Micropropagation of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Using Locally Sourced Substitutes in a Routine Medium

Abstract

In spite of global acceptance and wide use of micropropagation as a method for the production of disease free planting material and germplasm conservation, this practice has been slow and non-affordable in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to the high cost and non-availability of tissue culture media. Considering the importance of growth factors (micro and macro nutrients) in culture medium, it is inevitable to search for an alternative, cheaper and readily available source of these nutrients. This research therefore provided a natural substitute media formation for Cassava nodal culture. Sugar cane juice was substituted for sucrose (SC) in this research work. The result showed that the explants survived and produced foliage at 20 ml SC and 40 ml SC based media. The forest Top Soil (FTS) modified media produced more foliage (7), at 20 ml/200 ml than conventional media (5). Trona is a soft and porous salty evaporate deposit occurring in association with Neutron, Halite, Thernadite and other salts. Trona is a mixture of Chlorides, Carbonates, and Sulphate salts of Sodium, Calcium, Potassium, and Magnessium thus serving as a good source for these salts. 0.2 g of Trona gave the highest percentage 66% of nodal cutting that developed foliage. In conclusion, there was a positive response observed in the growth of the cassava nodes in the media modified with various natural nutrient sources. The use of these natural sources is encouraged because it is less costly and readily available rather than wait for the importation of the costly synthetic culture media.