Use of rocker bioreactor for propagation of the Vaccinium corymbosum L.

¹ Don State Technical University, 344003, Gagarina sq.1, Rostov-on-Don, Russia
² Southern Federal University, 344090, Bolshaya Sadovaya Str.105/42, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

^* Corresponding author: seredam@yandex.ru

Abstract

Plant biotechnology has the potential to meet the market demand for a significant number of seedlings. The current state of the industry is characterised by exemplary results in the field of micropropagation, with notable achievements observed in the cultivation of diverse plant crops, particularly berries. Nevertheless, certain aspects of this technology remain imperfect at the industrial level. The multiplication of microshoots of berry crops remains a costly process. The transition of numerous laboratories from semi-solid agar medium to liquid has resulted in a reduction in the costs associated with propagation. However, the majority of standard bioreactors are costly and frequently challenging to maintain. In the present study, a rocker-type bioreactor system for micropropagation of blueberries was tested using Vaccinium corymbosum L. ‘Pink Lemonade’ as an example. In comparison to the traditional method of micropropagation on a gel medium, the rocker-type bioreactor demonstrates superior outcomes. The multiplication coefficient of blueberry shoots was found to be approximately twofold higher when the liquid WPM medium was supplemented with 0.2 mg/l zeatin within the bioreactor, in comparison to the control variant cultivated on a semi-solid medium of identical composition. The shoots obtained in the bioreactor successfully completed the stages of rooting and acclimatisation to post-aseptic conditions.