Ficus palmata is an important fig species that produces edible and nutritious fruit and possesses several therapeutic uses. This study reports an effective method for the micropropagation of F. palmata using nodal explants. In vitro shoots were cultured for 7 weeks onto MS medium fortified with different concentrations of cytokinins, light intensities, sucrose concentrations, and light/dark incubation treatments. Optimal axillary shoot proliferation (10.9 shoots per explant) was obtained on a medium containing 30 g/L sucrose and supplemented with 2 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) under 35 μmol/m²/s light intensity. Dark incubation limited the foliage growth but favored shoot elongation and rooting compared with light incubation. Elongated shoots, under dark conditions, were rooted (100%; 6.67 roots per explant) onto MS medium containing 1 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1.5 g/L activated charcoal. The micropropagated plantlets were acclimatized with a 95% survival rate. In this study, the genetic fidelity of micropropagated F. palmata clones along with their mother plant was tested using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), and start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular markers. The genetic similarity between the micropropagated plantlets and the mother plant of F. palmata was nearly 95.9%, assuring high uniformity and true-to-type regenerated plants. Using micropropagated F. palmata plantlets as a rootstock proved appropriate for the grafting F. carica ‘Brown Turkey’. These findings contribute to the commercial propagation and production of the fig crop.

In vitro cormogenesis is a potential tool for improving saffron production under controlled conditions. In this study, the effects of explant type, culture type, and medium supplements on saffron daughter corm formation in vitro were assessed. Saffron flowers emerged 30 days after culture, and the sizes of in-vitro- and ex-vitro-produced flowers and stigmas were similar. In vitro daughter corm formation and the saffron life cycle was completed after 10 and 14 weeks of culture, respectively. Using in vitro intact corms was more effective for corm production than using apical buds. Compared with apical bud explants, mother corm explants produced more corms with a higher fresh weight and diameter. Compared with solid culture, liquid cultures using bioreactors provided corms with a higher fresh weight and diameter, regardless of explant type. An ebb and flow system provided the highest cormlet fresh weight and diameter but the fewest cormlets, whereas an immersion system provided more cormlets with a smaller size. Saffron apical buds cultured with salicylic acid at 75 mg L⁻¹ or glutamine at 600 mg L⁻¹ exhibited the highest cormlet diameter and fresh weight. These findings will improve the process of in vitro cormogenesis and the production of saffron under controlled conditions.