Comparative Effects of Plant Growth Regulators on the Growth Performance of Two Purple-Fleshed Sweet Potato Cultivars

Abstract

Sweet potato varieties “Apomuden” and “Nane” have been supplied to farmers for some years in Northern Ghana. It was suspected that the materials have been infected by viruses. This study was done to generate a protocol for the varieties and to generate planting material for subsequent multiplication and virus indexing. Aseptic cultures of the two varieties were raised through micropropagation. The effect of three growth regulators (IAA, BAP and Kinetin) at 2 mg/l on growth of the two varieties was studied using complete randomised design with three replications. The study was conducted at the Plant Tissue Culture laboratory at Nyankpala campus of the University for Development Studies using Murashige and Skoog media. Shoot induction was more effectively promoted in MS medium supplemented with BAP and performed better in Nane variety as compared to Apomuden. The medium supplemented with IAA stimulated root growth and development while BAP inhibited root formation. It is recommended that BAP at 2 mg/l should be used to multiply the sweet potato varieties for virus indexing.