Micropropagation of clones from controlled crosses of Gmelina arborea in Costa Rica

Seeds of 10 families of Gmelina arborea (gmelina) obtained from controlled crosses, were established in vitro. Nodal segments of seedlings were placed in Murashige and Skoog (MS) (1962) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations of benzyladenine (BA). The shoots were separated and placed in another MS (1962) medium supplemented with indolebutyric acid (IBA). The shoots were transferred to Jiffy pellets of sphagnum moss (compressed peat) and were placed in a growth chamber where they stayed for a period of 15 days. Afterwards, the plant material was placed in a greenhouse for 20 days. Significant differences were observed in the bud induction rate and in the rooting percentages of families and genotypes. The use of Jiffy® pellets diminished the loss of plant material due to contamination, improved rooting of shoots and the survival of plants in the greenhouse conditions and the field.