Abstract

Healthy seed-potato production is possible through certified mini tubers from complete healthy meristem micro plants in a medium which contains all micro and macro nutrients. Addition of nano silicon a biological activity booster, can provoke the growth, development and productivity of plants at specific concentrations. Based on this, a research was carried out during 2020 at the Laboratory of Agricultural Plant Biotechnology of Samara Scientific Research Agricultural Institute, Samara, Russia to study the influence of modifications in Murashige and Skoog medium by adding the biologically active nano silicon product in two concentrations of 1.5 and 3.0 ml/L on the growth and development of potato meristem micro plants of Rainbow and Grand varieties. Forty micro-plants of each variety were grown in a meristem culture with a 16-hour photoperiod for 30 days. The lighting source was fluorescent lamps with the wavelength from 440 nm to 670 nm and illuminance of 5000 lux. The temperature in the growing room was maintained at 22°C during daytime under lighting and 18°C at nighttime. The relative humidity in growing room was 75–80%. There were two cycles of cultivation for each variety. At the close of each growing cycle, the morphological characteristics that show the growth intensity and development of regenerants (the plant length and the number of internodes) were measured. The growth and development of potato regenerants was influenced by modification in Murashige and Skoog medium with the addition of 1.5 ml/L concentration of the biologically active nano silicon. A significant increase was recorded in the length of potato meristem micro plants of both Rainbow and Grand varieties, as well as a significant increase in the number of micro plant internodes of the mid-ripening potato variety Grand.