Control of lethal browning by using ascorbic acid on shoot tip cultures of a local Musa spp. (Banana) cv. Mzuzu in Tanzania

The use of ascorbic acid during explants preparation and the effect of different concentrations of ascorbic acid in controlling lethal browning and survival of the explants in local banana cv. Mzuzu banana were investigated. The explants were taken from young suckers. The shoot tips were cultured on Murashige and Skoog’s media supplemented with 5 mg/l of benzylaminopurine (BAP) and different concentrations of ascorbic acid (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l). Completely randomized design was used in this study. The results indicate that the use of ascorbic acid as an antioxidant during explants preparation significantly reduced the extent of lethal browning and survival of the explants followed by 100 mg/l of ascorbic acid applied directly into the media. Key words: Micro propagation, surface sterilization, survival of explants, tissue culture.