Propagation of Date Palms by Shoot Tip Cultures

Shoot tips, 0.5 mm in length, of date palm (Phoenix daetylifera L.) were established on Murashige and Skoog (MS) inorganic salts and (per liter) 30 g sucrose, 0.4 mg thiamine HCl, 100 mg myo-inositol, 10 mg naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 3 g charcoal, and 8 g agar. After 8 weeks, tips were proliferated through axillary bud outgrowths on a liquid medium devoid of charcoal containing 0.1 mg/liter NAA and 10 mg/liter 6-benzylamino purine (BA). These additional shoots then could be rooted by reculture to an agar medium devoid of BA containing 0.1 mg/liter NAA and successfully transferred to soil.