The effects of different concentrations of BA, nutrient media, carbohydrate sources and gelling agents on shoot multiplication of olive (Olea europaea L. cv Dezful).

Olive (Olea europaea) is one of the most important horticultural crops in Iran. Total area of olive production has increased about thirty times since 15 years ago in Iran. Dezful is one of the commercial olive cultivars that are well adapted to south regions of Iran and suitable for canning and oil production. Cuttings of this cultivar are difficult to root and asexual propagation by conventional methods is difficult and does not allow original clones to be obtained in industrial quantities. Micropropagation is a reliable technology applied commercially worldwide, which allows large-scale plant multiplication. This research was carried out to study the effects of different concentrations of BA, nutrient media, carbohydrate sources and gelling agents on shoot multiplication of olive cv. Dezfoul. Shoot tips and nodal segments of current season growth shoots of adult trees were used as explants. Based on the results of experiments, woody plant medium (WPM) containing 2.0 mgl-1 BA and 0.005 mgl-1 IBA was optimum for shoot multiplication. Woody plant medium was significantly better than MS or MS with half strength macronutrients for in vitro production of shoots. Sucrose at 30 gl-1 was significantly better than glucose or fructose for shoot fresh weight, number of shoots and main shoot length. Phytagel at 2.4 gl-1 was optimum for solidifying of nutrient medium.