Cedrela odorata
L. is one of the most important timber species currently traded in the Caribbean and Central America;
however, it has been intensively exploited.
In vitro techniques and clonal propagation can help to develop new plantations
and assist in establishing improvement programs for this species. The aim of this study was to develop a protocol to establish
in vitro conditions and to micropropagate this species from nodal explants from juvenile cuttings taken from field trees.
Disinfection of node explants with 5% propiconazole CE 25 during 3 min resulted in 100% explant disinfection and 60%
morphogenic response on those established explants. Shoot development was optimized by cultivating
in vitro node explants
in Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with 2 mg L
-1 6-bencilaminopurine and 3 mg L
-1 naphthaleneacetic
acid. This medium resulted in 100% shoot development from the
in vitro node explants with a 3.93 cm mean height.
Rooting was also stimulated 6 wk after individualization of the regenerated plants on the same micropropagation medium
with a mean of 3.9 roots per plant.
In vitro plants did not show morphologic differences when compared to
ex vitro seeds.
