Abstract

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is a medicinal plant with high therapeutic value. To date, protocols for improving the in vitro germination of A. officinalis are extremely scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the germination, rooting and growth of asparagus under different growth conditions and to investigate the influence of the growth media, light and activated carbon. Asparagus seeds were sown in a greenhouse, in Petri dishes and in vitro culture. For in vitro culture, seeds were placed in Murashige and Skoog (1962) and ½ MS media; in the liquid or semisolid state, activated carbon was added to MS media. The results showed that in vitro culture produced the highest germination rate (80.55%) compared with greenhouse (25%) and Petri dish (44.44%) culture. Effective germination rates were obtained with ½ MS media (69.44%). These factors also had greater effects on plant development and growth. The average shoot and root lengths were 10.70 and 7.63 cm, respectively. Plant germination rates did not significantly differ between the liquid and semisolid media but did positively affect shoot length (9.72 cm) in the liquid media. When the seeds were incubated in a dark environment, the photoperiod (0/24 h light/dark) affected germination latency (7 days in the dark environment and 11 days in the light environment) but had no significant effect on germination. The highest germination rate was achieved with ½ MS semisolid media in the dark, ensuring a greater germination rate (80.55%). The germination of A. officinalis on activated carbon was effective, reaching 77.77%.