MICROPROPAGATION OF LENTIL (LENS CULINARIS MEDIK.) USING PULSE TREATMENT OF IMMATURE PLUMULAR APICES

Lentil is highly recalcitrant and is difficult to regenerate through tissue culture. The study is aimed to overcome this problem by developing an efficient regeneration system using immature plumular apice explants from immature zygotic embryos of Turkish lentil cv. Ciftci. The results showed that 10 mg/l BA pulse treatment of explants for 10 days followed by culture on MS medium containing various concentrations of BA-IBA supplemented with activated charcoal and PVP affected shoot regeneration frequency, mean number of shoots per explant and shoot length. Irrespective of the pulse treatment, combination of BA with IBA in MS medium promoted longer shoots compared to any concentration of BA alone. Maximum number of shoots (4.25) per explant was recorded on MS medium containing 0.25 mg/l BA + 0.1 mg/l IBA after pulse treatment. The longest shoots (6.17 cm) were recorded in pulse treated explants when cultured on MS medium containing 0.25 mg/l BA + 0.1 mg/l IBA. The regenerated shoots were rooted on MS medium containing 0.25 to 1 mg/l IBA or 1 mg/l IAA. The rooted plants were acclimatized at 24±2°C in the growth room where, they flowered and set seeds.