Effect of acetylsalicylic and salicylic acid on micropropagation of Kosteletzkya pentacarpos on Rugini Olive Media

Kosteletzkya pentacarpos is a native species of South Europe facing pressure from agricultural and urban development. In the present study, the effect of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and salicylic acid (SA) on in vitro propagation was investigated. Nodal explants were excised from in vitro-grown seedlings and cultured on solid (8 g L-1 agar) Rugini Olive Media (OM), containing 30 g L-1 sucrose, supplemented with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) or salicylic acid (SA) at 0 (control), 0.01, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5 mg L-1. Shooting percentage was high (95%) on control media or media containing low concentrations (0.01 to 0.1 mg L-1) of SA or ASA, with one shoot explant-1. The highest shoot length was recorded on media containing 0.01 mg L-1 SA or ASA (5.3 and 4.8 cm, respectively) with no difference from the shoot length recorded in the control media (3.7 cm). Node number increased with shoot length and was higher on media containing 0.01 mg L-1 SA with no difference from media supplemented with 0.01 mg L-1 ASA (4 and 3.6 nodes explant-1, respectively). Furthermore, spontaneous rooting was observed on all media, with a rooting percentage of 95% on control media and media containing 0.01 mg L-1 ASA or SA. The rooting percentage reduced gradually with increasing concentration of ASA and SA. Rooted plantlets were successfully acclimatized, with a 100% survival rate under protected cultivation.