Effect of Glyphosate in vitro culture of Cattleya nobilior Rchb. F

ABSTRACT Among the techniques used by biotechnology for multiplication of orchid seedlings, the in vitro cultivation stands out due to the high production potential of new seedlings. The presence of some chemical substances used in the culture medium, depending on the concentration, may or may not favor the growth and development of the plant. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of glyphosate on the in vitro cultivation of the orchid Cattleya nobilior Rchb. F. The experimental design was completely randomized, with six treatments and ten replications. The treatments consisted of six concentrations of glyphosate (0.0, 8.5, 17.0, 25.5, 34.0, and 42.5 mg L-1 a.i.), added to the modified MS culture medium with half the concentrations of macronutrients. Seedlings subjected to different glyphosate concentrations were obtained from seeds germinated in vitro. The length and dry biomass measurements of the shoot and root, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf width, number of shoots, chlorophyll a, b, and carotenoid contents were performed 200 days after transplanting of the seedlings. Among the phytometric components analyzed, only the length and dry biomass of root and the carotenoid content decreased with increasing doses of the glyphosate herbicide. Low concentrations of glyphosate added to the culture medium result in hormese effect, with increased growth of Cattleya nobilior Rchb. F. shoot.