Callus induction and adventitious shoot regeneration in Zizyphus jujuba Mill. ‘Huizao’

This study was conducted to develop a protocol for rapid callus induction and subsequent shoot regeneration in Zizyphus jujuba Mill. ‘Huizao’. The best callus induction (95%) was obtained from young expanding leaves between the third and fifth nodes in vitro jujube shoots in MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L benzylamino purine (6-BA), 2.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D), and 0.5 mg/L silver nitrate (AgNO3). Incubation in darkness had non-significant effects on callus induction frequency of leaf explants, while callus formation of leaf was observed five to seven days earlier in one or two weeks of dark incubation. For shoot regeneration, the results showed that combination of zeatin (ZT) and, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was found to be more effective than that of 6-BA and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). A maximum of 37.34% callus differentiation occurred in MS medium supplemented with2.0 mg/L ZT and 0.1 mg/L IAA. Key words: Callus induction, shoot regeneration, Zizyphus jujuba.