Somatic embryo induction. Shoots having a base thickness of
5–7 mm were isolated from 4-wk-old banana cultures. The top
of the shoots were removed leaving about 1.5-cm-long tissue
segments containing an apical meristem surrounded by the
base of the leaves and part of the rhizome tissue. They were
then split into two halves longitudinally (hereafter referred
to as split shoot tips). Explants were inoculated
in test tubes with 15 mL medium (MS with 30 g/L sucrose
and 7 g/L agar; pH 5.7 supplemented with various combinations
and concentrations of plant growth regulators). The
explants were positioned in such a manner that the cut surfaces
did not touch the medium. The cultures were incubated at
27±2°C in the dark.