EN
An efficient protocol was developed for in vitro mass propagation of the commercial cultivar Musa acuminata cv. Dwarf Cavendish through shoot apices culture. Shoot apices with 2-3 pairs of leaf primordia were induced from sliced rhizome explants on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium supplemented with 6.0 mg/l BA, 150 mg/l Ads and 3% (w/v) sucrose. Multiple shoots were induced from meristematic domes on the same medium. Addition of 1.0-1.5 mg/l IAA to the culture medium and incubation in continuous light (24 h) increased the yield of multiple shoots. The high multiplication coefficient was maintained stable up to the 5th subculture; thereafter it declined. Rooting was readily achieved upon transferring the shoots onto half-strength MS medium supplemented with 500 mg/l activated charcoal and 2% (w/v) sucrose. Micropropagated plantlets were hardened in a polyethylene house and successfully established in soil. There was no morphological variation among the micropropagated plants.