Regeneration of mortiño (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) plants through axillary bud culture

The use of conventional propagation strategies for Vaccinium floribundum Kunth has proven difficult, which has resulted in this species’ escape from formal cultivation, despite its importance as a gastronomic and nutraceutical fruit. The current report presents an efficient propagation methodology for V. floribundum using axillary bud growth. Axillary buds were cultured on modified Woody Plant medium (mWPM) supplemented with 3.0 mg L⁻¹ N6-isopentenyladenine (2iP) or with 5.0 mg L⁻¹ 2iP plus 0.1 mg L⁻¹ 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA). The best results for plant propagation were obtained on mWPM with 2iP and NAA, where significantly higher numbers of shoots per bud were observed. In vitro-rooted plants were successfully acclimatized to a peat and vermiculite substrate, while unrooted plants could be efficiently grown after an ex vitro rooting treatment by submersion in an 0.5 g L⁻¹ indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) or potassium IBA (KIBA) solution. This is the first report of an efficient propagation methodology for V. floribundum using plant tissue culture protocols, and provides a tool for the implementation of conservation strategies for this species.