Investigation of micropropagation and rooting performances of some citrus hybrids in in vitro conditions

Citrus is one of the fruit species that is cultivated and has a high species diversity. Consuming fresh and using as raw material in different industries increases the importance of citrus fruits. Therefore, development of new varieties and rootstocks in citrus fruits is very important. Plant tissue culture studies are a powerful alternative to reproduce valuable plants obtained as a result of crossbreeding studies. In the thesis study, micropropagation performances of Citrus sunki x Poncirus trifoliata var. Rubidoux hybrid individuals in different nutrient media (Murashige and Skoog Medium -MS, Woody Plant Medium -WPM, Rugini Olive Medium -ROM) were investigated. In addition, the effect of different plant growth regulators (indole butyric acid - IBA and naphthalene acetic acid - NAA) on rooting of plants was investigated. Rooted plants acclimatizated to greenhouse conditions. Among the genotypes used in the thesis, the most successful genotypes in the micropropagation stage were SR-60 and SR-75, while the most successful genotypes in the root stage were SR-33, SR-41, SR-47 and SR-60. The effect of nutrient media on micropropagation was found statistically insignificant (P <0.05). In rooting assay, the most successful plant growth regulator for plant height and root length was determined as IBA, and the most successful plant growth regulator for root number was determined as NAA.