Effects of Culture Media and Plant Growth Regulators on Micropropagation of Hazelnut (Corylus colurna) and Willow (Salix matsudana)

Corylus colurna ‘ Te Terra Red’ distinguished by red or purple leaves in the spring, has potential ornamental value in the horticulture industry. The branches and leaves of Salix matsudana ‘Golden Spiral’ grow in a twisted manner, which makes it an important bonsai plant with potential for the woody floral industry. The micropropagation of the two plants could provide more and healthier plantlets for rapid commercial scale-up for the nursery industry. NRM is a new medium developed specifically for hazelnut species by Nas and Read based on the composition of the seed. These experiments were conducted to test whether NRM (with added plant growth regulators) is superior to other media (e.g, MS, WPM and DKW) in growing more shoots and roots. The results showed that Salix explants grown in NRM with BA at 2.0mg/L and IBA at 0.05 mg/L had a greater number of new shoots and longer stems. Explants grown in NRM with IBA at 0.05 mg/L produced more roots, which is necessary before transplanting to the soil. In addition, these plantlets exhibited deeper green color and acclimatized successfully into potential transplants. The hazelnut explants have a very high contamination rate and grow slowly on various media. By improving disinfestation methods and by adding antibiotics in forcing solution and media, the contamination rate and browning rate can be decreased greatly.