The Effect of Silver Nitrate (Ethylene inhibitor) on in vitro Shoot Development in Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Ethylene produced by tissue, callus and plantlets in closed vessels may lead to abnormal plantlet growth and branching in vitro. Silver nitrate (AgNO3) is known as an ethylene inhibitor. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of AgNO3 on potato plantlets with measuring several characters. The results showed that MS basal medium supplemented with AgNO3 resulted in an inhibitory effect on ethylene gas produced by potato plantlets. The response of the cultivars used showed genotypic dependence to different AgNO3 concentrations. In general, the best results for all cultivars were obtained from 5 or 10 μM AgNO3. On the other hand, the higher AgNO3 concentrations (25 and 50 μM) can be also used for cultivar Nicola and Desiree that initially had branching and abnormal plantlet growth.