Ficus carica L. is a common fig that is an incredibly nutritional fruit, well-known for its medicinal and economic values. This study aims to establish an efficient protocol for the mass propagation of fig plantlets (Ficus carica L.) for the cultivar “Violette de Solliès”. Surface-sterilized shoot-tip explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of cytokinins (6-benzylaminopurine, BAP; thidiazuron, TDZ; kinetin, Kn; and zeatin, Zea). Induced shoots were rooted on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) with different concentrations of auxins (naphthalene-acetic acid, NAA; indole-3-acetic acid, IAA; and indole-3-butyric acid, IBA). Rooted explants were acclimatized in eight different soil substrates prior to cultivation in a commercial plot. The propagated plantlets were analyzed for genetic stability and clonal fidelity using RAPD and SCoT molecular markers, whereas scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to observe the stomata morphology of post-acclimatized plants. MS media supplemented with 5.0 mg/L BAP was the optimal treatment for multiple shoot induction (15.20 ± 1.03 shoots), whereas the highest percentage of rooting (93.33%) was achieved in WPM supplemented with 3.0 mg/L IBA. Plantlets were successfully acclimatized in biochar soil with a survival rate of 100%. RAPD and SCoT analysis showed no polymorphism occurrences across six subculture cycles, whereas observations via SEM indicated normal stomata structures on the leaves of acclimatized plantlets. This study documents an efficient micropropagation protocol for Ficus carica cv. Violette de Solliès for the production of uniformed and true-to-type plant stocks suitable for commercial propagation.

Fig (Ficus carica L.) belongs to the family of Moraceae and its fruits are known to be nutritious to the human diet. Organic additives function as an alternative to replace conventional carbon sources besides containing other nutritional components required for plant growth. This study aims to evaluate the effects of organic additives incorporated in culture media for the regeneration of Ficus carica cv. Japanese BTM6. In vitro shoots were cultured in MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/L of BAP without sucrose and with different concentrations of organic additives (potato, banana and coconut water). MS medium supplemented with 20 g of sucrose and 1 mg/L of BAP (positive control) showed the highest number of shoots (2.45 ± 0.16), shoot height (4.02 ± 0.18 cm) and number of leaves (8.33 ± 0.44). However, the incorporation of coconut water was observed to also support the induction of shoots, shoot height and leaves. Treatment of 200 mL/L of coconut water was found to significantly improve the number of leaves (5.08 ± 0.81 leaves per explant) in comparison to other organic additives. The study concludes that coconut water can be a feasible alternative as carbon source in the regeneration of Ficus carica cv. Japanese BTM6.

The Australian Finger Lime (Citrus australasica) is a type of citrus from the Rutaceae family, endemic to the east coast of Australia. The finger lime, loaded with numerous vitamins and renders a unique taste, has also been backed by science to contain essential amounts of antioxidants that are beneficial for cell protection, immune response, cancer prevention, ageing, arthritis and prevention of kidney stones. Current propagation attempts still rely on conventional methods that are less efficient and resulted in the slow establishment of farms for finger lime especially for commercialization purposes. This study focuses on the induction of shoots from shoot tip explants using 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and Kinetin. Aseptic explants were inoculated into Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium of full-strength and half-strength followed by full-strength MS media supplemented with different concentrations of BAP and Kinetin. Results obtained in this study showed no significant differences in terms of the number of axillary shoots produced between explants cultured in full and half-strength MS media. However, the highest number of shoots and increment in shoot length were obtained from MS media supplemented with 2.0 mg/L BAP with the values 1.80 ± 0.27 and 2.56 ± 0.36 cm, respectively. In conclusion, MS media supplemented with 2.0 mg/L BAP was found optimal in the induction of shoots and shoot elongation of C. australasica cv. Tasty Green.

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The common fig (Ficus carica L.) is from the family of Moraceae and is commonly cultivated for its fruits, which are well-known for their exceptional nutritional and medicinal properties. The addition of organic additives functions to supply carbon sources and other essential vitamins, minerals, and natural growth regulators to support the growth of explants. The present study aims to assess the effects of coconut water and banana homogenate in the regeneration of Ficus carica cv. Violette de Solliès (VDS). In vitro shoot, explants were cultured in full-strength MS medium without sucrose but with 1.0 mg/L BAP and different concentrations of coconut water and banana homogenate. Results indicated that MS media with 200 mL/L coconut water resulted in the highest number of induced shoots (3.03 ± 0.122) and shoot height (1.005 ± 0.022 cm) compared to other treatments with coconut water, whereas MS media supplemented with 200 g/L banana homogenate produced the highest number of induced shoots (3.00 ± 0.144) and the highest shoot height (0.958 ± 0.020 cm) of all the banana homogenate treatments. In conclusion, coconut water and banana homogenate are suitable alternatives for carbon sources and other organic growth factors contributing to the regeneration of Ficus carica cv. VDS.