that for establishment of culture 0.5mg/l BAP, for shoot multiplication 1mg/l BAP and 0.5mg/l IBA, whereas, for rooting 1mg/l NAA respectively was the best hormonal concentration and combinations. Plantlets were survived 98% in green house in soil, farmyard manure and sand in 2:1:1ratio. Though this protocol can be used for efficient propagation of this sugar cane variety and further investigation on some factors that may hinder propagation effort should be done to enhance the success.