Effects of Gibberellic Acid and Kinetin on In Vitro Aseptic Shoot Tip Culture Establishment of Sugarcane (Saccharum Officinarum L.)Varieties Grown In Ethiopian Sugar Estates

In vitro aseptic culture establishment of sugarcane varieties using shoot tip explants was carried out with the objective to evaluate the initiation response of sugarcane varieties B41-227 and N14 under four levels of Gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) (0.1, 0. 5, 1 and 1.5 mgL -1 ) and kinetin (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 mgL -1 ) in a completely randomized design with 4 * 4 * 2 factorial treatment combination arrangements. Data on percent shoot tip explant initiation, number of shoots per explant and average shoot length were collected after 30 days. Analysis of variance proved that the interaction effects of GA 3 , kinetin and the sugarcane genotypes on percent initiation of shoot tip explants, number of shoots per explant and average shoot length was very highly significant (P < 0.0001).  Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.5 mgL -1 GA 3 and 1 mgL -1 kinetin  for B41-227 and 1 mgL -1 GA 3 and 1.5 mgL -l kinetin  for N14 were found to be optimum. These media could produce 83.33% establishment of shoot tip cultures with 3.0 ± 00 shoots per explant and 4.8 ± 0.54 cm average shoot length in B41-227 and 70% shoot tip cultures establishment with 2.9 ± 0.20 shoots per explant and 5.45 ± 0.29 cm shoot length in N14. Thus, the optimized protocol can be used for rapid initiation of aseptic shoot tip cultures of the sugarcane varieties that can be propagated successfully in the subsequent stages and hence minimize the current challenges in shortage of adequate quantity quality sugarcane planting materials in the Ethiopian Sugar Estates.