MASS PROPAGATION OF POTATO TUBERS USING JAR FERMENTOR TECHNIQES

Potato plantlets were maintained in vitro successfully by transfering the nodal segments onto MS medium.

The process of tuber propagation consists of two phases.
These phases are shoot multiplication and tuber formation respectively.
In the first phase, shoots were multiplicated in MS medium containing 3% sucrose under continuous light.
In the next phase, tubers were induced in MS medium containing 9% sucrose under continuous darkness.

The culture conditions in the shoot multiplicating phase severely affected the induction of tubers.
When shoots were grown in the aerial part of a jar fermentor in this phase, tubers were induced efficiently in the next phase.
In contrast, when shoots were grown in completely submerged conditions, tuber induction was repressed in the next phase.
This shows that the number of tubers produced in a jar fermentor can be controlled by the medium surface level in the shoot multiplicating phase.