Abstract
The introduction of strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) into in vitro culture is an effective method of vegetative propagation. This method allows for the rapid production of genetically uniform and virus-free plant material. The principle of the method involves the cultivation of plant explants–primarily meristems–under aseptic conditions on specialized nutrient media that promote their regeneration and further development into complete plants. This article presents the results of optimizing the stages of in vitro culture introduction, the selection of sterilizing agents, and the planting of explants on nutrient media. The study focused on the strawberry varieties: Federica, San Andreas, and Brin. For explant introduction, the following sterilizing agents were used: 0.1% HgCl₂ (3 min, 4 min, 5 min), sodium hypochlorite (3 min, 4 min, 5 min), and 12% hydrogen peroxide (5 min, 7 min, 9 min) at different concentrations and exposure times. Based on the results of the study, the use of 0.1% HgCl₂ for 5 minutes as the sterilizing agent resulted in the highest number of viable explants, with a survival rate of approximately 85%. Subsequently, the apical meristems were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various concentrations of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The optimal medium for in vitro cultivation of strawberry explants was MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L of 6-BAP, ensuring an explant survival rate of 70–80% across the tested varieties.