Abstract:
Pomegranate is an economically important fruit crop of the tropical and subtropical
regions of the world. Hard wood cuttings is the traditional method for pomegranate
propagation. However, there are a number of drawbacks to the conventional propagation
approach, including poor success rates, delayed propagation and the inability to guarantee
healthy, disease-free plants. The use of micropropagation technology as an alternative to
traditional vegetative propagation method is growing in popularity nowadays. Hence, this
study aimed to develop a protocol for surface sterilization method to produce planting
materials of the Kalipitiya hybrid variety. Initially nodal explants were washed with
running tap water for 45 min then they were washed with liquid vim (teepol) solution for
15 min and followed by dipping in 0.06% fungicide for 45 min. Finally, streptomycin
solution (100 mg/L) treatment was also given to explants for 20 min. After these steps,
nodal segments were subjected to the following twelve treatments which included three
different concentrations (5%, 10%, and 15%) of sodium hypochlorite without or with 05
% (w/v) concentration of silver nitrate (AgNO3) in the different exposure times (10 and
15 min). The results revealed that fungus bacteria contamination, browning, survival and
bud formation. The survival rate of 73.3% was recorded after two weeks with 15% NaOCl
with 0.05% AgNo3 for 15 min which was the best sterilant observed for.
