Volume 3 Number 1 2025
Optimizing Gardenia jasminoides Micropropagation through Cytokinin 2iP and LED Light Spectrum Modulation
Fadhil J. Kadhim 1*, Makki N. Nayyef 1, Mohammad J. Hussain 1
Applied Agriculture Sciences 3 (1) 1-7 https://doi.org/10.25163/agriculture.3110449
Submitted: 09 September 2025 Revised: 17 November 2025 Accepted: 22 November 2025 Published: 24 November 2025
Abstract
Gardenia jasminoides is an ornamental and medicinal plant of high economic value, yet its large-scale propagation is often hindered by low multiplication efficiency and limited rooting in conventional methods. This study was conducted at the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, College of Agriculture, Al-Qasim Green University, between September 2023 and April 2024, to evaluate the effects of cytokinin 2-isopentenyl adenine (2iP) concentrations and light spectra on in vitro growth performance. A factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with five replicates per treatment was employed. Two-node micro-cuttings derived from ex vivo multiplied branches were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.1 mg L-1 NAA, 30 mg L-1 adenine sulfate, and four levels of 2iP (0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 mg L-1). Cultures were exposed to four light sources: standard white fluorescent, blue LED, red LED, and white LED, for four weeks. Growth responses were assessed based on shoot number, shoot length, leaf number, shoot fresh and dry weights, and chlorophyll content. Results revealed that increasing 2iP concentration up to 0.2 mg L-1 significantly enhanced all morphological traits, after which the effect plateaued. Among light treatments, blue LED illumination produced the highest means across all parameters, while white fluorescent light yielded the lowest. The combination of 0.2 mg L-1 2iP and blue LED light provided the most favorable conditions for vigorous shoot proliferation and chlorophyll accumulation, offering a cost-effective and energy-efficient protocol for commercial micropropagation of G. jasminoides.
Keywords: Gardenia jasminoides, 2iP, cytokinin, LED light, in vitro propagation
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