Plant Growth Regulators in the in Vitro Cultivation of Acmella oleracea (L.)

Abstract

Acmella oleracea is a tropical plant, typical of the northern region of Brazil. The species belongs to the Asteraceae family and has great therapeutic, pharmacological and industrial potential. A limiting factor for the production of this species on a large scale is the short life cycle. The tissue culture programs use synthetic hormones based on cytokinins, such as kinetin and benzylaminopurine (BAP) and auxins such as naphthalene acetic acid (ANA). The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of growth regulators on the production of Acmella oleracea "in vitro". The experimental test was carried out with control (C), without the addition of growth regulators and five treatments, composed of: (T1) 0.1; (T2) 0.3; (T3) 0.5 mg L^-1 kinetin; (T4) 0.1 mg L^-1 of BAP and ANA; (T5) 0.5 mg L^-1 of BAP and ANA. The experimental design was a completely randomized block in a factorial arrangement with six treatments, three blocks and twenty-five repetitions per block. The evaluated parameters were: germination, root formation, aerial part length, root length, aerial part fresh mass and root fresh mass, aerial part dry mass and root dry mass. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance (p <0.05) and compared using the Tukey test. The results showed that kinetin positively contributed to seed germination and aerial part dry mass development. Treatment 1 had the best results for the parameters root length, shoot length and root dry mass.