Micronutrient absorption by banana explants in vitro

The absorption of the micronutrients B, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn by banana (Musa s p.) cultivar "Prata Ana" explants on the basic medium of Murashige & Skoog supplemented with BAP (3.5 mg/L) and sucrose (30 g/L) were evaluated at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 days after the inoculation. The experiment was ar ranged on a completely randomized design with three replications. Concentra tion of the micronutrients in the medium and in dry matter of the whole pro pagule and in the rhizome, pseudostem and leaves was also evaluated. Absorp tion of Mn was approximately constant during all the period of the experime nt, while the other micronutrients had their higher absorption observed on the first 20 days. At the end of the experiment concentrations of B, Zn, Mn and Cu in the medium were 52, 61, 77 and 78%, respectively. These results point out that it is possible to reduce the concentration of these micronut rients on the basic medium MS for banana explants culture.