In Vitro Propagation of Jatropha Curcas L. Apical Buds.

Fossil fuels depletion has created a pressure on the search for options to replace these fuels for similar with equal efficiency. Thus, in recent years the use of plants with potential for biodiesel production is growing, with emphasis on Jatropha curcas L. The plant is easily propagated by seeds, but originates plants with high genetic variability, which required the development of propagation techniques for application in plant breeding. This work was performed at the Biotechnology Laboratory of Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) Ilha Solteira Campus to evaluate the development of explants originated from apical buds of Jatropha curcas L. in different culture medium. The explants were collected from plants grown on the UNESP’s Experimental Station and taken to the laboratory for aseptic and subsequent inoculation in culture medium. Aseptic procedures were done with detergent, ethanol 70%, metiltiofan (2 g L-1), chloramphenicol (100 mg L-1), citric acid (150 mg L-1) + ascorbic acid (150 mg L-1) and hypochlorite sodium (3%). The explants were inoculated on MS medium with doses of 2 mg L-1, 3 mg L-1 and 4 mg L-1 of benzylaminopurine (BAP) and the same media plus 1 mg L-1 of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). The explants were left for seven days in darkness at 25 ± 2 ° C. According to the variables analyzed 45 days after inoculation, when there was transplanting into another medium, was verified that all treatments had bacterial infection, but did not prevent the development of the explants and the best medium for survival and development was MS + 2 mg L-1 BAP + 1 mg L-1 IBA (85% of alive explants and 69% developing leaves). The low contamination by fungi in all treatments indicates that the sterilization and handling were performed correctly. Keywords: Jatropha curcas, pinhão manso, micropropagation