Effect of biocide addition on plantlet growth and contamination occurrence during the in vitro culture of blueberry

Interest and great demand for blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) have increased, as V. corymbosum is now one of the most economically important crops in Korea. It is expected that blueberry production and the area planted for cultivation will increase consistently in the years ahead because of high profitability and the consumer's demand for healthy ingredients. Effective mass production of blueberry is urgently needed for commercial cultivation establishment, but a main limitation is lack of a propagation system that produces a disease-free plant material for commercial plantation. A large amount of research has focused entirely on developing tissue culture techniques for blueberry propagation. However, controlling fungal and bacterial contamination of woody plant material is extremely difficult. Our study was conducted to investigate the effect of biocide addition during the in vitro culture of blueberry on plantlet growth and contamination occurrence. Four biocides, including Plant Preservative Mixture ($PPM^{TM}$), vancomycin, nystatin and penicillin G, were used in varying concentrations during the in vitro propagation of blueberry. When nystatin was added into the medium at low concentrations, the overall growth of blueberry plantlets was retarded. Addition of vancomycin and penicillin G in high concentrations decreased contamination but induced plantlet mortality. On the other hand, when 1ml/L $PPM^{TM}$ was added, the growth characteristics of blueberry plantlets did not significantly differ from non-treatment (control), and the contamination occurrence rate was very low. From these results, we found that the addition of the appropriate biocide could provide an effective method to reduce contamination in the culture process, thereby raising in vitro production efficiency.