Oxidation and Contamination Control in the in Vitro Establishment of Rosa Chinensis

Introduction and objectives: Rose is one of the most harvested and demanded species as ornamental flower; its traditional propagation is limited due to the spread of pests and diseases; for that reason, in vitro culture has turned out to be an alternative to propagate healthy plants. However, microbial contamination and tissue oxidation are critical problems that can limit in vitro plant establishment. The aim of this research was to evaluate disinfection protocols and culture conditions for in vitro regeneration of Rosa chinensis with low contamination and oxidation percentages. M&M: The explants were washed with different disinfectant agents and seeded in a basal medium interacting with different factors such as activated charcoal (1 g/L) and temporary darkness (3 days). Results: protocol 2 presented the lowest percentage of bacterial (18.75 %) and fungal (12.5 %) contamination in the disinfection phase; while treatment T3 (activated charcoal 1 g/L + 3 days of darkness) obtained the best results in the introduction phase, and the explants presented the lowest phenolization level (0.88), favoring the induction of buds and callus in the explants, and reaching averages of 81.25 and 31.25 %, respectively.