Evaluation of ammonium chloride as an alternative to ammonium nitrate in Murashige and Skoog medium for in vitro propagation of Musa acuminata (Sour banana)

Abstract

Sour banana (Musa acuminata) is one of the most important fruit crops worldwide. It is grown in the tropics and though most widely consumed there, is valued globally for its flavour, nutritional value, and year-round availability. Among various cultivation methods, plant tissue culture technology holds a significant place for sour banana propagation. Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium is the most popular standard basal salt medium used for in vitro propagation of sour banana. One of the main problems currently faced by the tissue culture sector is the increased price of Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3), which provides the nitrogen source in MS medium. This study aimed to evaluate the proliferation performance of banana using Ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) as an alternative nitrogen source, considering the rising cost of plant production. The experiment was laid out a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with nine NH4Cl treatments (0.25–12.0 g/L) and a standard MS medium containing NH4NO3as the control. Data were analysed using ANOVA (Minitab 17) and treatment means were compared using Tukey’s test at the 0.05 significance level. When compared after eight weeks, the highest mean callus proliferation was reported in the treatment containing 0.5g/L NH4Cl. Plant growth rate and callus diameter were significantly higher in the control treatment, with means values of 6.1mm and 31.3mm respectively. A 200.5g higher mean callus wet weight and a 0.43g higher callus dry weight were also recorded in the control treatment. However, at concentrations above 6.0 g/L, NH4Clbecame toxic to callus and had adverse effects. Moreover, considering cost NH4Cl (Rs 7.00/L) is more cost effective compared to NH4NO3 (Rs 36.30/L). The use of NH4Cl in tissue culture media highlights the importance of embracing sustainability in callus proliferation and advancing scientific knowledge and discoveries.