REGENERATION OF CITRUS VIA SHOOT APECIES
Viral damage is a major problem in citrus. As most citrus are asexually propagated, it is necessary to have an alternative way of regenerating virus-free plants from infected plants. Shoot apicies are the most suitable explant material for this purpose because that part of the plant is virus-free. Fifty sour orange shoot tips and 22 Swingle shoot tips, 1 mm - 1.5 mm long, were excised from in vitro germinated seedlings and cultured on semisolid Murashige and Skoog medium, without growth regulators, containing 0.2 % Gelrite. After 8-10 weeks, shoots and leaves developed in 68'% of the sour orange explants, and in 77% of the Swingle explants. Some explants produced roots, after 11-12 weeks, and could be removed from culture and established in soil medium.