https://doi.org/10.37229/fsa.fjh.2026.06.15

Helianthus tuberosus L. is an important crop for agricultural, medicinal, and industrial uses. Its tubers are rich in inulin, and it is cultivated for food and animal feed. This study was conducted in the Potato and Vegetatively Propagated Vegetables Research Department, Dokii, in collaboration with the Sakha Horticulture Research Station, Kafr El-Shaikh, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Giza, Egypt, during the period from 2022 and 2023. The current study aimed to establish seed production protocol for H. tuberosus using tissue culture; Fusaeu cv. sprouted tubers were used to establish in vitro plantlets cultures. Micropropagation by stem cuttings was conducted on MS media without growth regulators. Microtuberization was investigated using MS media containing 80 g sucrose and four concentrations of paclobutrazol (0, 45, 60, 90 mg/l). The media containing only 80 g sucrose gave the highest tuberization ratio, microtuber number, microtuber weight per container, and average microtuber weight. In an open-field experiment, different propagation material sources (in vitro plantlets, minitubers and traditional seed tubers) were evaluated. Traditional seed tubers recorded the highest values of vegetative growth and yield, followed by acclimatized plantlets derived from tissue culture, with no significant differences between them. Minitubers showed the lowest values for growth, tuber yields, tuber dry matter and inulin content.