Micropropagation of Sweet Potato (ipomoea batatas, Keledek Anggun)

Abstract

The study involved two types of explants, nodal and young shoots, obtained from Ipomoea batatas and cultured using two different media: MS (Murashige and Skoog) and WPM (McCown's woody plant). Different concentrations of the plant growth regulator, BAP (6-benzyl aminopurine), ranging from 0 to 5 mg/L, were tested. The results revealed that culturing node explants in the MS medium resulted in better outcomes compared to the WPM medium. Among the various concentrations of BAP tested, the lowest concentration, 0.5 mg, showed the highest mean shoot length of 3.9 cm, indicating the positive role of BAP in shoot initiation. In contrast, the mean shoot length observed in the WPM medium was relatively low, ranging from 0.9 cm to 2.2 cm, across all concentrations of BAP. Another experiment focused on shoot proliferation and rooting. Low concentrations of BAP (ranging from 0.0 to 1 mg/L) were found to enhance plantlet length, ranging from 6.5 cm to 8.1 cm. However, higher concentrations of BAP (3 or 5 mg/L) led to 50% callus initiation, which inhibited the growth of plantlet length and the development of roots in Ipomoea batatas. Interestingly, the presence of NAA (α-Napthaleneacetic acid) at concentrations of 1 or 2 mg/L effectively increased the number of roots, with a recorded range of 7.2 to 7.3 roots. These findings highlight the importance of media selection, particularly the preference for MS medium, and the role of BAP and NAA in regulating shoot initiation, shoot proliferation, and rooting in the tissue culture of Ipomoea batatas.