EFFECT OF CYTOKININS ON IN VITRO SHOOT PROLIFERATION OF OLIVE CULTIVARS “EARLIK” AND “BARI ZAITOON-2”

In olive, micro-propagation is an effective technique for mass multiplication of disease free, true to type plants, but shoot proliferation in mature tissues of olive is a major difficulty encountered during culture establishment. Thus an experiment was designed with an objective to study the effect of different cytokinins (BAP and Zeatin) on shoot proliferation of two olive cultivars (Earlik and BARI Zaitoon-2). In olive Rugini medium, BAP and Zeatin were added alone and in combination at a concentration of 1 mg L-1 and 2 mg L-1. Experiments were arranged according to completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications per treatment. Results showed that both the olive cultivars performed well when BAP + Zeatin were supplemented to the medium at 2+2 mg L-1 concentration. However, the cultivar “BARI Zaitoon-2” had the highest shooting percentage (90.67 %) and number of nodes per shoot (8.33) in treatment containing BAP (2 mg L-1) + Zeatin (2 mg L-1), whereas, “Earlik” at same concentration had more shoot length (9.10 cm) and number of shoots per explant (3.67). Thus, it was concluded that the findings of these results will help in the future for developing shoot proliferation protocols for other olive cultivars. Moreover, these protocols can also be further be used in other woody plants micro propagation