Abstract

The study was aimed at investigating the effects of different compositions of nutrient media on the growth and development of microplants of the Charoit potato variety in in vitro culture. Improved maternal microplants of Solanum tuberosum L. of the Charoit variety were used as a test subject. OSRAM fluorescent lamps (Cool Daylight, 36 W) were used as a light source. Three compositions of the nutrient media were studied viz. (i) Standard Murashige and Skoog medium, (ii) Murashige and Skoog medium with ½ mineral elements and (iii) Murashige and Skoog medium with ½ mineral elements. The effects of these compositions on the length of the microplants, the length of the root system, the time of rooting, the number of leaves and internodes per microplant, and the total biomass were studied. The economic efficiency of the nutrient media was estimated. The nutrient medium with ½ mineral elements had shown to be optimal for growing the microplants of the Charoit potato variety in vitro. The results of this study can be used to select nutrient media with lower content of mineral elements for micropropagation and maintaining a collection of improved potato varieties.