Abstract

A protocol for micropropagation and micrografting of shoots of olive (cv. Zard) was developed in Iran, because this variety of olive (cv. Zard) had difficult in proliferation. Three-week-old seedlings were used as rootstock. Lateral meristems (1 to 1.5 cm long), taken from olive (cv. Zard) mother plants, were cut and grafted onto healthy olive seedlings, micrografts cultured on OM medium culture with Zeatin. 7 to 10 days after grafting, callus formation was observed and by 15 days after grafting a strong union developed. Survival of the micrografted plants was always high, especially after the third successive phase of micrografts. After micrograft establishment, shoot elongation or number of new regenerated buds improved as a consequence of the repeated micrograft procedure. Shoots, which were regenerated from these explants, were transferred to OM medium with 2ip, where they multiplicated. Every six weeks, upper segments plantlets were cut in one-bud explants and transferred to new media where they were developed again in plantlets with micropropagation rate 1:4 and lower segments were used for micrografting again after four months.

Key words: Micrografting, micropropagation, rootstock, regeneration.