After the second week of culture signs of endophytic
contamination were observed. Bacteria and fungi developed
at the base of the green shoots. Appearance of the microbial
colonies was similar in all of the cultures.
To combat endophytic microorganisms internal sterilization
with Malachite Green and AAS was applied. The
best results were obtained when Malachite Green
(0.5 mg l1
) was used in combination with AAS at
concentrations of 50 and 100 mg l1
, and the proportion
of viable axenic shoots obtained after 4 weeks of culture
was 20%. When Malachite Green at concentrations 0.1 and