Shoot Regeneration in vitro From Native Australian Fruit-Bearing Trees - Quandong and Plum Bush

Abstract

Explants from quandong (Santalum acuminatum) and plum bush ( S. lanceolatum), native Australian trees, regenerated shoots in aseptic culture. In the presence of cytokinin. shoots were produced in quantity from all cultured aerial parts of quandong seedlings. Individually cultured nodes of I-yr-old plum bush and quandong plants proliferated axillary shoots, while internodal pieces produced adventitious shoot growth. Shoots were also regenerated from explants of a 5-yr-old mature quandong tree. Excised in vitro-grown shoots produced roots in culture on a medium containing indolebutyric acid at pH 4 following shoot etiolation. These results offer the promise of clonal propagation in species in which conventional vegetative propagation by cuttings has not been reported, and will provide a useful adjunct to a quandong breeding program to develop edible fruit and nuts in semiarid areas.