Micropropagation of Hermaphrodite Papayas: Increased Root Induction and Plant Survival during Acclimatization

In Hawaii, the commercial papaya industry is based on cultivars that segregate as females or hermaphrodites. Multiple seedlings are planted and then thinned at flowering to single hermaphrodites at each site. The aim of this study was to increase propagation efficiency by improving our procedure for micropropagation of hermaphrodite plants only. Initially, shoots were multiplied in vented jars on M2 medium, a Murashige and Skoog formulation containing 0.25 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 μM α-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). At weekly intervals, micropropagated shoots were either incubated for 4 to 7 days in IBA2 medium containing 20 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or were dipped in autoclaved rooting powder containing 0.8% IBA (DIP); then, they were placed in M2 until root initials or small roots were visible. After root induction in both treatments, plants were transferred to an in vitro medium containing ½ MSO and 30 g⋅L −1 sucrose in vermiculite (VER). The IBA2 treatment produced 467 potted plants compared to 475 produced by the DIP treatment; however, the average number of days that each treatment required from root induction to potting of rooted plants was not significantly different (IBA2: 52.42 ± 5.65 days; DIP: 51.94 ± 3.61 days). Plants from both treatments were grown in either wet potting medium (500 mL water/300 g potting medium) or damp potting medium (120 mL water/300 g potting medium) to test the effect of moisture content on plant survival and growth after potting. Use of damp rather than wet potting medium resulted in significantly higher plant survival and growth. These results could facilitate more efficient commercial practice for papaya growers.