The 'Santa Rosa' plum presents high productivity, great flavor and appearance of fruits. However, this cultivar is highly susceptible to the leaf scald (Xylella fastidiosa Wells). This problem is a serious limitation in the orchard management in the South of Brazil. Plant tissue culture techniques allow the mass clonal propagation of disease free and elite genotypes. The practical use of micropropagation techniques relies on the establishment of suitable protocols. Among the factors that affect this efficiency is the correct definition of the cytokynin type and level. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the in vitro multiplication of 'Santa Rosa' plum under different concentrations of BAP. After three subcultures in the culture medium MA1, nodal segments of 0.5-1.0 cm long were inoculated in culture medium supplemented with different levels of BAP (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mg.L-1). The results showed that there were not significant differences in the multiplication rate affected by BAP. However, that the highest regeneration rate (3.6) was obtained in response to the level 2.0 mg.L-1 of BAP. Also, the largest shoot height value was obtained in response to the level 0.5 mg.L-1 of BAP. The results obtained showed that the micropropagation of 'Santa Rosa' plum is feasible.
Prunus salicina; plant growth regulators; culture medium; micropropagation
