Apical Meristem Tip Culture for Eradication of Flexous Rod Viruses in Yams (Dioscorea alata)

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Abstract
Apical meristem tips excised from vines of Dioscorea alata cv. White Lisbon produced normal plantlets when cultured in vitro on Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with a range of auxins and cytokinins. Highest yields were obtained on basal medium supplemented with either 1.0 or 0.5 mg/l 2-naphthaleneacetic acid, in combination with either 0.2 or 0.1 mg/l 6-benzyladenine, respectively. Eradication of flexous rod virus infections was possible only when meristems were excised from mother plants which had been growing at 36 + 1°C for at least 14 days; progeny of plantlets obtained from such meristems remained free of detectable virus infection as judged from symptomless growth for 16 months and electron microscopic examination of both sap and ultrathin sections of leaf tissue.