Available online at www.sciencedirect.com science /^direct' BIOTECHNOLOGY Advances ELSEVIER In vitro propagation of rose—a review Pratap Kumar Patia'*, Siba Prasad Rathb, Madhu Sharma0, Anil Sood Paramvir Singh Ahuja0 a Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143 005, India EG. Department of Botany, Utkal University, Vanivihar, Bhubaneswar-751004, India ° Division of Biotechnology, Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur-176 061 (H.P.), India Received 15 November 2004; received in revised form 9 May 2005; accepted 5 July 2005 Available online 5 October 2005 Abstract In vitro propagation of rose has played a very important role in rapid multiplication of cultivars with desirable traits and production of healthy and disease-free plants. During the last several years, different approaches have been made for in vitro propagation of rose. Micropropagation using apical buds or nodal segments and understanding the specific requirements at different stages has been comprehensively covered in literature. New challenges for refinements of protocols for high rate of shoot multiplication and development of cost effective methods has gained importance in the recent past. Importance of liquid static culture for shoot proliferation and root induction for rose is also discussed in the present review. Further, the development of protocol for in vitro plant regeneration which is considered as most important step for successful implementation of various biotechnological techniques used for plant improvement programmes has been adequately addressed in literature. In rose, there are several reports which indicate rapid regeneration and multiplication through organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis. On the whole, the present review gives a consolidated account of in vitro propagation in rose. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Rose; In vitro; Liquid medium; Shoot multiplication; Root induction; Rooting vessel; Micropropagation; Regeneration; Somatic embryogenesis Contents 1. Introduction...................................................... 95 2. Micropropagation................................................... 95 2.1. Stages involved in micropropagation...................................... 95 2.1.1. Initiation of aseptic cultures...................................... 95 2.1.2. Shoot multiplication.......................................... 98 2.1.3. Rooting of microshoots........................................ 100 2.1.4. Acclimatization and field establishment................................ 108 Abbreviations: BAP, 6-benzyl aminopurine; IBA, indole-3-butyric-acid; NAA, a-naphthalene acetic acid; TDZ, Thidiazuron; IAA, indole-3-acetic acid. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: pkpati@yahoo.com (RK. Pati). 3. Plant regeneration.......... 3.1. Organogenesis......... 3.1.1. Indirect organogenesis 3.1.2. Direct organogenesis . 3.2. Somatic embryogenesis . . . . 4. Conclusions............. References................. 1. Introduction Rose is one of the most important commercial crops. It is generally propagated by vegetative methods like cutting, layering, budding and grafting. Seeds are used for propagation of species, new cultivars and for production of rootstocks (Horn, 1992). Although propagation by vegetative means is a predominant technique in roses, yet it does not ensure healthy and disease-free plants. Moreover, dependence on season and slow multiplication rates are some of the other major limiting factors in conventional propagation. In the last few years, in vitro propagation has revolutionized commercial nursery business (Pierik, 1991). Significant features of in vitro propagation procedure are its enormous multiplicative capacity in a relatively short span of time; production of healthy and disease-free plants; and its ability to generate propagules around the year (Dhawan and Bhojwani, 1986). Martin (1985) demonstrated that, using this technology, up to 400,000 plants could be cloned, from a single rose on annual basis. Such a method has considerable implications for the rose breeder as it allows rapid multiplication of new varieties. Micropropagated plants are well suited for cut flower production as they are more compact (Onesto et al., 1985), branch better and sometimes yield more flowers (Reist, 1985). In addition, tissue culture derived dwarf roses used for pot plant production have a faster rate of growth, early flowering, and exhibit shorter shoots and more laterals than conventionally produced plants (Dubois et al., 1988). The history of rose tissue culture dates back to 1945, when Nobecourt and Kofier succeeded in obtaining callus and roots on the explanted buds. In the year 1946, Lamments for the first time reported the use of embryo culture in rose breeding. Studies were initiated by Nickell and Tulecke (1959) and Weinstein et al. (1962) to culture cells, cell suspension and calli with a view to understand differentiation and regeneration. The first shoot organogenesis from callus tissue was reported by Hill (1967) in a climbing Hybrid Tea rose 'The Doctor.' The earliest references of rose micropro-pagation were those of Jacob et al. (1969, 1970a,b) and 108 109 109 109 110 110 111 Elliott (1970) in R. hybrida cv Superstar and R. multi-flora, respectively. Since these pioneering efforts, a lot of data were generated and a number of papers have been published on different aspects of in vitro studies of rose with a greater emphasis on micropropagation. A consolidated account of tissue culture studies on rose is dealt with in the present review. 2. Micropropagation The most important technique in micropropagation is meristem proliferation wherein apical buds or nodal segments harbouring an axillary bud are cultured to regenerate multiple shoots without any intervening callus phase. Work on micropropagation of rose is summarized in Table 1. 2.1. Stages involved in micropropagation A successful micropropagation protocol proceeds through a series of stages, each with a specific set of requirements. These are (i) initiation of aseptic cultures, (ii) shoot multiplication, (iii) rooting of microshoots, and (iv) hardening and field transfer of tissue culture raised plants. 2.1.1. Initiation of aseptic cultures 2.1.1.1. Choice of explant. The choice of explant for initiation of culture is largely dictated by the method to be adopted for in vitro propagation. Explants with vegetative meristems are often suitable for enhanced axillary branching (Table 1). The most commonly used explant is a nodal stem segment, wherein the axillary bud is made to proliferate to form multiple shoots (Fig. la). The performance of nodal segments is much better than the shoot tips (Horn, 1992). Different parameters influence the initial stage of micropropagation. Mederos and Enriquez (1987) found that buds taken from softwood stem were more responsive than those from hardwood. Rout et al. (1989a) and Bressan et al. (1982) observed significant differences Table 1 In vitro propagation of rose using different explants Species/cultivars Explant Response Reference Rosa multiflora Rosa multiflora, Rosa indica Rosa hybrida cv. Forever Yours Rosa hybrida cvs. King's Ransom, Plentiful Parade, Fragrant Cloud, Lili Marlene, Garnet Yellow, Paul's Lemon Pillar Rosa hybrida cv. Improved Blaze and Gold Glow Rosa hybrida cv. Improved Blaze Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink, Rosa damascena, Rosa canina Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink Rosa hybrida cvs. Crimson Glory, Glenfiditch Rosa hybrida Rosa hybrida cv. Queen Elizabeth Rosa hybrida cvs. Landora, Virgo, Sea Pearl, Super Star, Happiness, Queen Elizabeth Miniature rose 'Rosamini' Rosa chinensis cv. Minima Hybrid Tea cv. Dr. Verhage Rosa hybrida cvs. Sweet Promise, Motrea Rosa banksiae, Rosa laevigata, Rosa odorata, Rosa rugosa, Rosa roxburghii, Rosa setigera, Rosa wichuraina Hybrid Tea rose cv. Peace Miniature rose 'The Fairy' Rosa centifolia Rosa x hybrida cv. Sonia Rosa damascena var. Jwala Rosa hybrida cv. Baronesse Rosa damascena and Rosa bourboniana apm Shoot multiplication Elliott, 1970 st Shoot multiplication Graifenberg et al., 1975 st Shoot multiplication, rooting Skirvin and Chu, 1979 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Davies, 1980 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Hasegawa, 1980 st Shoot multiplication Bressan et al., 1982 st Rooting Hyndman et al., 1982a st, am Shoot multiplication, rooting Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982a st Shoot multiplication, rooting Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982b am Shoot multiplication, rooting Barve et al., 1984 lb Shoot multiplication, rooting Sauer et al., 1985 apm Shoot multiplication, rooting Douglas et al., 1989 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Rout et al., 1990 apm, am Shoot multiplication, rooting Campos and Pais, 1990 st Shoot multiplication, rooting Chu et al., 1993 apm, am Shoot multiplication, rooting Voviatzi et al., 1995 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Marcelis van Acker and Schölten, 1995 st, lb Shoot multiplication, rooting Yan et al., 1996 st, am Shoot multiplication, rooting Ära et al., 1997 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Sahoo and Debata, 1997 am Shoot multiplication Ganga et al., 1998 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Singh and Syamal, 1999 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Kumar et al., 2001 am Shoot multiplication Carelli and Echeverrigaray, 2002 am Shoot multiplication, rooting Pati et al., in press am—axillary meristems; apm—apical meristems; lb—lateral bud; st—shoot tip. in the rate of shoot multiplication depending upon position of node on the stem in different cultivars of R. hybrida. The buds nearest to the apex and closest to the base of the stem exhibited the slowest rate of development, but those from the mid-stem region grew very rapidly. The potential of axillary bud outgrowth, which is related to position on the main axis, appears to be determined by a balance among several hormones (Sato and Mori, 2001). Further, the axillary buds in the mid-region of plants have the potential to grow; however, they cannot grow on intact plants due to apical dominance. Removing apical dominance could change this balance. The finding of Rout et al. (1989a) and Bressan et al. (1982) on the differences in the rate of shoot multiplication depending upon position of node on the stem could be understood in this context. Mederos and Enriquez (1987) have reported that the presence of petiole fragments in the nodal explants had inhibitory effect on shoot growth. This report was further endorsed by the work of Marcelis van Acker and Schölten (1995) in R. hybrida. Salehi and Khosh-Khui (1997) found that the explant length and diameter played significant roles in proliferation and shoot growth of miniature roses (R. chinensis cv. Minima), 'Little Buckaroo', 'Baby Masquerado' and 'Sourati'. They also reported that the best rates of shoot growth and proliferation were obtained in explants with a length of about 9.0-10.0 mm and diameter of about 3.0-3.5 mm. No such correlation was observed in Rosa damascena and R. bourboniana (Pati, 2002). Alekhno and Vysotskii (1986), while working with Hybrid Tea, Floribunda and miniature rose cultivars, reported that growing shoots in horizontal position during proliferation almost doubled the axillary branching as compared with growing shoots in vertical position. The increased axillary shoot proliferation by placing the explant in horizontal position could be attributed to greater uptake of the medium constituents due to increased contact with the medium (Mackay and Kitto, Fig. 1. (a-d) Micropropagation of Rosa damascena. (a) Axillary bud proliferation, (b) Shoot proliferation in liquid and agar-gelled medium, necrosis of shoots in gelled medium, (c) Rooting in liquid medium, (d) Hardened plants in pots. 1988). Similar results were also reported in pears (Lane, 1979) and liliac (Hildebrandt and Harney, 1983). 2.1.1.2. Sterilization. For initiation of aseptic cultures, a thorough knowledge of the physiological status and the susceptibility of the plant species to different pathological contaminants is required. In most of the explants, the commonly adopted procedure involves surface sterilization of initial explants with 70% (v/v) ethanol for 20-30 s followed by 0.1% HgCl2 for 5-7 min and rinsing in sterile distilled water (Rout et al., 1989a,b, 1990; Skirvin et al., 1990). However, Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982a,b), Skirvin and Chu (1979) and Hasegawa (1979) sterilized the shoot tips using sodium hypochlorite (5.25%) and "Tween 20" or Triton X (0.1%) for 5-10 min followed by washing in sterile distilled water. Salehi and Khosh-Khui (1997) used sterile solution of different antibiotics (gentamycin, ampicillin, tetracycline or amoxicillin) at different concentrations and duration for disinfection from internal contaminants. They noticed that use of an antibiotic solution before surface sterilization was unsuccessful. However, dipping in 100 mg/1 solution of gentamycin or ampicillin after surface sterilization resulted in the highest percentage of disinfected explants. Such difference could be understood as during surface sterilization, the exposed ends of the explants are removed leaving the fresh conducting tissue, which allows the antibiotic solutions to penetrate deep inside the tissue resulting in higher rates of disinfection. 2.1.1.3. Browning of the medium. Browning of the medium is the result of oxidation of polyphenols exuded from the cut surface of the explants which could be overcome by adding substances such as PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone), citric acid or ascorbic acid or resorting to frequent subculturing (Rout et al., 1999) or incubating cultures for a day or two in total darkness after inoculation as polyphenol oxidase activity was found to be induced by light (Pittet and Moncousin, 1981). Curir et al. (1986) stated that 3 days of culture on the medium containing charcoal followed by transfer to a fresh medium was highly effective in enhancing the growth of primary explants. 2.1.2. Shoot multiplication This is the most crucial stage of micropropagation. The success of a micropropagation protocol, to a large extent, depends on the rate and mode of shoot multiplication. Various factors that influence in vitro shoot multiplication in rose are listed below. 2.1.2.1. Species/genotypes/cultivars. Horn (1992) marked a clear effect of genotypes on in vitro propagation in different cultivars of Floribunda and Hybrid Tea rose. He observed that it was easy to propagate cultivars Kardinal and Lilli Marleen, whereas it was very difficult to propagate Anthena, Mercedes, Pasadena and Golden times. Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982a,b) observed that the rate of shoot multiplication of R. hybrida cvs. Tropicana and Bridal Pink, R. damascena and R. canina varied significantly in different subculture periods. While, cultivar Bridal Pink showed the highest number of shoots (5.5 ±0.2), R. canina had only 3.6 + 0.15 shoots. In R. damascena 5.1 ±0.18, and in Tropicana 4.4 ±0.27 shoots were produced per culture in a 4-week subculture period. Bressan et al. (1982) reported varied responses of two different cultivars of R. hybrida to BAP. At low concentrations of BAP (0.03-0.3 mg/1), the development of axillary buds was stimulated in cv. Gold Glow but not in cv. Improved Blaze. The influence of genotype on shoot proliferation could easily be interpreted by linking it with the recent progress in functional genomics of plants. Current studies indicate that there are genes responsible for increased number of bud initials and shoot proliferation. Moreover, the possible involvement of the gene in modulating hormone levels has also been reported (Tantikanjana et al., 2001). 2.1.2.2. Media. Murashige and Skoog's (1962) medium (MS) was found to be the most commonly used for rose propagation. Davies (1980) reported that the standard MS medium induced the best rates of shoot proliferation in different rose cultivars. However, the use of other media has also been reported. Pittet and Moncou-sin (1982) used Linsmair and Skoog's medium supplemented with BAP (0.5 mg/1) and IBA (0.1 mg/1) for shoot initiation. Norton and Boe (1982) also used Linsmair and Skoog's medium and obtained faster rates of proliferation with BAP (0.1-2.5 mg/1). Other media like Gamborg's and Lee and de Fossard's were used by Alekhno and Vysotskii (1986). Quorine Lepoivre (QL) and woody plant medium (WPM) were used for micropropagation of R. hybrida cv. Moneyway (van der Salm et al., 1994). 2.1.2.3. Inorganic salts and organic compounds. Av-ramis et al. (1982), Curir et al. (1986) and Valles and Boxus (1987) found higher multiplication rates in different species when the ammonium content of the medium was reduced. Davies (1980) investigated the effect of different nutrient salt concentrations on the multiplication of seven cultivars in R. hybrida. He also reduced (NH4)2 SO4 but found that unchanged MS salts proved to be the best. Bressan et al. (1982), however, mentioned a negative influence of low salt concentrations on vigor and viability of shoots in R. hybrida cvs. Improved Blaze and Gold Glow. The leaf yellowing and shoot tip necrosis could be controlled by doubling Ca concentration in the medium (Podwyszynska and Olszewski, 1995). Moreover, increasing the concentration of Ca, Mg, Fe and Mn in the medium markedly improved the quality of microshoots. The better performance of FeEDDHA, as compared to FeEDTA, was observed in R. hybrida (van der Salm et al., 1994). Martin et al. (1981) and Skirvin and Chu (1979) recommended the use of organic compounds of MS medium or with modifications, especially with respect to the vitamin concentration. 2.1.2.4. Carbohydrates. Sucrose (3%) was commonly used as a source of carbohydrate. In general for tissue culture, Murashige and Skoog (1962) also stated that the use of 3% sucrose is better than 2% or 4%. However, there are many accounts on the use of higher concentrations of sucrose both for shoot initiation and proliferation. Davies (1980) had used a range of sucrose concentration from 2 to 8% and indicated that 4 to 5% was the best for culture shoot tips of seven rose varieties. Choudhary (1993), on the other hand, indicated that there was not much difference in the proliferation of shoots in the variety Priyadarshini while using 3% or 4% sucrose. The use of glucose in the culture medium has also been reported in one case (Marcelis van Acker and Schölten, 1995). 2.1.2.5. Growth regulators. In vitro shoot proliferation and multiplication are largely based on media formulations containing cytokinins as a major PGR, whereas, in some cases, low concentrations of auxins and GA3 were also used (Table 2). Inclusion of BAP (1.0-10.0 mg/1) in the culture medium was essential for bud break and shoot multiplication of R. hybrida (Hase-gawa, 1980; Wulster and Sacalis, 1980). Bressan et al. (1982) reported maximum promotive effects with BAP as compared to 2-isopentyladenine (2-ip). Addition of IAA neither enhanced nor repressed shoot multiplication regardless of the BAP concentration. Barna and Table 2 Commonly used growth regulators for in vitro shoot proliferation in rose Species/Cultivars Growth regulators (mg/1) Reference BAP TDZ NAA IAA IBA GA3 Rosa hybrida cv. Improved Blaze 3.0 0.3 Hasegawa, 1979 Rosa hybrida cv. Forever Yours 2.0 0.1 Skirvin and Chu, 1979 Rosa hybrida 2.0 0.004 0.1 Davies, 1980 Rosa hybrida cvs. Improved Blaze 1.0-10.0 0.3 Hasegawa, 1980 Rosa canina 0.1-2.0 0.1-1.0 Martin et al., 1981 Rosa hybrida cvs. Improved Blaze, 1.0 0.3 Bressan et al., 1982 Gold Glow Rosa indica cvs. Major, Lusambo 2.0 Avramis et al., 1982 Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink, 1.0-2.0 0.1 Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982a Rosa damascena, Rosa canina Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink 1.0-2.0 0.05-0.15 Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982b Rosa persica x xanthina 1.0-2.0 0.005 Tweddle et al., 1984 Rosa hybrida cvs. Duftwolke, Iseta 2.0 0.1 Sauer et al., 1985 Rosa hybrida 0.22- -2.20 Barna and Wakhlu, 1995 Cut rose cv. Samantha 2.0 0.1 He et al., 1996 Rosa hybrida cv. Crimson Glory 2.0 0.02 0.01 Syamal and Singh, 1996 Miniature rose 'The Fairy' 0.25 0.1-0.25 0.25 Sahoo and Debata, 1997 Rosa hybrida cv. Sonia 2.0 0.1 0.01 Singh and Syamal, 1999 Rosa damascena var. Jwala 0.22 or 0.55 Kumar et al., 2001 Rosa hybrida cv. Baronesse 3.0 0.5 Carelli and Echeverrigaray, 2002 Rosa damascena and Rosa bourboniana 1.12 Pati et al., in press Wakhlu (1995) and Kumar et al. (2001) have reported the use of thidiazuron (TDZ) in the micropropagation of R. hybrida and R. damascena var. Jwala, respectively. Another report indicated that the presence of cytokinin in the culture medium helped in the year round multiplication of shoots in hybrid roses (Rout et al., 1990). They observed a high percentage of bud break in a hormone-free medium within 10-12 days but the rate of growth was found to be very poor. Media supplemented with BAP or BAP + GA3, however, induced early bud break within 6-8 days of culture with enhanced rates of shoot multiplication. Addition of BAP (2.0-3.0 mg/1) as the only growth regulator in the culture medium resulted in feeble callusing at the cut ends of the explants and the shoot elongation was considerably slow with 4.26 ± 0.23 shoots per explant in a 60-day culture period and the explant response varied from 63 to 80%. Incorporation of GA3 at low concentrations (0.1-0.25 mg/1) in the BAP supplemented medium improved explant response up to 95% with more than seven shoots per explant. Vijaya et al. (1991) reported that BAP was the most effective growth regulator in stimulating shoot proliferation. Further they investigated the use of 3 auxins in combination with BAP and found that NAA was more effective than IAA or IBA in the production of multiple shoots. Pati et al. (2001) optimized the BAP concentration at 5 |iM for shoot proliferation in R. damascena and R. bourboniana. Micropropagation of rose has also been reported to be influenced by ethylene concentration. Kevers et al. (1992) reported that pulse treatments of ethylene enhanced shoot proliferation with 5 ppm concentration being the most favourable. Ethylene also inhibited shoot elongation. Similarly, Horn (1992) reported that an increased ethylene level markedly increased senescence while reducing shoot growth but enhanced shoot number and fresh weight. Use of inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis, such as AVG (Aminoethoxy vinyl glycine) and C0CI2, increased multiplication rate by inducing more number of axillary shoots (Kevers et al., 1992). Gašpar et al. (1989), however, did not find any effect of AVG or C0CI2 on shoot proliferation. 2.1.2.6. Status of the medium. For plant tissue culture media, both agar and phytagel, which are natural polysaccharides with higher capabilities of gelation are commonly used as gelling agents. Their gels combine with water and absorb other compounds. Agar is most frequently used because of its desirable characteristics such as clarity, stability and its inertness (Ibrahim, 1994). However, phytagel, the alternative gelling agent, is increasingly being used because it forms a relatively clear gel and contains no contaminants (Pierik, 1987). Marginally higher multiplication rates in phytagel medium in R. damascena and R. bourboniana (Pati et al., in press) have been attributed to the above difference between the two gelling agents. A similar study in R. hybrida was carried out by Podwys-zynska and Olszewski (1995), where increased shoot length and fresh weight were observed in phytagel medium but phytagel was not recommended for use because of the poor quality of shoots. No such adverse effect of phytagel was observed by Pati et al. (in press), while working on micropropagation of R. damascena and R. bourboniana. While studying water status and growth of rose plants cultured in vitro, Ghashghaie et al. (1991) reported that vitrification impaired shoot proliferation in liquid medium and that the shoot multiplication was correlated with agar concentration. Chu et al. (1993) reported that the growth of miniature roses in liquid medium was greater as compared to those cultured in two-phase (solid-liquid) medium or solid medium alone. However, in our experiments with R. damascena and R. bourboniana (Pati et al., in press), the quantity of liquid medium was found to play an important role in shoot growth and multiplication which completely eliminated the possibility of vitrification and facilitated better quality shoots in terms of shoot length and thickness as compared to gelled medium (Fig. lb). The lowest multiplication rate was recorded in 40 ml medium, which could be due to hyperhydricity as a result of lower availability of oxygen and submergence of shoots. Alternatively, 20 ml medium was found to be most suitable with respect to optimal shoot proliferation as well as sustenance for up to 6-week subculture period (Pati et al., in press). A similar response was also observed in case of a miniature rose (Chu et al., 1993), bamboo (Godbole et al., 2002) and in tea (Sandal et al., 2001). Further, elimination of agar in the liquid medium reduces the cost (Sandal et al., 2001). Therefore, our effort in the complete elimination of agar in the multiplication medium, the use of lower volume of liquid medium, prolong the culture period and increased rate of multiplication of shoots in liquid medium all accounted for substantial cost reduction (Pati et al., in press). Moreover, better response in static liquid cultures could be ascribed to (1) a better contact between explants and the liquid medium which increases the availability of cytokinins and other nutrients in liquid state (Debergh, 1983), (2) dilution of any exudates from the explants in liquid medium (Ziv and Halevy, 1983), and (3) adequate aeration in liquid media which ultimately enhances growth and multiplication (Ibrahim, 1994). Further, the successful establishment of cultures in liquid medium has several other advantages (Smith and Spomer, 1995; Chu et al., 1993) and is an important step towards automation (Aitken-Christie et al., 1995). 2.1.2.7. Physical factors. 2.1.2.7.1. Light. Perusal of literature indicates that light intensity plays an important role for satisfactory shoot growth and 1 to 3 klux (ca. 16-46 |imol m~ s~ ) is reported to be sufficient for shoot proliferation in rose (Horn, 1992). Bressan et al. (1982) described that 17 |imol m~2 s~l for 12-14 h daily was optimal for shoot multiplication. Capellades et al. (1990), however, opined that cultured plantlets could resemble greenhouse grown plants if these were cultured under high light intensity (80 |imol m~2 s_1) as compared to the light intensity that is normally available inside the culture vessels (25 |imol m~2 s_1). Usually 16-h light duration from Gro-lux type white fluorescent lamps or a cool source of white light is provided in culture conditions. Davies (1980) observed that 16-h illumination showed better growth and multiplication than 8 h and this fact is further corroborated by the results of Bressan et al. (1982) which showed improvements following an increase in light period between 4 and 16 h. 2.1.2.7.2. Temperature. Leyhe and Horn (1994) recorded optimal shoot formation at 21 °C for different cultivars of R. hybrida. A similar observation was also made by Rout et al. (1999) where they noticed reduced shoot multiplication above 21 °C. However, many researchers have used a temperature of around 25 °C for shoot multiplication (Horn, 1992; van der Salm et al., 1996; Carelli and Eche-verrigaray, 2002). 2.1.2.7.3. Growth room and vessel humidity. Be-gin-Sallanon and Maziere (1992) reported that an increase of the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) of the growth room from 600 to 2000 Pa increased the air VPD inside the culture vessels. Under high evaporating conditions, the multiplication rate was significantly higher, leaves were small, light green and slightly epi-nastic. Shoots were long (1.5 ± 0.2 cm) and pink-green, due to the presence of anthocyanin pigments, thereby indicating a juvenile characteristic of the plants in vitro. 2.1.2.7.4. C02- Woltering (1990) reported that CO2 had a significant effect on the growth of in vitro rose shoots. Higher concentration of C02 (5%), coupled with low light, had a positive effect on plant growth. 2.1.3. Rooting of microshoots For any micropropagation protocol, successful rooting of microshoots is a pre-requisite to facilitate their establishment in soil. Considerable work has been done to enhance rooting efficiency in different rose varieties. Rooting of microshoots can be accomplished both under in vitro and ex vitro conditions. 2.1.3.1. In vitro rooting of microshoots. The in vitro rooting capacity depends on the interaction of internal and external factors (Hyndman et al., 1982a). These are described as follows. 2.1.3.1.1. Species/cultivars. According to Horn (1992), rooting response in rose was cultivar dependent and in certain species up to 100% success could be achieved. Kirichenko et al. (1991), while optimizing factors for in vitro multiplication of ornamental and essential oil bearing roses, reported that rooting of microshoots of the essential oil bearing roses was difficult as compared to the ornamental varieties. A similar kind of observation was also made by Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982a) where they reported a lower rooting ability in old world spp. (R. canina and R. damascena) as compared to R. hybrida. 2.1.3.1.2. Age and size of microshoots. Rooting also depended on the age and size of the microshoots. Rout (1991) compared the performance of microshoots 0.5-1.0 cm (4 weeks old); 1.5-2.0 cm (6 weeks old) and 2.0-2.5 cm (8 weeks old) of six cultivars of hybrid roses for their rooting response. Better rooting (92-98%) was achieved when 6-week-old shoots (1.5-2.0 cm) were dipped in IBA (1.0 mg/1) solution for 15-20 min before being placed in a sterile medium containing sand-FYM-soil mixture in the ratio of 2:1:1. 2.1.3.1.3. Media. Badzian et al. (1991) reported the use of MS medium with major elements reduced to one quarter to one third strength for root induction. Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982c) reported that half-strength MS medium supplemented with NAA (0.54 |iM) was adequate for inducing rooting in cv. Bridal Veil of hybrid rose. Sauer et al. (1985) reported that 10 different rose cultivars rooted within 10-14 days on one third strength of MS medium supplemented with IAA at 5.7 |iM. Subsequently, Douglas et al. (1989) achieved very high percentages of rooting in cv. Queen Elizabeth using long shoots (>2 mm) and by dilution of MS medium to one fourth strength without a growth regulator. 2.1.3.1.4. Inorganic salts. Relatively low salt concentrations in the medium are known to enhance rooting of microshoots (Murashige, 1979). Hyndman et al. (1982a) succeeded in enhancing root number and length of in vitro grown shoots of R. hybrida cv. Improved Blaze by lowering total nitrogen concentration of MS salts (6.0 to 7.5 mM) in the culture medium keeping other salt concentrations constant. Further, when the NO3/NH4 ratio increased from 0.1 to 3.0, there was an increase in the number of roots/explant. Hyndman et al. (1982a) demonstrated that a decrease in KNO3 and NH4NO3 concentration was the decisive factor for improving the rooting percentage. 2.1.3.1.5. Carbohydrates. Sucrose concentration acts as an enhancer of osmotic potential and also plays a vital role in root induction. Lakes and Zimmerman (1990) showed highest rooting percentage in apple on a medium with high osmolality. Rout et al. (1990) reported that rooting of microshoots was better on a solid medium as compared to the liquid medium. Damiano et al. (198 9) observed enhancement in in vitro rooting by using a double layered medium, i.e., agar-gelled medium with an upper layer of liquid medium. Lloyd et al. (1988) reported that excised microshoots rooted well on sor-barod plugs (Cellulose support plugs; Sorbarod, Baum-gartner Papiers SA, Switzerland) soaked in liquid medium. On an average, about 45% of shoots were rooted within 2 weeks of culture. It was further observed that root length was short in solid medium as compared to liquid medium (Ebrahim and Ibrahim, 2000). The retardation in root length in the solidified medium may be attributed to the relatively lower aeration in agar-gelled medium for good root development as indicated earlier by Davies (1980). However, Davies (1980) achieved 100% rooting in several cultivars of rose by using MS medium devoid of growth regulators but supplemented with 40 g/1 sucrose. Hyndman et al. (1982b) also observed more and larger roots with an increase in sucrose concentration from 87.64 to 262.93 mM. Suharsono (1995) observed that in different rose cultivars viz., Eterna G, Lancome T10 and La Jocande G2, root colour was influenced by the sugar used in the medium. It was white when the medium contained glucose and black when sucrose was used. In R. damascena and R. bourboniana, it was observed that besides the influence of PGRs, an increase in sucrose concentration resulted in a corresponding increase in the root length rather than root number (Pati et al., in press). Moreover, beyond 3% sucrose, browning of root tips occurred. Although, at this point of time, it is difficult to establish the reason, yet one of the reports in maize plant suggested that certain pigment synthesizing genes were switched on in the presence of sucrose (Jeannette et al., 2000) However, the same report indicated that no pigmentation was observed in the presence of sorbitol which was used as an osmoticum. This indicates that the darkening of the roots is due the presence of sucrose as carbohydrate not as osmoticum. Perhaps this explanation could also be extrapolated for browning of root tips in the presence of higher concentration of sucrose in R. damas- cena and R. bourboniana. Further, experimental evidence is required to establish this. When a comparison was made on rooting response in both agar-gelled and liquid media, there was only 5% rooting in the former and 85% response in liquid culture medium. Addition of mannitol (0.5 M) to an agar-gelled medium led to a marked increase in percent rooting up to 81%. A gradual decline of root induction beyond this concentration of mannitol indicated a clear correlation of the osmotic potential of the medium to root induction. Critical analysis of the liquid and agar-gelled medium with 0.5 M mannitol revealed that they had a similar osmotic potential. This distinct role of the osmotic potential in root induction clearly throws light on subtle differences in induction of roots between varieties that can now be easily managed by shifts in osmotic potential of culture media. This also reflects that agar-gelled media do not have an adverse effect on the cultures or inhibit rooting but they are at a lower osmotic potential than the liquid cultures. 2.1.3.1.6. Activated charcoal. Activated charcoal when added to the culture medium was found to have a remarkable positive influence on the rooting efficiency of cultured rose microshoots in cv. Folklore, wherein better rooting in terms of number of roots/shoot and root length was obtained (Wilson and Nayar, 1995). Moreover, addition of activated charcoal was found to reduce the days required for root initiation from 8.5 days to 7.5 days. 2.1.3.1.7. Growth regulators. In most of the earlier reports, varying concentrations of different auxins were used for root induction (Table 3). However, Skirvin and Chu (1979) induced rooting of microshoots on growth regulators free solidified medium. The roots were easily induced from excised mature microshoots on MS medium supplemented with low concentrations of auxins (IAA or IBA or NAA) in the range of 0.1-0.5 mg/1 (Hasegawa, 1979, 1980). Rooting of microshoots was also achieved by dipping the cut ends of shoots for a few hours in an aqueous solution of 1 mM of IAA instead of being continuously cultured on auxin containing medium (Collet, 1985). Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982c) reported the effect of different concentrations and combinations of auxins on root formation in R. hybrida cv. Bridal Pink. They also indicated that a combination of IAA (0.0-0.1 mg/1) and NAA (0.0-0.1 mg/1) was quite effective in induction of roots. Arnold et al. (1995) reported that microshoots of R. kordesii cvs. John Franklin and Champlain rooted well in MS medium with low or no auxin. Optimum rooting in cv. Champlain was achieved at a high concentration of IAA with low concentrations of salts or intermediate concentrations of IBA and NAA with low to medium concentrations of salts. Excised shoots of R. hybrida cv. Peace rooted well on Vi MS supplemented with 0.5 mg/1 IBA. A close scrutiny of literature indicates that rooting response with different auxins is also cultivar dependent and it is rather diffi- Table 3 Commonly used growth regulators for in vitro rooting in rose Species/cultivars Growth regulators (mg/1) Reference NAA IAA IBA 2,4-D GA3 Rosa hybrida cv. Improved Blaze Rosa hybrida Rosa canina Rosa indica Rosa hybrida cvs. Improved Blaze, Gold Glow Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink, Rosa damascena, Rosa canina Rosa hybrida cvs. Tropicana, Bridal Pink Rosa persica x xanthina Rosa hybrida cvs. Duftwolke, Iseta Rose cv. Folklore Cut rose cv. Samantha Rosa hybrida cv. Crimson Glory Miniature rose 'The Fairy' Rosa hybrida cv. Sonia Rosa damascena var. Jwala Rosa damascena and Rosa bourboniana Either 0.03-0.1 or 1.0 0.05-0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0-0.3 1.0 0.5 0.2 0.25 0.1 0.3 0.1-1.0 1.0 0.1-1.0 0.05 2.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.2 2.0 0.1 Hasegawa, 1979 Hasegawa, 1980 Davies, 1980 Martin et al., 1981 Avramis et al., 1982 Bressan et al., 1982 Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982a Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982b Tweddle et al., 1984 Sauer et al., 1985 Wilson and Nayar, 1995 He et al., 1996 Syamal and Singh, 1996 Sahoo and Debata, 1997 Singh and Syamal, 1999 Kumar et al., 2001 Pati et al., in press cult to induce rooting in oil bearing rose cultivars (Kirichenko et al., 1991). In R. damascena and R. bourboniana rooting was initiated as a two-step procedure where IBA (10 uM) was used in MS medium and in the second step the shoots were transferred to PGR free medium containing half strength of MS (Pati et al., in press). Chu et al. (1993) reported that micro-shoots of R. chinensis cultured in liquid medium with BAP were difficult to root and only shoots that were maintained on a medium without BAP developed roots. However, we observed that there was no difficulty in rooting of microshoots that are cultured in liquid medium supplemented with BAP (Fig. lc). 2.1.3.1.8. Culture vessel. The importance of culture vessel in plant tissue culture has been well established. McClelland and Smith (1990) showed that woody plant explants routinely produced denser shoot cultures when grown in larger vessels. The quality of individual shoots was significantly better, shoot length in many species was enhanced, and size of individual leaves also increased with increase in the size of vessel. The rooting potential for microshoots produced in large sized vessels was also substantially improved, probably in part due to enhanced leaf area and rooting co-factors present in these leaves as per their hypothesis. However, Mackay and Kitto (1988) found that culture vessels that were excessively large also inhibited shoot length compared to medium sized vessels. Campos and Pais (1990) emphasized the choice of a container to be fundamental in achieving a good rate of success on rooting of dwarf rose cultivars 'Rosamani.' They observed that the microshoots rooted in tubes were more vigorous and with better roots with higher survival percentage than those rooted in flasks. Kozai et al. (2000) suggested that the use of large culture vessels for commercial scale propagation could reduce production costs significantly Fig. 2. (a-c) Culture vessel for rooting of rmcroshoots of R. damascena. (a) Polypropylene box with bunches of shoots inserted in perforated platform with their cut ends touching the medium, (b) Perforated platform turned upside down to show profuse and healthy rooting of rmcroshoots. (c) Rooted microshoots after 42 days of incubation in rooting vessel. by reducing the labour cost nearly half that of conventional system. Considering the importance of culture vessel for efficient rooting of microshoots, a rooting vessel was designed and developed in our laboratory (Pati et al., in press; Patent File No. 0427 DEL2001, 23/03/01). Such unique microchambers with platforms had several advantages: (1) a large number of shoots could be rooted concurrently at any given time (Fig. 2a-c), (2) elimination of agar resulted in substantial savings in cost (6-fold cost reduction), (3) the use of liquid culture medium in the rooting vessel provided a suitable microenvironment for rooting of bunches of microshoots, (4) ease of operation because of having a large sized container with a perforated platform, (5) damage to roots was minimized as rooted plantlets could be easily pulled out, and (6) the shape of the vessel in the form of a box facilitates stacking of these boxes in a culture shelf and hence, saves on space, thereby reducing the cost of production. It has also been demonstrated that the period of incubation of microshoots in rooting vessel influenced the survival percentage of R. damascena plantlets under greenhouse conditions. Significantly higher survival percentage (96.66%) was observed after 6 weeks of incubation compared to the lowest (3.3%) after 1 week, suggesting a clear correlation of incubation period during root induction upon survival of plantlets during hardening or acclimatization (Pati et al., in press). 2.1.3.1.9. Physical factors. 2.1.3.1.9.1. Light. There are only a few reports on the role of culture environment such as light on rooting. Khosh-Khui and Sink (1982b,c) achieved about 84% rooting in cv. Bridal Pink rose with an illuminance of about 1.0 klux. They observed that higher illuminances (3.0 klux) inhibited rooting. Bressan et al. Table 4 Summary of work on indirect organogenesis in rose Species/cultivars Explant Response PGRs (mg/1) Media Reference Hybrid Tea rose ss c 2,4-D (0.05-5.0) and Unspecified Hill, 1967 The Doctor' sp coconut milk NAA (0.5), KN (0.2), GA3 (20.0) synthetic medium Rosa hybrida cv. ps c IBA KB Jacob et al., Super Star ads IBA (0.1), Kn (5.0) 1969 Rosa persica x ss c BAP (1.0-2.0), NAA MS Lloyd et al., xanthiana (0.1-0.3) 1988 c ads BAP (3.0), NAA (0.1-0.3) Rosa hybrida cv em c BAP (0.22), NAA (0.05) Modified Vi MS Burger et al., Bridal Pink ads BAP (1.0), NAA (0.01) 1990 Rosa damascena ss c NAA (1.86) MS gelrite 2.5 g/1 Ishioka and Tanimoto, 1990 c ads BAP (2.25), IAA (0.17) MS-NH4NO3 Rosa hybrida cv Is c BAP (0.5), NAA (0.1) Modified Vi MS Rout et al., 1992 Landora ss BAP (2.0), NAA (0.5) c ads BAP (0.2), NAA (0.01), GA3 (10-20) Modified Vi MS, Addl. 600 mg/1 proline/glutamine Rosa hybrida cv 1, r c BAP (3.0), NAA (0.2) MS Arene et al., Melrutral ads 1993 Rosa multiflora Is c TDZ (1.0) MS Rosu et al., 'Thornless' c ads 1995 Rosa hybrida cv Is, ss c 2,4-D (2.2-22.1) or MS Hsia and Korban, 1996 Carefree Beauty NAA (2.0-20.11) and Rosa chinensis c ads TDZ (5.0), GA3 (1.0) Í4MS cv. Red 'Sunblaze' and 'Baby Katie' ads—adventitious shoot; c—callus; em—excised embryo; 1—leaf; Is—leaf segment; ps—pith segment; r—root; ss-segment. -shoot primordial; ss—stem (1982), however, found that 66 |imol m~ s~ for 12- 14 h proved to be the best for rooting. Further, they observed better rooting in the microshoots by shading the lower portion of the culture vessels. Rooting enhancement was also noticed in cultures kept in total darkness (Norton and Boe, 1982). In R. damascena and R. bourboniana, root initiation decreased by 20% under light as compared to those in dark. Skirvin and Chu (1984) found that red light had a beneficial effect on the rooting of miniature roses. 2.1.3.1.9.2. Temperature. The effect of temperature on root emergence and final rooting percentage was assessed by Alderson et al. (1988). In cv. 'Dainty Dinah' on the IBA medium, roots emerged first at 25 °C and approximately 2 and 4 days later, at 20 °C and 15 °C, respectively. Horn (1992) obtained best rooting response at 21 °C and plants cultured at this temperature were also the most successful in the weaning stage. However, Rahman et al. (1992) stated that a temperature of 28 °C was optimum for in vitro rooting. 2.1.3.2. Ex vitro rooting Considerable attempts have also been made for root induction under ex vitro conditions. Pittet and Moncou-sin (1982) obtained 100% rooting of cultured shoots dipped in NAA (1.0 mg/1) for 1 h before planting these in perlite. Avramisetal. (1982) obtained 100% rooting in R. indica in peat vermiculite mixture after treating shoots for 5 days in a shaken mineral solution supplemented with NAA (5.5 mg/1) and sucrose (60 g/1). While treatment of shoots with IBA (50-100 mg/1) resulted in good rooting (Bini et al., 1983). Collet and Le (1987) also studied root induction in microshoots and found that a brief treatment of 16-h dip in 1 mM IAA gave good results as compared to long treatment of 7 days. 2.1.3.3. Comparison of in vitro and ex vitro rooting A comparison of in vitro and ex vitro rooting has been made by Rogers and Smith (1992) in miniature roses (R. chinensis cv. Minima). They indicated that after 18 days of treatment, either in vitro (MS medium +0.5 |iM NAA) or ex vitro (dipping in 0.1% IBA in a 1:1 -peat: sand mixture) resulted in 95-100% rooting in three cultivars (cvs. Ginny, Red Ace and Tipper). In contrast, in cultivar Debut, 73% of shoots rooted ex vitro as compared to 93% microshoots. However, ex vitro rooting produced longer and more number of roots with increased root area. Ex vitro roots were flexible, branched and had root hairs, whereas in vitro roots were brittle, unbranched and without root hairs. Table 5 Summary of work on direct organogenesis in rose Species/cultivars Explant source Induction Medium (PGRs mg/1) Regeneration Additional information Reference Rosa persica x xanthiana r - MS+BAP (2.0) Shoot bud arose from the region of pericycle of the root segment Lloyd et al., 1988 Rosa persica x xanthiana 1 MS+BAP (0.51) Shoots formed directly on the petiole and mid rib of leaflets Rosa laevigata Rosa hybrida 1 Following unpublished protocol Leffering and Kok, 1990 Rosa persica x xanthiana r MS+BAP (2.0) Shoot bud arose from the region of pericycle of the root segment Lloyd et al., 1988 Rosa hybrida cv. Melrutral 1 r - MS+BAP (2.2 uM) MS+BAP (8.9 uM) - Arene et al., 1993 Rosa hybrida cvs. l,pt Modified MS+BAP (0.5)+NAA Early and higher shoot Dubois and de Vries, Madelon, Only Love, MS+TDZ (0.01)+FeEDDAH (100) bud emergence in the 1995 Presto, Sonia, Tineke (1.5)+NAA (0.05)+casein hydrlysate (100) induction medium with AgNOi Rosa hybrida It MS+TDZ MS+BAP Addition of AgNOi Ibrahim and Debergh, (1.5) + IBA (0.1) (0.5)+IBA (0.01) enhanced regeneration 1999 Rosa damascena Pt Vi MS+TDZ MS+BAP Addition of AgNOi Pati et al., 2004 (1.5)+NAA (0.05) (0.5)+NAA (0.01). enhanced regeneration 1—leaf; It—leaflet; pt—petiole; r—root. Table 6 In vitro somatic embryogenesis in rose Species/cultivars Explant Response PGRs (mg/1) Media Reference Rosa hybrida cvs. Domingo, Vicket Brown, Tanja, Azteca Rosa hybrida Rosa hybrida cv. Landora Rosa hybrida cv. Melrutral Rosa rugosa Rosa hybrida cvs. Glad Tidings, Trumpeter 1, pt Embryogenic callus Embryo development f Callus induction Embryogenic callus Embryo development Somatic embryo maturation Somatic embryo germination ss, 1 Embryogenic callus Embryo development Somatic embryo germination 1, r Embryogenic callus Embryo development Ims Embryogenic callus Embryo development Embryo germination pt, r Embryogenic callus Embryo development Embryo maturation Embryo germination KN (0.1), NAA (0.05) or, KN (0.1),+NOA(0.1) 2,4-D (2.0), Zeatin (1.5) NAA (0.25), Zeatin (1.5), GA3 (1.5) GA3 (1.0), ABA (2.0) GA3 (1.0), ABA (0.2) BAP (0.5), NAA (1.0), 2,4-D (0.5-2.0) BAP (0.5), NAA (0.01), GA3 (0.1) BAP (0.5), GA3 (0.1) BAP (3.0), NAA (0.2) No PGRs No PGRs No PGRs 2,4-D (l^T) 2,4-D (1), ABA (1), GA3 (0.3) BAP (0.5-1.0), IBA (0.1) YiMS Modified B5 Modified MS Modified Vi N6 Í4MS Vi MS+L-proline (200-800 mg/1) Vi MS+Adenine sulphate (24.7 uM) MS MS MS, Fructose (0.1M) MS, sorbitol (0.1 M) MS or SH, L-proline (300-1200 mg/1) MS or SH, L-proline (300-600 mg/1) MS or SH, Maltose (30 g/1), Agarose (4 g/1) de Wit et al., 1990 Noriega and Sondahl, 1991 Rout et al., 1991 Arene et al., 1993 Kunitake et al., 1993 Marchant et al., 1996 Rosa hybrida cv. Carefree Beauty and Rosa chinensis cv. Red 'Sunblaze' and 'Baby Katie' Rosa hybrida cv. Arizona Rosa hybrida cv. Moneyway Rosa hybrida cv. Soraya, Baccara, Mercedes and Ronto Rosa hybrida cv. Soraya 50 different rose cultivars of Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Miniature roses, shrubs, ramblers, rootstocks and wild species Rosa hybrida L. 4th of July 1, ss Pt adr Embryogenic callus Embryo Embryo Embryo Embryo Embryo; Embryo Embryo Embryo; Embryo Embryo Embryo Embryo; Embryo Embryo Embryo Embyogi Embryo Embryo development »enic callus maturation germination genie callus development germination genie callus develoment maturation germination »enic callus development maturation germination enic callus development germination Embryogenic callus Embryo development Embryo germination 2,4-D (2.2-22.1) or NAA (2.0-20.11) TDZ (5.0), GA3 (1.0) 2,4-D (0.022), 2-iP (2.45) ABA (0.25) NAA (0.5), Phloroglucinol (100) 2,4-D (11.0) No PGR BAP (4.44-6.75), IBA (0-0.1) p-CPA(lO.O), KN(1.0) BAP (1.17), IAA (1.0) p-CPA(lO.O), KN(1.0) BAP (1.17), IAA (1.0) 2,4-D or NAA Zeatin or TDZ IBA (0.1), BAP (2.0), GA3 (0.1) 2,4-D (1.0) or NAA(l.O) Zeatin (4.0) BAP (1.0) MS Í4MS Modified MS Modified Vi MS Í4MS SH MS MS+Nicotinic acid (0.1)/Cystein (10) MS MS Hsia and Korban, 1996 Murali et al., 1996 van der Salm et al., 1996 Kintzios et al., 1999 Kintzios et al., 2000 Dohmet al., 2001 Kim et al., 2003 adr—adventitious roots; f—filament; ims—immature seed; 1—leaf; Is—leaf segment; pt—petiole; r—root; ss—stem segment. Moreover, ex vitro rooting is a one-step procedure comprising of both rooting and hardening (Taslim and Patel, 1995), facilitating early transplantation to soil. 2.1.4. Acclimatization and field establishment The successful acclimatization of micropropagated plants and their subsequent transfer to the field is a crucial step for commercial exploitation of in vitro technology. However, the acclimatization of micropropagated roses was reported to be a difficult procedure because of rapid desiccation of plantlets or their susceptibility to diseases due to high humidity (Messeguer and Mele, 1986). Preece and Sutter (1991) and Sutter et al. (1992) have reviewed acclimatization of micropropagated plants in the greenhouse and in the open field. Smith et al. (1992) developed a new method of in vitro hardening of micropropagated rose plants. They developed a commercial kit, which consisted of cellulose plugs (sorbarods), for support and protecting the roots during transfer to soil, and ventilated culture vessel to improve the resistance of the plantlets to desiccation. The plantlets thus grown showed better survival when transferred to ex vitro conditions. Douglas et al. (1989) reported that the rooting of micropropagated plants improved significantly in the compost before they were precultured for 2 weeks in vitro on sorbarods soaked in liquid medium containing IAA. Sorbarods provided the necessary protection and facility for proper handling of the microshoots and helped in the production of larger roots, which facilitated 100% successful establishment. Roberts et al. (1992) reported that the use of sorbarod transplantation plugs and growth retardants in the culture medium reduced endogenous gibberellins and prevented wilting of in vitro grown rose plantlets when transferred to soil, resulting in their better survival. Davies (1980) achieved 15-85% rooting in a mixture of coarse perlite, peat and loam (2:2:1) depending upon the cultivar. Campos and Pais (1990) reported that about 83-100% of plantlets of dwarf rose cultivar Rosamini established well in soil within 45 days of transfer. The survival rate was higher than that reported in many other rose species (Khosh-Khui and Sink, 1982a,b; Dubois et al., 1988). Relative humidity (RH) plays a crucial role in acclimatization and survival of tissue culture raised plants. The percentage survival of the micropropagated hybrid roses cvs. Landora, Queen Elizabeth, Virgo, Sea pearl and Happiness varied from 92 to 98% when transferred to the greenhouse at 80-85% RH and planted in earthen pots containing sand: soikFYM::2:1:1 (Rout et al., 1989a). On the other hand, Bhat (1992) described a procedure where plantlets were acclimatized by incubating initially at 70-80% RH for 3 days before planting in ver-miculite, in which 95% survival was recorded. Plants were transferred to earthen pots containing a 1:1 ::soil:leaf mould mixture and kept outdoors with 75.6% survival. CO2 enriched environment and high photo synthetic photon flux density (PPFD) can increase photosynthet-ic capacity and improve the acclimatization of plantlets under ex vitro conditions, even if they have no roots (Gourichon et al., 1996). In our study (Pati, 2002), these limitations were overcome by formulating a strategy for the transfer of plantlets to the hardening chamber. Large numbers of plantlets are normally transferred during the month of October to March when the ambient RH recorded to be 52% (Palampur conditions; 1300 m above msl, 32°6'N; 76°33'E), and hence, chances of disease infestations are less. Further, keeping the transplanted microshoots in a specially designed hardening chambers enriched with CO2 (20/11 x 10~~ mol P to 80/13 x 10~7 mol P ) favoured survival up to 96.66%. Age of the microshoots was also found to be important for the establishment of rooted plantlets (Horan et al., 1995). Our study (Pati et al., in press) indicates that the period of incubation of microshoots in rooting vessel also influenced the survival percentage of R. damascena plantlets under greenhouse conditions (Fig. Id). Significantly higher survival percentage (96.66%) was observed after 6 weeks of incubation compared to the lowest (3.3%) after 1 week, suggesting a clear correlation of incubation period during root induction upon survival of plantlets during hardening or acclimatization. 3. Plant regeneration In vitro plant regeneration is often the most important step for successful implementation of various biotechno-logical techniques used for plant improvement programmes. Induction of adventitious shoots and regeneration from callus cultures are of importance for somaclonal variation and, therefore, for breeding. Further, explants can also be treated with mutagens, after or prior to explanting, in order to obtain new genotypes by mutation (Horn, 1992). In rose, there are many reports which indicate rapid regeneration and multiplication through organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis (Tables 4-6). 3.1. Organogenesis indirect organogenesis with a variety of species/culti-vars and different explants is presented in Table 2. 3.1.1. Indirect organogenesis Hill (1967) reported the formation of shoot primor-dia on calli derived from stem explants of Hybrid Tea rose cv. The Doctor Since then, many workers have successfully induced shoot bud regeneration in rose by employing appropriate combinations of auxins and cytokinins. Summary of research work pertaining to 3.1.2. Direct organogenesis There are few reports on direct regeneration of adventitious buds in Rosa (Table 3). These reports indicate that shoot regeneration response in the genus Rosa has been obtained from roots, leaves, leaflets and petioles (Lloyd et al., 1988; Leffering and Kok, 1990; Arene et In vitro raised microshoots Pilin ned mi croshoots Newly proliferated microshoots '/: MS+TDZ (6.8 flM)+ NAA (0.27 uMHSucrose (3%)+ Transfer to AgNO, (3mg/l) regeneration medium (7. 14,21,28, 35 day intervals) Transfer to induction medium MS+BA P(5u.M) + Sucrose 09c Hardened Plants in greenhouse Fig. 3. Direct regeneration protocol from leaf explants of R. damascena. al., 1993; Dubois and de Vrieš, 1995; Ibrahim and Debergh, 1999). Further, studies on direct organogenesis in the genus Rosa show the preponderance of use of TDZ in inducing shoot morphogenesis on leaf explants. On perusal of literature, it is also deduced that AgN03 has enhanced the regenerative potential of the leaf explants (Dubois and de Vries, 1995). However, all these observations have been on ornamental roses. We report that similar regeneration response can be evinced on leaf petioles for R. damascena wherein TDZ was effective in inducing shoot morphogenesis and AgN03 hastened the regeneration response by at least a week. It also highlights the importance of in vitro pruning for obtaining uniform explants after 4 weeks of pruning. Another feature of this study is the determination of hypodermal origin of the regeneration response from histological sections (Pati et al., 2004). In our study (Pati et al., 2004), the regeneration response was evinced from leaf petioles of R. damascena (Fig. 3). Base of the petiole was recognized as the regeneration site in R. hybrida (Dubois and de Vries, 1995) and many other members of the family Rosaceae viz. Prunus canescens (AntoneHi and Druart, 1990), Rubus idaues (Cousineau and Donelly, 1991), Prunus armeniaca and Prunus domestica (Escalettes and Dosba, 1993). The regenerative capacity at the base of petiole, however, could be ascribed to (a) basipetal transport of endogenous auxins and/or carbohydrates (Dubois and de Vries, 1995) and (b) position of the regenerative target cells (Margara, 1982). It was also found that addition of AgN03 to the induction medium advanced the emergence of shoot buds by 1 week. The above response could be attributed to the inhibition of ethylene synthesis by AgN03. Moreover, ethylene plays an important role in in vitro regeneration response of many crops (Cambecedes et al., 1991; Escalettes and Dosba, 1993; Table 5). 3.2. Somatic embryogenesis Different explants such as leaf, petiole, stem and even filaments have been used for somatic embryo induction in scented roses and the medium was supplemented with varied concentrations of PGRs (Table 6). However, in R. rugosa, where immature seeds were used as explants, no PGRs were used in the medium for embryo induction and embryo germination (Kunitake et al., 1993). However, in R. bourboniana, somatic embryogenesis was induced from zygotic embryos in MS medium supplemented with 2,4-D (5-15 |iM) (Fig. 4; Pati, 2002). Somatic embryos thus formed germinated to form plantlets when transferred to MS medium supplemented with BAP (5 |iM) (Table 6). 4. Conclusions Rapid multiplication of elite clones, production of healthy and disease-free plants and faster introduction of novel cultivars with desirable traits are of urgent need in rose improvement programme. In this regard, in vitro propagation techniques are likely to play a vital role. At present, there are many reproducible protocols for in vitro propagation of rose. However, the new challenges that are faced today by the tissue culture industry include cost efficiency, automation, control and optimization of the micro environment, etc. It is, therefore, important to bring about further improvements in the existing tissue culture protocols. The recent trend in shift of the status of the medium from agar-gelled to liquid medium is a strategic step in this direction. The effective use of liquid medium during shoot multiplication and as rooting as well is a cost effective proposition and a step towards automation and commercialization. In vitro propagation of Fig. 4. Somatic embryogenesis from zygotic embryos in R. bourboniana. rose via somatic embryogenesis offers a great potential for rapid propagation and improvement, and direct regeneration protocols using leaf explants from in vitro raised shoots could be effectively used in maintaining the clonal fidelity of elites and in genetic transformation programmes. References Aitken-Christie J, Kozai T, Takayama S. Automation in plant tissue culture General introduction and overview. In: Aitken-Christie J, Kozai T, Smith MAL, editors. Automation and environmental control in plant tissue culture. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1995. p. 1-15. Alderson PG, McKinless J, Rice RD. Rooting of cultured rose shoots. ActaHortic 1988;226:175-82. Alekhno GD, Vysotskii VA. Clonal micropropagation of roses. Fiziol Biokhim Kul't Rast 1986;18(5):489-93. Antonelli M, Druart PH. The use of a brief 2,4-D treatment to induce leaf regeneration on Prunus canescens. Bois Acta Hortic 1990;280:45-50. Ara KA, Hossain MM, Quasim MA, Ali M, Ahmed JU. Micropropagation of rose (Rosa sp cv). Plant Tissue Cult 1997;7:135-42. Arene L, Pellegrino C, Gudin SA. Comparison of the somaclonal variation level of Rosa hybrida L cv Meirutral plants regenerated from callus or direct induction from different vegetative and embryonic tissues. Euphytica 1993;71:83-90. Arnold NP, Binns MR, Cloutier CD, Barthakur NN, Pellerin R. Auxins, salt concentrations and their interactions during in vitro rooting of winter—hardy and hybrid tea roses. Hortic Sei 1995;30(7): 1436-40. Avramis T, Hugard J, Jonard R. La multiplication in vitro du Rosier porte-greffe Rosa indica major. C R Acad Sei Paris 1982; 294:63-8. Badzian T, Hennen GR, Fotyma-Kern J. In vitro rooting of clonal propagated miniature rose cultivars. Acta Hortic 1991;289:329- 30. Barna KS, Wakhlu AK. Effects of thidiazuron on micropropagation of rose. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Plant 1995;31(l):44-6. Barve DM, Iyenr RS, Kendurkar S, Mascarenhas AF. An efficient method for rapid propagation of some budded rose varieties. Indian J Hortic 1984;41:1-7. Begin-Sallanon H, Maziere Y. Influence of growth room and vessel humidity on the in vitro development of rose plants. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1992;30:121-5. Bhat MS. Micropropagation in rose. Indian Hortic 1992;37:17-9. Bini G, Leva ARC, Nicese FP. Studies on micropropagation of rose. Riv Ortoflorofruttic Ital 1983;67:1-13. Bressan PH, Kim YJ, Hyndman SE, Hasegawa PM, Bressan RA. Factors affecting in vitro propagation of rose. J Am Soc Hortic Sei 1982;107:979-90. Burger DW, Liu L, Zary KW, Lee CI. Organogenesis and plant regeneration from immature embryos of Rosa hybrida L. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1990;21:147-52. Cambecedes J, Duron M, Decourtye L. Adventitious bud regeneration from leaf explants of the shrubby ornamental honeysuckle, Loni- cera nitida Wils cv 'Maigrün: effects of thidiazuron and 2,3,5- trioidobenzoic acid. Plant Cell Rep 1991;10:471-4. Campos PS, Pais MSS. Mass propagation of the dwarf rose cultivar 'Rosamini'. Sei Hortic 1990;43:321-30. Capellades M, Fontarnau R, Carulla C, Debergh P. Environment influences anatomy of stomata and epidermal cells in tissue cultured Rosa multiflora. J Am Soc Hortic Sei 1990;115:141-5. Carelli BP, Echeverrigaray S. An improved system for the in vitro propagation of rose cultivars. Sei Hortic 2002;92:69-74. Choudhary ML. Rapid propagation of Indian bred rose cultivar Triyadarshini' by axillary bud proliferation. Progress Hortic 1993;2(124):168-72. Chu CY, Knight SL, Smith MAL. Effect of liquid culture on the growth and development of miniature rose (Rosa chinensis). Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1993;32:329-34. Collet GF. Enracinement ameliore lors de la production in vitro de rosiers. Rev Suisse Vitic Arboric Hortic 1985;17:259-63. Collet GF, Le CI. Role of auxin during in vitro rhizogenesis of rose and apple-trees. Acta Hortic 1987;212(l):273-80. Cousineau JC, Donelly DJ. Adventitious shoot regeneration from leaf explants of tissue cultured and green house grown raspberry. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1991;27:249-55. Curir P, Damiano C, Cosmi T In vitro propagation of some rose cultivars. ActaHortic 1986;189:221-4. Damiano C, Curir D, Esposito P, Ruffoni B. Present micropropagation research programs at ISF in Sanremo. Acta Hortic 1989;251:129-33. Davies DR. Rapid propagation of roses in vitro. Sei Hortic 1980;13:385-9. Debergh PC. Effects of agar brand and concentration on the tissue culture medium. Physiol Plant 1983;59:270-6. de Wit JC, Esendam HF, Honkanen JJ, Tuominen U. Somatic embryogenesis and regeneration of flowering plants in rose. Plant Cell Rep 1990;9:456-8. Dhawan V, Bhojwani SS. Micropropagation in crop plants. Glimpses Plant Res 1986;7:1-75. Dohm A, Ludwig C, Nehring K, Debener T Somatic embryogenesis in roses. Acta Hortic 2001;547:341-7. Douglas GC, Rutledge CB, Casey AD, Richardson DHS. Micropropagation of Floribunda, ground cover and miniature roses. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1989;19:55-64. Dubois LAM, De Vries DP. Preliminary report on the direct regeneration of adventitious buds on leaf explants of in vivo grown glass house rose cultivars. Gartenbauwissenschaft 1995;60(6): 249-53. Dubois LAM, Roggemans J, Soyeurt G, De Vries DP. Comparison of the growth and development of dwarf rose cultivars propagated in vitro and in vivo by softwood cuttings. Sei Hortic 1988;35:293-9. Ebrahim MKH, Ibrahim AI. Influence of medium solidification and pH value on in vitro propagation of Maranta leuconeura cv Kerchoviana. Sei Hortic 2000;86:211-21. Elliott RF. Axenic culture of meristemtips of Rosa multiflora. Planta 1970;95:183-6. Escalettes V, Dosba F. In vitro adventitious shoot regeneration from leaves of Prunus spp. Plant Sei 1993;90:201-9. Ganga M, Irulappan I, Chezhiyan N. Standardisation of chemical environment for multiple shoot induction from axillary buds of the rose (Rose centifolia Linn). South Indian Hortic 1998; 46:161-3. Gašpar T, Kevers C, Bouillenne H, Maziere Y, Barbe JP. Ethylene production in relation to rose micropropagation through axillary budding. Adv Agric Biotechnol 1989;26:303-12. Ghashghaie J, Brenckmann F, Saagier B. Effects of agar concentration on water status and growth of rose plants cultured in vitro. Physiol Plant 1991;82:73-8. Godbole S, Sood A, Thakur R, Sharma M, Ahuja PS. Somatic embryogenesis and its conversion into plantlets in a multipurpose bamboo, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees et Arn Ex Munro. Curr Sei 2002;83:885-9. Gourichon GC, Sail Anon H, Coudret A. Effect of sucrose, agar, irradiance and C02 concentration during the rooting phase on the acclimatization of Rosa hybrida plantlets to ex vitro conditions. Photosynthetica 1996;32(2):263-70. Graifenberg A, Giustiniani L, Papandreou A. In vitro culture of shoot apices of Rosa multiflora Thunb and Rosa indica Mayor. Agric Ital 1975;1:119-28. Hasegawa PM. In vitro propagation of rose. Hortic Sei 1979;14(5): 610-2. Hasegawa PM. Factors affecting shoot and root initiation from cultured rose shoot tips. J Am Soc Hortic Sei 1980;105(2):216-20. He SL, Zhu DY, Ren NH, Lu L. A study on tissue culture for micropropagation of cut rose variety Samantha. Acta Agric Bor-ealiSin 1996;11:117-20. Hildebrandt V, Harney PM. In vitro propagation of Carrizo citrange. Hortic Sei 1983;16:305-6. Hill GP. Morphogenesis of shoot primordia in cultured stem tissue of a garden rose. Nature 1967;216:596-7. Horan I, Walker S, Roberts AV, Mottley J, Simpkins I. Micropropagation of roses The benefits of pruned mother-plantlets at stage II and a green house environment at stage III. J Hortic Sei 1995;70(5):799-806. Horn WAH. Micropropagation of rose (Rosa L). In: Bajaj YPS, editor. Biotechnology in agriculture and forestry Vol 20 High-tech and micropropagation IV. Germany: Springer; 1992. p. 320-42. Hsia C, Korban SS. Organogenesis and somatic embryogenesis in callus cultures of Rosa hybrida and Rosa chinensis minima. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1996;44:1-6. Hyndman SE, Hasegawa PM, Bressan RA. Stimulation of root initiation from cultured rose shoots through the use of reduced concentrations of mineral salts. Hortic Sei 1982a;17(l):82-3. Hyndaman SE, Hasegawa PM, Bressan RA. The role of sucrose and nitrogen in adventitious root formation on cultured rose shoots. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1982b;l:229-38. Ibrahim AI. Effect of gelling agent and activated charcoal on the growth and development of cordyline terminalis cultured in vitro. Proceedings of the first conference of ornamental horticulture; 1994. p. 55-67. Ibrahim R, Debergh PC. Improvement of adventitious bud formation and plantlet regeneration from in vitro leaf explants of Rosa hybrida L. Biotechn Breed 1999;4:413. Ishioka N, Tanimoto S. Plant regeneration from Bulgarian rose callus. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1990;22:197-9. Jacob G, Allan P, Bornman CN. Tissue culture studies on rose: use of shoot tip explants: I Auxin: cytokinin effects. Agroplantae 1969;1:179-88. Jacob G, Allan P, Bornman CN. Tissue culture studies on rose: use shoot tip explants: II Cytokinin: gibberellin effects. Agroplantae 1970;2:25-8. Jacob G, Allan P, Bornman CN. Tissue culture studies on rose: use shoot tip explants: III Auxin: gibberellin effects. Agroplantae 1970;2:45-50. Jeannette E, Reyss NA, Gregory P, Gantet P, Prioul JL. Carbohydrate metabolism in a heat-gridled maize source leaf. Plant Cell Env 2000;23:61-9. Kevers C, Boyer N, Courduroux JC, Gasper T The influence of ethylene on proliferation and growth of rose shoot culture. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1992;28(2):175-81. Khosh-Khui M, Sink KC. Micropropagation of new and old world rose species. J Hortic Sei 1982;57(3):315-9. Khosh-Khui M, Sink KC. Rooting enhancement of Rosa hybrida for tissue culture propagation. Sei Hortic 1982;17:371-6. Khosh-Khui M, Sink KC. Callus induction and culture of Rosa. Sei Hortic 1982;17:361-70. Kim CK, Chung JD, Jee SK, Oh JY. Somatic embryogenesis from in vitro grown leaf explants of Rosa hybrida L. J Plant Biotechnol 2003;5:161-4. Kintzios S, Manos C, Makri O. Somatic embryogenesis from mature leaves of rose (Rosa sp). Plant Cell Rep 1999;18:467-72. Kintzios S, Drossopoulos JB, Lymperopoulos C. Effect of vitamins and inorganic micronutrients on callus growth and somatic embryogenesis from young mature leaves of rose. J Plant Nutr 2000;23(10):1407-20. Kirichenko EB, Kuz'-mina TA, Kataeva NV. Factors in optimizing the multiplication of ornamental and essential oil roses in vitro. Bull Gl Bot Sada 1991;159:61-7. Kozai T, Kubota C, ZObayed SMA, Nguyen TQ, Afreen-Zobayed F, Heo J. Developing a mass propagation system of woody plants. In: Watanabe K, Komamine A, editors. Challenge of plant and agriculture sciences to the crisis of biosphere on the earth in the 21st century. Georgetown: Landes Biosphere; 2000. p. 293-306. Kumar A, Sood A, Pakli UT, Gupta AK, Pakli LMS. Micropropagation of Rosa damascena Mill from mature bushes using thidia- zuron. J Hortic Sei Biotechnol 2001;76(l):30-4. Kunitake H, Imamizo H, Mii M. Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from immature seed-derived calli of rose (Rosa rugosa Thunb). Plant Sei 1993;90:187-94. Lakes C, Zimmerman RH. Impact of osmotic potential on in vitro culture of apple. Acta Hortic 1990;280:417-24. Lane WD. Regeneration of pear plants from shoot meristem tips. Plant Sei Lett 1979;16:337-42. Leffering L, Kok E. Regeneratie via bladstukjes van roos. Prophyta 1990;7(8):244. Leyhe U, Horn W. A contribution to micropropagation of Rosa hybrida. Gartenbauwissenschaft 1994;59(2):85-8. Lloyd D, Roberts AV, Short KC. The induction in vitro of adventitious shoots in Rosa. Euphytica 1988;37:31-6. Mackay WA, Kitto SL. Factors affecting in vitro shoot proliferation of French tarragon. J Am Soc Hortic Sei 1988;113:282-7. Marcelis van Acker CAM, Schölten HJ. Development of axillary buds of rose in vitro. Sei Hortic 1995;63(l-2):47-55. Marchant R, Davey MR, Lucas JA, Power JB. Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration in Floribunda rose (Rosa hybrida L) cvs Trumpeter and Glad Tidings. Plant Sei 1996;120:95-105. Margara J. Bases de la multiplication vegetative Les meristemes et ľ Organogenese INRA, 149, Rue de Grenelle, 75341 Paris Cedex 07, France, 1982. Martin C. Plant breeding in vitro. Endeavour 1985;9:81-6. Martin C, Carre M, Vernoy R. La multiplication vegetative in vitro des vegetaux ligneux cultives: cas des rosiers. C R Acad Sei Paris 1981;293:157-77. McClelland Mt, Smith MAL. Influence of type, closure, and explant orientation on in vitro performance of five woody species. Hortic Sei 1990;25:797-800. Mederos S, Enriquez MJ. In vitro propagation of "Golden Times" roses Factors affecting shoot tips and axillary bud growth and morphogenesis. Acta Hortic 1987;212:619-24. Messeguer J, Mele E. Acclimatization of in vitro micropropagated roses. In: Somers DA, Gegenbrach BG, Biesboer DD, Hackett WP, Grenn CE, editors. Abstracts of the VI international congress of plant tissue and cell culture, Univ Minnesota, MN; 1986. p. 236. Murali S, Sreedhar D, Lokeswari TS. Regeneration through somatic embryogenesis in Rosa hybrida L cv Arizona I hybrid tea. Euphytica 1996;91:271-5. Murashige T. Principles of rapid propagation. In: Hughes KW, Hanks R, Constantin M, editors. Propagation of higher plants through tissue culture A bridge between research and application National Tech In to Serv, US Dept of commerce Spring field; 1979. p. 14-24. Murashige T, Skoog F. A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 1962;15:473-97. Nickell LG, Tulecke W. Responses of plant tissue cultures to gibber- ellin. BotGaz 1959;120:245-50. Noriega C, Sondahl MR. Somatic embryogenesis in hybrid tea roses. Biotechnology 1991;9:991-3. Norton ME, Boe AA. In vitro propagation of ornamental Rosaceous plants. Hortic Sei 1982;17:190-1. Onesto JP, Poupet R, Julien P. Production de potees Fleuries de rosier a partir d plantules obtenus par multiplication in vitro conforme automme 1983-printemps 1984. Horticulture 1985;176:3-10. Pati PK. Tissue, cell and protoplast culture studies in Rosa damascena Mill, and Rosa bourboniana Desp. PhD thesis. Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India, 2002. Pati PK, Sharma M, Ahuja PS. Micropropagation, protoplast culture and its implications in the improvement of scented rose. Acta Hortic 2001;547:147-58. Pati PK, Sharma M, Sood A, Ahuja PS. Direct shoot regeneration from leaf explants of R damascena Mill. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Plant 2004;40(2):192-5. Pati PK, Sharma M, Sood A, Ahuja PS. Micropropagation of Rosa damascena and R. bourboniana in liquid cultures. In: Hvoslef- Eide AK, Preil W, editors. Liquid systems for in vitro mass propagation of plants. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; in press. Pierik RLM. In vitro propagation of higher plants. Boston: Martinus, Nijhoff Publishers; 1987. Pierik RLM. Horticulture new technologies and applications Proceeding of the international seminar on new frontiers in horticulture. Curr Plant Sei Biotechnol Agric 1991;12:141-53. Pittet H, Moncousin C. Multiplication novelle du rosier. Rev Hortic Suisse 1981;54:169-73. Pittet H, Moncousin C. Rose in vitro micropropagation. Rev Hortic Suisse 1982;55(3):67-9. Podwyszynska M, Olszewski T. Influence of gelling agents on shoot multiplication and the uptake of macroelements by in vitro culture of rose, cordyline and Homalomena. Sei Hortic 1995;64:77-84. Preece JE, Sutter EG. Acclimatization of micropropagated plants to the green house and field. In: Debergh PC, Zimmerman RH, editors. Micropropagation. The Netherlands: Kluwer; 1991 p. 71-93. Rahman SM, Hossain M, Islm AKMR, Joarder OL Effects of media composition and culture conditions on in vitro rooting of rose. Sei Hortic 1992;52:163-9. Reist A. Culture in vitro en pipiniere de rosiers: une alternative au bouturage ou au greffage des Varietes? Rev Suisse Vitic Arboric Hortic 1985;17:361-4. Roberts AV, Walker S, Horan I, Smith EF, Mottley J. The effects of growth retardants, humidity and lighting at stage III on stage IV of micropropagation in chrysanthemum and rose. Acta Hortic 1992;319:135-58. Rogers RB, Smith MAL. Consequences of in vitro and ex vitro root initiation for miniature rose production. J Hortic Sei 1992;67: 535-40. Rosu A, Skirvin RM, Bein A, Norton MA, Kushad M, Otterbacher AG. The development of putative adventitious shoots from a chimeral thornless rose (Rosa multiflora Thunb ex J Murr) in vitro. J Hortic Sei 1995;70:901-7. Rout GR. Studies on in vitro propagation of rose cultivars. PhD thesis, Utkal University, India, 1991. Rout GR, Debata BK, Das P. In vitro mass-scale propagation of Rosa hybrida cv Landora. Curr Sei 1989;58:876-8. Rout GR, Debata BK, Das P. Micropropagation of propagation of Rosa hybrida cv Queen Elizabeth through in vitro culture of axillary buds. Orissa J Hortic 1989;16:1-9. Rout GR, Debata BK, Das P. In vitro clonal multiplication of roses. Proc Natl Acad Sei India 1990;60:311-8. Rout GR, Debata BK, Das P. Somatic embryogenesis in callus cultures of Rosa hybrida L cv Landora. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1991;27:65-9. Rout GR, Debata BK, Das P. In vitro regeneration of shoots from callus cultures of Rosa hybrida L cv Landora Indian. J Exp Biol 1992;30:15-8. Rout GR, Samantaray S, Mottley J, Das P. Biotechnology of the rose: a review of recent progress. Sei Hortic 1999;81:201-28. Sahoo S, Debata BK. A note on in vitro micropropagation and induction of flowering in the miniature rose—'The Fairy'. Orissa J Hortic 1997;25:87-9. Salehi H, Khosh-Khui M. Effects of explant length and diameter on in vitro shoot growth and proliferation rate of miniature roses. J Hortic Sei 1997;72:673-6. Sandal I, Bhattacharya A, Ahuja PS. An efficient liquid culture system for tea shoot proliferation. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 2001;65:75-80. Sato SS, Mori H. Control of outgrowth and dormancy in axillary buds. Plant Physiol 2001;127:405-1413. Sauer A, Walther F, Preil W Different suitability for in vitro propagation of rose cultivars. Gartenbauwissenschaft 1985;50: 133-8. Singh SK, Syamal MM. Critical studies on the effect of growth regulators on in vivo shoot proliferation in Rosa x hybrida L cv Sonia for micropropagation. J Appl Hortic Lucknow 1999;1:91-3. Skirvin RM, Chu MC. In vitro propagation of 'Forever Yours' rose. Hortic Sei 1979;14(5):608-10. Skirvin RM, Chu MC. The effect of light quality on root development on in vitro grown miniature roses. Hortic Sei 1984;19:575. Skirvin RM, Chu MC, Young HJ. Rose. In: Ammirato PV, Evans DR, Sharp WR, Bajaj YPS, editors. Handbook of Plant Cell Culture Vol. 5. New York: McGraw Hill, New York: Springer; 1990. pp. 716-743. Smith MAL, Spomer LA. Vessel, gels, liquid media and support systems. In: Aitken-Christie J, Kozai T, Smith MAL, editors. Automation and environmental control in plant tissue culture. The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 1995. p. 371-404. Smith EF, Mottley J, Roberts AV. A kit for demonstrating the in vitro hardening of micropropagated plants. Biotechnol Educ 1992;2(2):56-8. Suharsono. In vitro culture of several new cultivars of rose. J Biol Indones 1995;1(3):65-71. Sutter EG, Shackel K, Diaz JC. Acclimatization of tissue cultured plants. Acta Hortic 1992;314:115-8. Syamal MM, Singh SK. In vitro propagation of rose. Hortic J 1996;9:57-62. Tantikanjana T, Young WHJ, Letham DS, Griffith M, Hussain M, Ljung K, et al. Control of axillary bud proliferation and shoot architecture in Arabidopsis through supershoot gene. 2001; 12: 7-1588. Taslim A, Patel BA. Micropropagation of rose—a review. Agric Rev 1995;16(4):211-8. Tweddle D, Roberts AV, Short KC. In vitro culture of roses. In: Novak L, Havel L, Doležel J, editors. Plant tissue and cell culture application to crop improvement. Prague: Czech. Acad. Sei.; 1984. p. 529-30. Valles M, Boxus P. Micropropagation of several Rosa hybrida L cultivars. Acta Hortic 1987;212:611-7. van der Salm TPM, van der Toorn CJG, Hanisch ten Cate CH, Dubois LAM, De Vries DP, Dons HJM. Importance of the iron chelate formula for micropropagation of Rosa hybrida L 'Money way'. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 1994;37:73-7. van der Salm TPM, van der Toorn CJG, Hanisch ten Cate CH, Dubois LAM, De Vries DP, Dons HJM. Somatic embryogenesis and shoot regeneration from excised adventitious roots of the root-stock Rosa hybrida L, 'Moneyway'. Plant Cell Rep 1996;15:522-6. Vijaya N, Satyanarayana G, Prakash J, Pierik RLM. Effect of culture media and growth regulators on in vitro propagation of rose. Curr Plant Sei Biotechnol Agric 1991;12:209-14. Voviatzi C, Voviatzis DG, Tsiakmaki V. In vitro shoot proliferation rates of the rose cv (hybrid tea) Dr Verhage, as affected by apical dominance regulating substances. Sei Hortic 1995;61: 241-249. Weinstein LH, Tulecke W, Nickell LG, Laurencot HJ. Biochemical and physiological studies of tissue cultures and the plant parts from which they are derived: III Paul's Scarlet rose. Contrib Boyce Thompson Inst 1962;21:371-86. Wilson D, Nayar NK. Effect of activated charcoal on in vitro rooting of cultured rose shoots. South Indian Hortic 1995;43(l-2):32-4. Woltering EJ. Beneficial effects of carbon dioxide on development of gerbera and rose plantlets grown in vitro. Sei Hortic 1990;44:341-5. Wulster G, Sacalis J. Effects of auxins and cytokinins on ethylene evolution and growth of rose callus tissue in sealed vessels. Hortic Sei 1980;15:736-7. Yan M, Byrne DH, Jing C. Propagation of rose species in vitro. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Plant 1996;32:103-8. Ziv M, Halevy AH. Control of oxidative browning and in vitro propagation of Strelitzia reginae. Hortic Sei 1983;18(4):434-6.