Development of a system for rapid plant regeneration from in vitro sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) meristematic tissue

In this report we describe a methodology for rapid sugarcane shoot regeneration using meristematic tissue from in vitro-grown plantlets. Shoot regeneration from previously induced meristematic tissue, in the presence of up to 22.62 mu M of 2,4-D was evaluated. The explants were transferred, after a week induction, to a propagation medium supplemented with activated charcoal and then transferred to a regeneration medium for shoot development. The highest regeneration efficiency, averaging 9.34 shoots/explant, was obtained from cut meristematic tissue previously induced in the presence of 4.52 mu M 2,4-D. We evaluated the first five stem segments from the basal stem to the leaves in two Cuban cultivars to determine their capacity for plant regeneration. The largest number of regenerated plantlets was obtained from the first two segments of the basal stem. For the first segment the regeneration frequency was 16.95 and 8.0 shoots/explant for C1051-73 and C86-12 varieties respectively. We concluded that this procedure is useful for the regeneration of large amounts of sugarcane plants thus minimizing production time.