Micropropagation of some Onobrychis species through in vitro shoot regeneration

Onobrychis species have an extensive spread in Turkey and adapted to various environmental conditions. In this study, it was aimed to propagate with tissue culture methods of endemic Onobrychis fallax Freyn & Sint. ex Freyn var. longifolia Aktoklu, Onobrychis stenostachya subsp. sosnowskyi, Onobrychis elata Boiss. & Balansa and worldwide commonly cultivated Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. species. For this purpose, cotyledon node explants were cultured in Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing various concentration of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), thidiazuron (TDZ) or meta-Topolin (mT) alone or in combination with 0.5 mg L–1 NAA. Significant variations in number of shoots per explant was observed depending on the species and growth regulators. The greatest number of shoots per explant was obtained from 1.2 mg L–1 TDZ treatments in O. stenostachya, O. fallax and O. elata and from 0.3 mg L–1 TDZ treatments in O. viciifolia, whereby 10.58, 9.50, 5.5, 6.42 shoots were recorded. Resultant shoots were rooted in half strength MS nutrient media containing 1 or 2 mg L–1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The rooting ratio was 86.11% in O. viciifolia, 50.00% in O. stenostachya and 36.11% in O. fallax and O. elata.