Efficient indirect induction of protocorm-like bodies and shoot proliferation using field-grown axillary buds of a Lycaste hybrid

This work presents a rapid and reliable micropropagation method for a Lycaste hybrid using a field-grown axillary bud culture system. Intact buds (2–4 mm in length) were excised from a mature pseudobulb and were cultured in half-strength MS basal medium, which was supplemented with 0.5 mg l−1 benzyladenine (BA), 1.0 mg l−1 thidiazuron (TDZ) and 2% (w/v) sucrose. After 2 months, the calli exhibited vigorous growth and eventually turned green, forming protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) originating in the surface of each callus. The results of this work reveal that the combination of 0.5 mg l−1 BA and 1.0 mg l−1 TDZ treatments was highly effective in indirectly multiplying shoots from callus-PLB mixed explants, which yielded up to 400 shoots in the fourth time subcultures (within 24 weeks). Histological observations showed the apical meristem of adventitious bud is based on a longitudinal section of a callus sample. Histological and scanning electronic microscopy also indicated that PLBs derived from calli could be regarded as organogenesis but not somatic embryogenesis. Shoots with a length of around 2–3 cm generated in vitro were excised and cultured in MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg l−1 IBA exhibited the best rooting response (78.3%), and an average of 1.8 roots per explant was produced within 4 weeks.