Abstract:
Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the most important fruit crops globally, and in-vitro
propagation plays a crucial role in large-scale multiplication, particularly for cultivars like
sour bananas (Mysore AAB). In tissue culture, sucrose is the primary carbon source,
typically used in the form of commercial white sugar. However, this study investigates the
potential of sugarcane molasses as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to the
commercial white sugar in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium for in vitro sour banana
propagation. The experiments were conducted using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium
supplemented with varying concentrations of sugarcane molasses (I0 glL,20 glL,30 glL,
and 40 g/L) compared to the standard 30 glL of commercial white sugar. Growth
parameters such as root initiation, root number, root length, shoot elongation, and overall
plantlet health were evaluated over six weeks. The MS medium with sugar (Tl) showed
the best results, with the highest plant height (53.36+5.0 mm), root number (5.41*l .1), root
length (7.68+1.5 cm), and plant dry weight (0.09+0.017g). Sugarcane molasses in low
concentration with MS media (T2, 10 g/L) exhibited promising performance, with plant
height (34.4+2.4 mm), root number (4.4 + 0.30), and shoot dry weight (0.05 g + 0.006g).
However, higher concentrations of molasses resulted in media browning and reduced root
growth, likely due to excessive impurities and phenolic compound accumulation. This
study demonstrates that sugarcane molasses in low concentrations with further
optimization could be a viable, cost-effective, and sustainable alternative carbon source for commercial micropropagation of banana, particularly in regions where ''.vhite sugar is
expensive or less accessible. Therefore, further research is recommended to ref,tne molasses treatment methods to minimize impruities and optimize plantlet development.
