EFFICIENCY OF ORGANOGENESIS IN PEPPER (Capsicum annuum L.) USING DIFFERENT EXPLANTS

In vitro regeneration from leaf, cotyledon and hypocotyl explants of three pepper cultivars, namely Ouskare hybrid, California Wonder and Anahem was achieved by direct organogenesis. California wonder cv. showed the best response while Anahem cv. showed the least response. Leaf and cotyledon explants regenerated more shoots than hypocotyl, maximum callus and bud were produced on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 5 mg/l IAA plus 5 mg/l BA. Elongation of shoot buds derived from different explants was achieved on MS medium containing 2.0 mg/l BA or 0.5 mg/l IAA plus 2.0 mg/l BA. Elongated shoots were excised and rooted on MS basal medium either without plant growth regulators or with 0.5 mg/l IBA or 0.2 mg/l NAA. Plantlets acclimatized and transplanted to soil in the greenhouse showed normal development and grew to maturity bearing normal fruits with seeds.