In vitro propagation of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) cultivars

The study is aimed at establishing a simple protocol for in vitro regeneration of sweet potato with a view to providing planting materials to farmers as well as basis for genetic improvement. Axillary buds were excised and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal salts supplemented with 6-benzyl aminopurine (BAP), gibberellic acid (GA3) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) singly or in combination. The shoot height and number of leaves differed significantly among the cultivars. The result also indicated significant difference (p less than 0.01) among the cultivars with King J recording the highest mean values. Significant differences (p less than 0.05) was also recorded in the media combination with respect to organogenesis and number of shoots obtained. The results of hardening further revealed 33.33% success in the explants transferred directly to the field, as well as for the plantlets that were gradually weaned in a mixture of 3:1 sand and biochar.