Features of morphogenesis of garden blackberry varieties at the stage of actual micropropagation in vitro

Blackberries are a valuable berry crop. Currently, with the emergence of new varieties, interest in it has increased not only among amateur gardeners, but also among producers. Berries and planting material of this crop have mainly come and are coming to Russia from near and far abroad. Mass reproduction of high-quality planting material of blackberries is necessary for laying out plantings and studying new varieties, which requires the development of modern reproduction technologies using the in vitro tissue culture method. The purpose of the research was to study the morphogenetic potential of 10 modern varieties of garden blackberries at the stage of actual micropropagation. For this purpose, the DKW medium (Driver, Kuniyuki, 1984) was used in our modification containing various growth regulators – cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in a concentration of 2.5 and 3.0 μM and auxin indolyl-3-butyric acid (IBA) 0.25 and 0.3 μM and without auxin. The optimal composition of growth regulators (3 μM BAP without adding auxin) was established. The varieties were ranked by the main indicators: multiplication coefficient, proportion of shoots suitable for rooting, root formation, development of basal callus and vitrification of shoots. Blackberry varieties were divided into groups with high, medium and low levels of the main indicators. The multidirectional nature of the responses of the studied blackberry varieties to the cultivation conditions was shown. A statistically significant effect of the variety on all the studied morphogenesis indicators was established. The group of varieties Chester, Black Satin, Brzezina and Von stood out by the highest reproduction coefficient (12.5–9.5 pcs./explant). In terms of the yield of shoots suitable for rooting, the best varieties are Heaven Can Wait, Black Diamond, Black Satin, Bestberry (69.2–49.3%). The variety plays a key role in the nature and direction of morphogenesis, and the medium only allows its potential to be revealed.

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