Micropropagation of Alocasia amazonica using semisolid and liquid cultures

An efficient, simple micropropagation method was developed for Alocasia amazonica using corms in semisolid and liquid cultures. Explants were cultured onto Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium (Murashige and Skoog, Physiol. Plant. 15:473–497, 1962) supplemented with different cytokinins (Benzyladenine [BA, 2.22–13.32 μM], kinetin [2.32–13.95 μM], Thidiazuron [TDZ, 0.45–4.54 μM]) and cytokinin in combination with auxins [naphthalene acetic acid (NAA, 0.54–5.37 μM)/indole acetic acid (IAA, 0.57–5.71 μM)/indole butyric acid (IBA, 0.49–4.9 μM)]. All supplementary-induced shoot proliferation and the optimal results was on the medium supplemented with 2.27 μM TDZ, which induced 5.1 shoots per explant. Among the different concentrations of sucrose (0–120 g l⁻¹) tested for shoot proliferation, 30 g l⁻¹ was found suitable for corm cultures of Alocasia amazonica. The optimal shoot proliferation and biomass values were with the plantlets grown at 30 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) and 25°C. Liquid cultures found suitable for shoot proliferation and biomass accumulation was compared to semisolid cultures. Comparative studies of bioreactor systems [continuous immersion (with or without net) and temporary immersion in liquid media using ebb and flood] revealed that shoot multiplication and growth were greatest with the raft bioreactor system. Plantlets (cormlets) from the bioreactor were hydroponically cultured for 30 days, and 100% of plants were acclimatized successfully. The simple efficient method of production of plantlets (cormlets) is useful for large-scale multiplication of this important ornamental plant. An erratum to this article can be found at