Agronomy and Horticulture Department

 

Date of this Version

Summer 8-2014

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science, Major: Horticulture, Under the supervision of Professor Paul E. Read. Lincoln, Nebraska: August, 2014

Copyright (c) 2014 Dongxue Shi,

Abstract

The branches and leaves of Salix matsudana ‘Golden Spiral’ , willow, grow in a twisted manner, which makes it an important bonsai plant. Its mature stems have potential for the woody cut floral industry. Corylus colurna ‘ Te Terra Red’, hazelnut, distinguished by red or purple leaves in the spring, has potential ornamental value in the horticulture industry for landscape use. Micropropagation of these two plants could provide more and healthier plantlets for rapid commercial scale-up by the nursery industry. Nas and Read Medium (NRM) is a newer medium developed specifically for hazelnut species by Nas and Read based on the composition of the seed. In this study, experiments were conducted to test whether NRM (with added plant growth regulators) is superior to other media such as Murashige and Skoog Medium (MS), Woody Plant Medium (WPM) and Driver-Kuniyuki Walnut medium (DKW) for shoot and root production of Salix and Corylus. The results showed that Salix explants grown in NRM with BA at 2.0mg/L and IBA at 0.05 mg/L produced a greater number of new shoots and longer stems. Explants grown in NRM with IBA at 0.05 mg/L produced more roots, which is necessary before transplanting to the soil. In addition, these plantlets exhibited deeper green color and acclimatized successfully into potential transplants. The hazelnut explants had a very high contamination rate and grew slowly on the various media. By improving disinfestation methods and by adding antibiotics in forcing solution and media, the contamination rate and browning rate can be decreased greatly.

Advisor: Paul E. Read

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