CLONAL MICROPROPAGATION AND SOME PHYSIOLOGY ASPECTS OF ESSENTIAL OIL ROSES VALUABLE CULTIVARS REGENERATION IN VITRO

Limiting factor for vegetative propagation of essential oil roses is their high rate of viral pathogens damages. Complex system of plants` diagnostics, cleaning up and propagation in vitro gives possibility to obtain high quality plant material. This study aimed to investigate some features of in vitro meristem culture in essential oil rose cultivars Festivalnaya, Raduga, Lany, Kooperatorka, Michurinka, Iskra and to evaluate morphological, anatomical and physiological parameters of plants in vitro. For induction of microshoot regeneration and leaf formation explants we cultured MS medium with 0.5-1.5 mg l^-1 BAP, 30 g l^-1 sucrose, 8 g l^-1 agar. For in vitro chemotherapy, Ribavirin was added to the media. It was found out that February and March were the optimum time for meristem isolation and development. The maximum length of regenerated microshoots was observed in the cultivars Iskra and Kooperatorka at the initial stage of cultivation. Cultivar Festivalnaya was characterized by high multiplication rate (1:5-1:6). Due to the maximum number of leaves per shoot, the minimum leaf shape index, anatomical characteristics of palisade tissue development, the number of chloroplasts in photosynthetic tissue cells, and the rate of vascular bundle sheath development the cultivar Festivalnaya were selected. However, the maximum integral index of photosynthetic activity and viability index were noticed in regenerants of Lany cultivar. Analysis of chlorophyll a fluorescence rate indicated that physiological state of leaves was normal in all investigated in vitro regenerants.